consultations
DEFRA is consulting on a regime to enforce the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation in England and Wales. Consultation closes 3rd April. The EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation (EU 2014/1143) came into force in 2015. It currently applies restrictions on forty-nine invasive non-native species of most concern in Europe including a ban on keeping and sale. This consultation sets out proposals for enforcing those restrictions through the use of civil and criminal penalties. https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-environment-policy/invasive-non-native-species-enforcement/
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is consulting on a proposed scheme which will ensure minimum standards are adhered to among providers of marine oil pollution response services. Consultation closes on 9 March. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-national-standard-for-marine-oil-spill-response-providers
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is consulting on n proposed amendments the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which provides support for new low carbon electricity generation projects, to enable it to continue to support new generation and provide best value for bill payers in coming years. Consultation closes 9th March 2018.
This consultation proposes:
refinements in relation to Advanced Conversion Technologies, to ensure that only more innovative and efficient plants are awarded subsidy; changes to the overall efficiency requirements for Combined Heat and Power, to ensure that CfD supported plants are of a suitably high overall efficiency; updated greenhouse gas emissions criteria that new projects using solid and gaseous biomass as feedstock will have to comply with.
The consultation also makes new proposals to facilitate more accurate forecasting of budget spend, and invites views on various other potential changes to the detailed terms of new CfD contracts. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/contracts-for-difference-cfd-proposed-amendments-to-the-scheme