Coronavirus update: UK waste management sector（Part 2）

Regulation and Compliance

20.04.20 Environment Agency: Information about billing and payments during the Coronavirus pandemic (preceeding text should be a hyperlink to the letter)
The Environment Agency has issued a letter [link] to its regulatory stakeholders regarding flexibility related to charges and payments during the Coronavirus pandemic. Acknowledging the challenging conditions that businesses are facing, the letter states:

“This week we start the billing of our customers for their annual permit/licence and other charges. We need to receive this income to pay for our activities which protect the environment and people and safeguard National Infrastructure.

We absolutely recognise the added strain which coronavirus is putting on businesses and have written to all our bill paying customers to invite them to contact us to discuss payment options if they will experience difficulties in paying in a timely manner.”

09.04.20 The Environment Agency: Coronavirus: Message to Regulatory Stakeholders

The Environment Agency has issued a letter to its regulatory stakeholders outlining how it plans to carry out its regulatory duties to protect people and the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.   It also includes details of the link for all the current and future Covid-19 related Regulatory Position Statements https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/covid-19-regulatory-positionstatements

21.04.20 Reporting for installations, radioactive substances and waste permits: RPS C10

Information on when you can delay submitting data, reports and other records required by your environmental permit because of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions.

20.04.20 Environment Agency Regulatory Positions

Two further regulatory position statements have been released by the Environment Agency:

14-17.04.20 Environment Agency Regulatory Positions

There have been a number of regulatory position statements released this week by the Environment Agency:

14.04.20 Natural Resources Wales issues a regulatory decision on waste storage

Regulatory Decision ‘RBB-C19-017: Coronavirus response – exceeding waste storage limits at permitted sites’ relates to the temporary exceedance of specified waste storage limits at permitted sites. Prior agreement with the regulator must be in place for this Regulatory Decision to apply, and it will not apply where there are existing non-compliances which pre-date the UK COVID-19 pandemic.

07.04.20 Environment Agency issues an RPS on exceeding waste storage limits at permitted sites

The Environment Agency has issued a regulatory position statement Exceeding waste storage limits at permitted sites because of COVID-19: RPS C2 on when you can temporarily store more waste than your permit allows during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. If conditions in the RPS are followed waste storage conditions can be exceeded without a permit variation.

03.04.20 Natural Resources Wales COVID-19 Regulatory Decisions:

These Regulatory Decisions extend to Wales only and will be published on the NRW website in the near future, along with further information on our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

02.04.20 Scottish Environment Protection Agency COVID-19 – Waste Management

SEPA has issued a regulatory Position Statement covering Duty of Care transfer notes, hazardous waste compliance, and Transfrontier Shipment of Waste paperwork. It also underlines the importance of operators discussing any compliance issues they might face with SEPA as soon as possible and recognises some of the common issues/matters likely to be faced by licensed and permitted site operators. This is a live document and will be updated next week.

TCM attendance during COVID-19 restrictions

  • We understand that many operators will be concerned about how they can satisfy attendance requirements whilst sites are running on reduced staffing levels and staff may well be ill or self-isolating. We will be pragmatic in our approach.
  • There is still a requirement to have a technically competent person as a requirement of the permit.
  • The TCM attendance hours are within the guidance on GOV.UK and they are an indication that site activities are in being overseen by a technically competent manager.
  • Where the TCM is self-isolating or sick and cannot attend the site. The operator should be able and capable of operating the plant or site safely through both their EMS and operations training.
  • Operators should:
  • Review their training and capability structure to ensure roles, responsibilities and accident plans are in place and reviewed to ensure that they are fit for purpose.
  • Ensure that remote systems are operational. Alarms systems where required, are fully operational.
  • Have a responsive duty roster to respond to incidents.
  • Notify us here the site cannot be safely monitored.
  • Record if their nominated TCM(s) are self-isolating in the site diary.

Difficulties in taking Continuing Competence tests

In view of Pearson Vue test centres now being closed and Continuing Competence tests not currently available and until the current Governments advice changes, we will not regard the failure to complete a continuing competence assessment that becomes due after 16 March as being a failure to comply with the  Wamitab Technical Competence scheme. If this applies to you or your Technically Competence Manager, please contact your EA local area team or account manager technical lead and Wamitab as soon as possible.

25.03.20 Latest update on EPOC courses

Environmental Permit Operators Certificate (EPOC) courses for March and April have been cancelled. Anyone booked on a cancelled courses will be accommodated on future courses and can use their booking confirmation/ rearrangement confirmations to “demonstrate intent” to take the course to the regulator.

Bookings are still being taken for May onwards and again booking confirmation is sufficient at the moment for the regulator. If these courses cannot go ahead, CIWM will keep a record of anyone who registers an interest in wanting to book a course as soon as the current situation allows.

The regulator will be provided with this list as a demonstration of the intent are anyone needing to complete an EPOC qualification as part of their demonstration of Technical Competence.

Business support schemes and announcements

17.04.20 Government extends Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

The Government has extended the Job Retention Scheme by one month until the end of June to allow more firms to protect jobs during the pandemic. Full details of the scheme are available here.

  • CIWM webinar recording Working through COVID-19 covers topics including the Job Retention Scheme and changes to Right To Work checks

02.04.20 Additional business support from Welsh Government

In addition to the range of business support measures already announced by UK and Welsh Governments, including £1.4 billion to support Welsh businesses dealing with the coronavirus impact, Welsh Government has also announced a new £500 million fund aimed at supporting those firms who would not qualify from previously announced support packages.

The new £100m Development Bank of Wales fund will be available for companies who are experiencing cash flow problems as a result of the pandemic and will provide loans of between £5,000 and £250,000 at favourable interest rates. Businesses will also be able to benefit from a £400m emergency pot providing:

  • Grants of £10,000 for micro-businesses employing up to nine people.
  • Grants of up to £100,000 for small and medium sized firms with between 10 and 249 employees.
  • Support for larger Welsh companies, which are of critical social or economic importance to Wales.

More details on the £500 million Economic Resilience Fund can be found here.

02.04.20 HMRC letter on business support measures and Landfill Tax operational flexibility

Further detail has become available on the Government’s package of business support measures and changes that have been made to some of these measures in recent days. A round up of the measures circulated to businesses and organisations in a letter from HMRC, which states:

“1. Package to support public services, people and businesses  

The Chancellor has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19. This includes a package of measures to support businesses including:

  • a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
  • deferring VAT and Income Tax payments
  • a Self-employment Income Support Scheme
  • a Statutory Sick Pay relief package for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs)
  • a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England
  • small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief
  • grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
  • the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank
  • a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans
  • the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme”

Further details of the package can be found here

HMRC has also set up a dedicated phone helpline to support businesses and self-employed people concerned about not being able to pay their tax due to coronavirus (COVID-19 on 0800 0159 559. For those who are unable to pay due to coronavirus, HMRC will discuss specific circumstances to explore options including agreeing an instalment arrangement, suspending debt collection proceedings, cancelling penalties and interest where you have administrative difficulties contacting or paying HMRC immediately.

  1. Available Landfill Tax operational flexibility

The letter states:

“We are aware that coronavirus (COVID-19) is likely to have an operational impact on landfill sites. We have been discussing potential impacts with our customers and, based on these discussions, have provided clarification on available operational flexibility. 

2.1 Weighbridges

If you are using a weighbridge to calculate Landfill Tax then in order to cut down on the handling of documentation it will not be necessary for weighbridge tickets to be signed by both the landfill site operator and the customer. 

If you have a weighbridge and as a result of disruptions caused by Covid-19 it becomes impractical for this to be used, you can use an alternative method of calculating the weight. Section 9 of Excise Notice LFT1 specifies three alternative methods that can be used for sites without a weighbridge, and you may temporarily use one or a mixture of these, or instead can propose a bespoke method that will produce a fair and reasonable calculation of weight. 

You must notify us via email if you intend to temporarily adopt one of the specified alternative methods for calculating the weight of material outlined in the published guidance. If you propose to use a bespoke method then you will need to seek prior agreement from HMRC.

Whatever method you adopt you should return to using the weighbridge to calculate Landfill Tax as soon as is practicable.”

2.2 Qualifying fines and Loss on Ignition tests

 For Landfill Tax purposes, fines are particles produced by a waste treatment process that involves an element of mechanical treatment. 

For fines to be treated as qualifying fines for the lower rate of landfill tax certain conditions, as set out in Section 6 of Excise Notice LFT1 must be met. This includes pre-acceptance checks and on receipt at the landfill site visual inspection and a Loss on Ignition testing regime.

While landfill sites are able to remain open to receive material, we would expect landfill site operatives to be able to continue carrying out visual inspections and collecting samples in line with the published guidance contained within the Excise Notice LFT1.

However, we recognise that disruption to couriers may delay the delivery of samples to laboratories, who may themselves take longer than usual to carry out tests due to staff availability. Landfill site operators should look to demonstrate that samples have been submitted for testing in as timely a manner as possible. Landfill site operators should also look to demonstrate that appropriate action is taken by the landfill site operator upon receipt of results. 

The requirement for Loss on Ignition retests to be carried out within a period of 21 days of the date of disposal of the material will be relaxed. If, as a result of the potential disruptions caused by Covid-19, you are unable to get the retest processed within this time frame, then this should be carried out as soon as is reasonably possible and you should retain evidence to demonstrate this.

If you have any further queries regarding landfill tax flexibility available in this period of disruption caused by Covid-19 please contact alan.jones1@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk or helen.horton@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk, or in the case of large businesses, your Customer Compliance Manager.”

Public sector procurement support for suppliers

Procurement in exceptional circumstances: England, Wales and Northern Ireland

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015, with some fairly minor exceptions, apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland but not to Scotland.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 r32(2)(c) provides guidance on the specific cases and circumstances where contracting authorities may award public contracts by a negotiated procedure without prior publication.

One of the situations where this is allowed is where “for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with”. In addition, the regulations state “the circumstances invoked to justify extreme urgency must not in any event be attributable to the contracting authority”.

In England: the recently issued Information Note PPN 01/20 Responding to COVID-19 states that “in these exceptional circumstances, authorities may need to procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency. Authorities are permitted to do this using regulation 32(2)(c) under the Public Contract Regulations 2015”.

In Wales:  Information Note PPN 01/20 Responding to COVID-19 also applies to Welsh local authorities

In Northern Ireland:  No Procurement Guidance Note (PGN) analogous to PPN 01/20 has yet been issued. The latest PGN published is PGN 01/20 – https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/publications/pgn-0120-supplier-relief-due-covid-19

Scotland

Scottish Government has issued an policy note on public procurement during the COVID-19 crisis, Scottish Policy Note SPPN 4/2020, which lays out a set range of circumstances under which urgent procurement may be used:

  • call off contract from an existing framework agreement/Dynamic Purchasing System
  • modification of an existing contract
  • new procurement procedure – using accelerated timescales
  • direct award of a new contract
  • contract awarded under the light-touch regime
  • using the small lots option available in the regulations

Full guidance is provided in the policy note in respect of the steps that should be followed by Local Authority in exercising urgent procurement measures for each of the above and the legislative basis for the advice contained within the policy note is found in The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. The relevant provisions are very similar to those contained in the regulations in England, as they also derive from European Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement:

r33 (1)(c) of the 2015 Regulations:

“where (but only if it is strictly necessary) for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for open procedure, restricted procedure or competitive procedure with negotiation cannot be complied with”

r33(3) of the 2015 Regulations:

“For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), the circumstances invoked to justify extreme urgency must not, in any event, be attributable to the contracting authority”.

CIWM is advised that all of these tests should be considered carefully by parties to an emergency procurement process to avoid subsequent challenge – clearly, the longer the pandemic lasts, the less likely it will be that the events could be construed as “unforeseeable”.

By contrast to the position in England, lower-value contracts (£50,000 goods/services £2,000,000 works, per the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014) are also regulated, by the Procurement (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

R6(1)(c) of the 2016 Regulations provides that:

“where (but only if it is strictly necessary) for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the authority considers it must proceed to award a contract without delay”, a contracting authority may award a public contract without seeking offers in relation to the proposed contract (provided also that the circumstances invoked to justify extreme urgency are not attributable to the LA).

This allows for expedited provision of low-value contracts, a position which is reflected by the Scottish Policy Note.
20.03.03 Policy Procurement Guidance from Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office has published a Procurement Policy Note Action Note PPN 02/20 providing guidance for public bodies on payment of their suppliers to ensure service continuity during and after the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Transport and logistics

30.03.20 Department for Transport letter: Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Essential Work of the Logistics Sector

A letter has been sent to the Road Haulage Association and Freight Transport Association by the Department for Transport outlining that it considers it essential that the work of the logistics sector should continue to the greatest extent possible through the Covid-19 crisis.

20.03.20 Driving tests and MOTs for heavy vehicles suspended for up to 3 months

Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency has suspended MOT testing and suspended driver testing except for those working in critical sectors. More information here.