Explanatory note

These Regulations extend to England and Wales but apply in relation to smoke control measures as they affect England only.

They prescribe the charges that may be made in connection with the certification of wood fuel, other solid fuels and fireplaces for the purposes of smoke control legislation that implements (in respect of England) a number of the United Kingdom’s obligations under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution 1979 and its 1999 Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone (more often referred to as the Gothenburg Protocol).

Part 2 of these Regulations prescribes charges payable to an approved wood certification body for processing an application for a certificate relating to the moisture content of wood under regulation 5(2) of the Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1095) (“the DSFS Regulations 2020”). It also prescribes charges for carrying out ongoing compliance checks in connection with that certification.

Part 3 of these Regulations prescribes charges payable to an approved manufactured solid fuel certification body for processing an application for a certificate under regulation 11(2) of the DSFS Regulations 2020 relating to the standards applicable to analysts engaged to test solid manufactured fuel for prohibited characteristics. It also prescribes charges for carrying out audits in connection with that certification.

Part 4 of these Regulations prescribes charges payable to a solid fuel assessment body for processing an application to assess a solid fuel in relation to its potential designation as an approved fuel under section 19D(4) of the Clean Air Act 1993 (c. 11).

Part 5 of these Regulations prescribes charges payable to a fireplace assessment body for processing an application to assess a fireplace in relation to its potential designation as an approved fireplace under section 19D(1) of the Clean Air Act 1993.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument because none of its provisions is within the scope of the Better Regulation Framework.