News

Controversial plans to build two wind turbines in the Northumberland countryside have been denied planning permission by a planning committee.

Green Energy Ponteland had submitted applications to build two 255 foot wind turbines, one of which would be located on green belt farmland near Ponteland and the other would be at New Berwick near Eglingham. Controversially, the proposed site near Ponteland is owned by one of the Conservative Councillors at Northumberland County Council.

Planning officers at the Council had recommended that the planning application should be accepted, although a combined total of nearly 150 objections were submitted. The planning committee turned down the applications over concerns about their possible impact on the green belt. The news will come as a great relief to the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the pressure group Save Northumberland's Environment (SANE), who both opposed the applications.

Andrew Joicey of SANE said, "The county council is beginning to realise that now is the chance to stop Northumberland being proliferated by these things. I think the applicants would be very, very foolish to appeal, given the circumstances, and I hope they will retire gracefully, having learned a lesson."

In addition, one of the wind turbines would have been approximately 400 metres away from a former Police headquarters which will be redeveloped as homes. Whilst this is fine at the minute, the Wind Turbines (Minimum Distances from Residential Premises) Bill, should it come into force, may introduce a law to make sure wind turbines of this height are built at least 1500 metres from homes.

For more information, see the:

• Energy Act 2004;
• Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006;
• Climate Change Act 2008.

We have just added the finishing touches to our latest Cedrec website update. As part of our ongoing development we have introduced a new easier to use version of our site. The key changes will:

• take you to the legislation you need faster, with our:
  • new menu bar,
  • improved search,
  • revoked filter,
  • "My Favourites" feature,
  • subscription merge;
• make legislation even easier to read, through our:
  • improved highlighting of new and updated legislation,
  • clearly defined Full Text pages,
  • new "widgets";
• help you to keep up-to-date, by bringing you our:
  • "On Horizon" page,
  • "In Focus" page,
  • improved "What's New" page,
  • Twitter feed;
• complement your understanding of legislation, through our:
  • "Latest News" stories,
  • expanded guidance range,
  • newly added consultations and draft legislation.

Menu bar

We have changed the left sidebar so you can now go directly to "What's New", "On Horizon" and the "Index" at any time. These pages are all now system linked, which means they contain information from all the systems you subscribe to.

Improved search

Our search engine has been totally reworked to make sure you find exactly what you're looking for first and fast. If you need to look for old or revoked legislation, the advanced search has also been redesigned to help you.

Revoked filter

Our lists of legislation now have a revoked filter that when enabled allows you to quickly change any list to show revoked, expired and spent legislation. This feature is invaluable if you can't find old legislation that you didn't know was revoked.

My Favourites

Now you can add any document you like as a favourite just by clicking the star next to its title. The star will turn purple to indicate it's a favourite, and can be found anywhere the document is listed as well as in the document you are reading.

To view your favourites, just select the "My Favourites" tab which is available on every page once you have logged in. When you are browsing or searching Cedrec, any document that is in your favourites can be easily identified by the purple star. To remove a document from your favourites, just click the star again to deselect it.

Merging your subscriptions

The system has been changed so that all your subscriptions are now in one place. You will no longer need to move between your Great Britain and Northern Ireland subscriptions, or Environmental and Health and Safety subscriptions, as the system recognises the products you have purchased and tailors itself to your individual subscription.

Improved blue text

We have always used blue text to show any changes to our summaries - whether its a single word amendment or a brand new piece of legislation. This has now been improved so blue text is highlighted in a way that is much easier to see.

Full Text pages

The background colour of our Full Text Pages has now changed to red. This is to make it clearer that you are reading our amended Full Text and not our plain English summaries.

New Cedrec widgets

We have added new "widgets" to Cedrec. These are always located on the right sidebar and contain supporting information relating to a document, such as:

• Coming into force;
• See Also;
• Key dates;
• Related Documents;
• Regulators;
• Latest News;
• In Focus.

To open up the widgets, just click the arrow.

On Horizon page

The "On Horizon" page now has it's own button on the left sidebar and is dovetailed with your personal filters. So if you only want to view upcoming Welsh or Scottish changes then that's what you'll see. It can also bring all your subscriptions together to show you what's on the horizon in Environment and Health & Safety for every country.

In Focus added

The popular "In Focus" feature that was available on our CD has now been added to our website. This provides a focus on the most important new legislation added to Cedrec.

The "In Focus" widget appears on the right sidebar whenever you are in the "What's New" page or any of our "Topic" pages - such as Water, Waste, or Welfare, for example. The content will change depending on the topic you are viewing to show you what we have focused on for that particular subject.

Individual "In Focus" articles can also be found when using our search.

What's New page

We now bring all your subscriptions together to show you "What's New" in Environment and Health & Safety for every country. We've even added filters so you can see what's happened since you last logged in, or in the last:

• quarter;
• two months;
• month;
• week.

You also have the option to hide any updated documents if you just want to see those that are new to Cedrec.

Twitter

Why not sign up to our Twitter feed? We are now Tweeting about important new legislation, latest news stories and other exciting Cedrec developments. Our Tweets are available on the right side bar whenever you are in the "What's New" page or any of our "Topic" pages. Follow us: @cedrec_news.

Latest News added

There is now a "Latest News" widget on the right side bar which links you from our summaries to related news stories. For example, if you're reading the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations SI 2011/988 you'll have quick access to all related waste news stories on Cedrec. There's even links in the stories back to our summaries. This feature is supported with our comprehensive news archive going back over five years.

Expanded guidance range

The range of guidance that can be accessed on Cedrec has been expanded to make it even easier for you to comply with legislation. The guidance includes Codes of Practice, which you are legally bound to follow, as well as more general guidance, fact sheets and brief guides. We provide documents on a wide range of topics, including health and safety in most work activities, asbestos, waste, REACH and many more.

It is incorporated into the "See Also" widget on the right sidebar in relevant pieces of legislation and is also listed in the "Index".

Consultation and drafts

We have now added consultations and draft legislation. This means that Cedrec can help keep you ahead of any changes by letting you track the entire process of a new piece of legislation or guidance right through to its official publication. In all cases, we highlight when the consultation ends and then keep you updated with any developments through our "Latest News" widget on the right sidebar.

From 30 November to 2 December, we will be putting the finishing touches to our new website.

While we carry out the necessary changes to our old site we're giving you a sneak preview of our new look. This new site features all the same, regularly updated content of our old site, but adds a lot of extra functionality on top.

We hope you will take this opportunity to familiarise yourself with the new site, and once the transition is complete all of your favourites and preferences will be waiting for you.

If you would like to find out more about our new site and the improvements we have made, take a look at our news story.

Watchdogs have issued a safety warning after seizing around 700 Christmas toys from town centre street sellers.

Trading standards officers in St Helens revealed the toys, which had a combined retail value of more than £2,500, were removed from sale amid concerns that they did not comply with safety legislation and could be potentially harmful to children. They were taken from traders who tend to set up pitches on street corners. St Helens Council added that many of the items seized appeared to be illegal copies of popular brands - based on characters from Ben 10, Toy Story and Nintendo.

Councillor Alison Bacon said, "We became concerned when our Trading Standards team found the toys and their packaging did not display the important safety information required by law. I would advise anyone buying toys for children this Christmas to buy only from reputable, established retailers - who you can go back to or contact if you have any problems. As is often the case, the toys being seized were being sold at similar prices to the genuine, safety-tested ones, so could never be considered a bargain."

Professor Ragnar E Löfstedt's review into health and safety legislation has now been published.

Commissioned back in March 2011 by Employment Minister Chris Grayling, the review entitled, "Reclaiming health and safety for all: An independent review of health and safety legislation" makes various recommendations aimed at reducing the burden of unnecessary regulation on businesses while maintaining Britain's strong health and safety performance. The Government has accepted Löfstedt's recommendations, and they have been met with support from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

So what are the changes going to be, and how will they affect you?

Key recommendations

The major recommendations from the review include:

• an exemption from health and safety laws for the self-employed, where their work activities pose no risks of harm to others;
• a review by the HSE of all ACoPs by June 2012, in order to clarify what the legislation requires;
• in what will undoubtedly please the Government and the tabloid press, a recommendation that Government works more closely with the European Commission and others, particularly during the planned review of EU health and safety legislation in 2013, to make sure that both new and existing EU health and safety legislation is risk-based and evidence-based;
• a plan for the HSE to carry out a programme of sector-specific consolidations by April 2015, in a bid to address the "sheer mass of regulation";
• a change to legislation to give the HSE the authority to direct all local authority health and safety inspection and enforcement activity, in order to make sure that it is consistent and targeted towards the most risky workplaces;
• further addressing the concerns of the "compensation culture", by clarifying and re-stating the standard disclosure list and reviewing regulations which impose strict liability, by June 2013.

Legislation recommended to be revoked

The following legislation has been put forward to be revoked:

• Notification of Tower Cranes Regulations SI 2010/333 and its amendments, because they do not appear to have any quantifiable health and safety benefits;
• Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922 (Exemptions) Regulations SI 1980/1314 and the Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922 (Repeals and Modifications) Regulations SI 1974/1841, as they are no longer needed to control health and safety risks;
• Construction (Head Protection) Regulations SI 1989/2209, as they duplicate responsibilities set out in the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations SI 1992/2966.

Legislation recommended to be amended, clarified or reviewed

Recommendations were made for the following legislation to be amended, clarified or reviewed:

• Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations SI 1981/917 should be amended to remove the unnecessary requirement for the HSE to approve the training and qualifications of appointed first-aid personnel;
• Construction (Design and Management) Regulations SI 2007/320 and its associated ACoP should be revised by April 2012, to make sure there is a clearer expression of duties, a reduction of bureaucracy and appropriate guidance for small projects;
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations SI 1995/3163 and its associated guidance should be amended by December 2013, to make it clearer how businesses should comply with the requirements;
• clarification on the requirement for portable appliance testing, through changes to the Electricity at Work Regulations SI 1989/635 if necessary, by April 2012;
• Work at Height Regulations SI 2005/735 and its associated guidance should be reviewed by April 2013, to make sure the provisions do not go beyond what is either proportionate or what the legislation was originally intended to cover.

Next steps

The Government is committed to delivering the recommendations to the dates outlined below, and will work with the HSE and Government departments to develop an implementation plan.

By the summer of 2012:

• health and safety guidance for small businesses will be much simpler;
• businesses will get simple and consistent guidance from the HSE, professional bodies and insurers;
• low risk businesses that manage their responsibilities properly will no longer be visited by inspectors;
• legislation will be brought forward to abolish the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority.

By 2013:

• self-employed people whose work poses no threat to others will be exempt from health and safety law;
• revised ACoPs will give businesses clear practical examples of how to comply with the law;
• unnecessary regulations will be revoked.

By 2014:

• a simpler accident reporting regime will be in place;
• if the planned review is successfully "influenced", EU health and safety legislation will in future be risk and evidence based;
• the nuclear industry will have its own dedicated independent regulator;
• enhanced HSE powers will help drive consistent enforcement for all businesses;
• legislation will be consolidated by industry sector, making it clear which provisions businesses need to comply with;
• the total amount of legislation businesses have to comply with will be reduced by 50%.

For further information, see:

• http://cedr.ec/1o, which is the full document "Reclaiming health and safety for all: An independent review of health and safety legislation".

A Hampshire baker has been fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £300 after being found guilty of breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations SI 1998/2306 when a teenage employee had his fingers crushed in a machine.

Peter Ellis of Belinda's Bakery was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as a result of the incident that happened in November 2010. The young employee was working at a dough moulder, which has two rollers which move the dough through the machine.

Whilst working on the machine, he put his hand between the rollers and suffered crush injuries on his right hand as well as receiving cuts to his middle and index fingers. A HSE investigation revealed that the machine was not properly guarded, which meant there was no protection from access to the machines moving parts. However, immediately after the incident, Mr Ellis reinstalled the guard on the machine, as it was removed two years earlier.

HSE inspector Craig Varian said, "The risks from these types of machines are well known in the industry and this incident could have resulted in far worse injuries." He added, "Immediately following the incident Mr Ellis installed a guard which cuts the power to the machine, but had the guarding been in place the employee would not have been able to have accessed the dangerous parts of the machinery and we would not be in court today."