Member

The noble Earls, Lord Caithness, Lord Leicester and Lord Shrewsbury, have raised that this statutory instrument does not include a full impact assessment. However, this is in line with the Better Regulation Framework guidance, as the net impact on business has been assessed as being below the necessary threshold of plus or minus £10 million equivalent annual net direct cost to business. Defra did produce a less detailed but proportionate assessment of the regulatory impacts, which self-certified that the measure is below the de minimis threshold and therefore met the de minimis exception for a full impact assessment. It is worth stating that Defra estimates that the annual cost to business will likely be between £589,000 and £1.2 million for year 1, taking into account the initial capital spend required for sites that wish to adjust their operations away from burning. Annual costs are expected to decrease thereafter.