Restrictions on air pollution from combustion plants and generators were passed by parliament this week, as the government continues to take action against poor air quality.

Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK, and currently unregulated medium sized combustion plants (MCPs) and generators, commonly used to heat hospitals, hotels, offices, prisons and other large buildings as well as powering some industries, are a significant source of pollution.

A statutory instrument was debated and passed in the house of Commons and House of Lords on Monday and will come into force shortly, implementing a new Medium Combustion Plant Directive.

However, the government is going even further by introducing additional domestic emission controls on generators to tackle pollution from small scale, flexible generators which not covered by the Directive but are highly polluting and have been increasingly used in recent years.

The new regulations are expected to provide 43% of the sulphur dioxide emissions reduction, 9% of the reduction for particulate matter, and 22% of the nitrogen oxides emissions reduction needed to meet the UK’s 2030 targets.

Environment Minister Therese Coffey said:

Air pollution has improved significantly since 2010, but we recognise there is more to do which is why we have put in place a £3.5billion plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions.

These regulations will help deliver further substantial reductions in emissions, while minimising the impact on energy security and costs to businesses. Poor air quality affects public health, the economy, and the environment, which is why we are determined to do more, and later this year we will publish a comprehensive clean air strategy which will set out further steps to tackle air pollution.

These regulations will require new medium combustion plants to reduce emissions from 20 December 2018 and existing medium combustion plants from 2025 or 2030, depending on their size – larger plants must comply sooner than smaller plants.

Additionally, newer generators will need to comply with a nitrogen oxides emissions limit from 1st January 2019. Older generators, operating prior to December 2016, and those providing certain services to the National Grid will need to comply from a later date, depending on their size, emissions, operating hours, duration of their agreements with National Grid and whether they sign up to new agreements.

Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said:

Breathing in toxic pollutants increases all our chances of getting lung cancer, it can worsen symptoms for people who have a lung condition and it can stunt the growth of children’s lungs. We therefore welcome these restrictions on generators that will see a reduction in the invisible but deadly pollutants harming our health.

We need action on all sources of pollution, from traffic emissions to generators, if we are truly going to clean up the air in our towns and cities.

UK healthcare innovation in action: the Hamlyn Centre at Imperial College London is pioneering brain computer interface technologies to improve complex skills training.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) today (24 January 2018) announced that just over 3 million customers are yet to complete their 2016 to 2017 returns with only one week to go before the 31 January deadline.

As of today, around 8 million people have filed their Self Assessment return for 2016 to 2017. HMRC is reminding customers that if you send your tax return late, you will receive a £100 penalty – even if you do not owe any tax. The longer you delay, the more you will have to pay.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC Director General of Customer Services, said:

The 7-day countdown to 31 January has now begun. Put a stop to that niggling feeling and do your Self Assessment now. Our helpful online services offer support and advice, so you can complete your tax return quicker than you think.

The deadline for sending 2016 to 2017 Self Assessment tax returns to HMRC, and paying any tax owed, is 31 January 2018.

Self Assessment customers can now also submit their return through their personal tax account. It takes 5 minutes to sign up for a personal tax account. If you think you won’t be able to submit your tax return by 31 January, please ring us, so we can help you.

1. If you are submitting your 2016 to 2017 Self Assessment return online for the first time, you will need to register for Self Assessment Online. It can take a few days for the registration to arrive in the post, so it’s important that customers do it as soon as possible. They should contact HMRC for support if they’re concerned about missing the deadline.
2. Help is available from the GOV.UK website or from the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310.
3. The penalties for late tax returns are:
   • an initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay or if the tax due is paid on time
   • after 3 months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900
   • after 6 months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due, or £300, whichever is greater
   • after 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater.
4. There are additional penalties for paying late of 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months.
5. An audio clip of Angela MacDonald’s statement is available from the press office.
6. Follow HMRC’s press office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice.
7. See HMRC’s Flickr channel.

Press contacts

Patrick O’Brien Tel: 03000 585 024 Email: patrick.o’brien@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Tom Channon Tel: 03000 585 020 Email: thomas.channon@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Out of hours Tel: 07860 359544

Thank you Mr President,

When I heard Russia had called today for an urgent meeting on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, I was glad that we could return to an issue on which this Council has a duty to ensure that those responsible are held to account.

That duty is even more pressing today, because yet another heinous attack on civilians was reported yesterday to the Council by the UN Secretariat. In this attack on Douma, in Eastern Ghouta, at least 21 civilians were treated with symptoms consistent with chlorine exposure. This follows a further reported attack on Eastern Ghouta on 13 January affecting six people.

Mr President,

In 2016 the Joint Investigative Mechanism found in three cases that the Syrian regime had used chlorine gas to attack civilians. Last year, it found the regime had used Sarin in Khan Sheikhoun. Now, as the regime are escalating their attacks on eastern Ghouta in an attempt to force the besieged opposition to surrender, we remain deeply concerned by continued reports of chemical weapons use in Syria.

In all this let us not forget that it was the regime’s attack on Eastern Ghouta using Sarin in 2013 that led to this Council adopting resolution 2118, which had the clear, unanimously endorsed aim of disarming Syria of its chemical weapons programme.

Throughout this process Russia has claimed to act as a leading power, a guarantor. But when the Assad regime deliberately ignored its obligation to stop using chemical weapons and continued to do so with such careless disregard for civilian life, Russia has chosen to abuse its power of veto to protect the Assad regime.

Russia says that they supported the renewal of the JIM mandate and that it was the rest of us who could not agree with their terms that killed it. Yet their previous resolution would have removed the JIM’s ability to investigate the Assad regime, which has been found responsible for multiple attacks. Russia has made clear several times they will not support a new investigative mechanism as long as it has the power to hold to account a Member State of the United Nations. And it seems from my rapid reading of the latest text that this proposal is another attempt to shift attention onto non-state actors. The Russians have even claim that Syria is a signatory in good standing of the Chemical Weapons Convention. They are not. They have not completed their declaration. The OPCW has repeatedly warned of inconsistencies, gaps and omissions. Russia has great influence over the Assad regime. For the sake of the Syrian people, for the sake of preventing future use of chemical weapons, we call on Russia to persuade their Syrian friends to get rid of their chemical weapons and comply fully with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

By ending the JIM, Russia also stopped the mechanism’s investigations of Daesh chemical attacks – the investigators had found that these terrorists had carried out at least two such attacks. We unreservedly condemn Daesh for its use of these vile weapons, which is yet another reason why we need to defeat these terrorists once and for all.

Mr President,

The UK was proud to join the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons led by our French colleagues today in Paris. The use of chemical weapons is barbaric, illegal under international law and must stop. We must ensure we re-establish a mechanism to ensure accountability. We all know where the obstacle to that lies. In response, we will only redouble our efforts to pursue accountability for these crimes.

Thank you Mr President.

Thank you Mr President,

I would also like to thank the Secretary-General for this comprehensive report on the situation in Mali and Jean-Pierre for so clearly setting out the report’s findings during your briefing. And I’d also like to welcome Minister Koulibaly here to the Council today.

Mr President, let me start by echoing the words of my Ethiopian colleague and welcoming the absence of violence between the signatory parties in Mali during this reporting period.

These conditions provide the best chance for the successful implementation of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. We commend all parties for their continued commitment to the definitive cessation of hostilities and urge them to remain committed.

The United Kingdom strongly supports the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement and the ongoing dialogue between the parties. We welcome the adoption of a revised timetable at the meeting of the Comité de Suivi de l’Accord last week.

We strongly encourage all parties to reaffirm their commitment to the Agreement and to work together to implement the outstanding actions, as outlined by them, in the latest timetable, as soon as possible.

It’s now been over two and a half years since the Agreement was signed. We, like many other Council members, are frustrated by the lack of meaningful substantive progress made in implementing the Agreement.

We urge all parties to speed up the implementation of the Agreement. The Malian people’s patience is not infinite and it is incumbent on all parties to deliver in good faith on the commitments they made in the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.

We welcome the appointment and participation of the independent observer, the Carter Centre, in the Agreement Monitoring Committee. We hope that this will lead to greater accountability for the delays in implementation.

We will work with the international community to identify those who seek to block or prevent the full implementation of the Peace Agreement which now constitutes a basis for sanctions designations.

Elections are crucial to delivering on the promise of decentralisation in Mali, and are central to the Peace Agreement. It is disappointing that local elections have been delayed. It is crucial that credible and fair local, presidential and parliamentary elections are delivered in 2018.

Mr President, while we recognise that the best route to long-term stability in Mali is through the implementation of the Peace Agreement, the security situation today remains poor and stabilisation of this region is urgent. The UK is taking action in three ways to provide stability.

First, as the Prime Minister announced last week, we will be deploying three British Chinook helicopters to the Sahel, and we will continue the support we offer through our heavy lift transport aircraft, increasing the ability of French troops to manoeuvre efficiently in their battle against extremists.

Second, the UK will provide an additional $70 million in aid to the region, including lifesaving humanitarian support for hundreds of thousands of people affected by epidemics, natural disasters and conflict.

And third, we will continue to support MINUSMA and its mandate to support implementation of the Peace Agreement, including the redeployment of reformed and reconstituted Malian defence and security forces and the protection of civilians. We look forward to the upcoming strategic review of MINUSMA which will be crucial to set the future direction of peacekeeping support to Mali.

We also reiterate our support for the G5 Sahel Joint Force and its objectives of tackling terrorism, organised crime, people smuggling and human trafficking in the region. We welcome the support of the international community in pledging funding to this initiative.

We recognise the importance of MINUSMA’s technical and logistical support to the G5 Joint Force in assisting it to get up to full capacity, and we encourage the swift implementation of a technical agreement to enable this. We also reiterate the calls of the Security Council for implementation of a robust human rights compliance framework by the G5 Sahel Joint Force.

We recall, however, that the G5 Sahel was not created solely as a military force and that there is no exclusive military solution to insecurity in the cross-border regions. G5 cooperation with MINUSMA on development and humanitarian efforts will be crucial.

Mr President, in conclusion, we welcome the positive steps made since the last Council session, including the reduction in violence. But now is the time to see meaningful progress, and actions, to implement the Peace Agreement. This is the only way to achieve lasting peace and security Mali and the region.

Thank you.