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New Guidelines Issued by DEFRA on 15th September 2005
on Phased Approach to Burden Sharing
NOTE FROM DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS |
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Defra is aware that, because of the finite capacity of cremator and abatement equipment manufacturers, it is very unlikely to be possible to complete either of the options set out in additional guidance note AQ1(05) - i.e. burden sharing or the fall-back position of requiring the largest crematoria to be upgraded - by the specified deadline of 31 December 2012 if all crematoria that are upgrading attempt to do so in the last couple of years before the deadline. As with the improvements required during the 1990s, it will be important for the upgrading to be phased throughout the period until end-2012.
Having consulted the Federation of British Cremation Authorities, the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, the Cremation Society, the National Association of Funeral Directors, the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors, and the Association of Private Crematoria and representatives of cremator and abatement equipment manufacturers, Defra will be closely monitoring progress (eg through information from CAMEO). For the end-2012 deadline to be fully met Defra expect a phased programme of upgrades to be necessary.
Defra will be asking the relevant organisations for evidence annually of progress, will be assessing progress against the following indicative benchmarks:-
| monitoring date |
indicative benchmark (proportion of cremations subject to upgrading in order to achieve the overall 50% mercury reduction*) |
| 31 December 2006 |
- |
| 31 December 2007 |
10% |
| 31 December 2008 |
20% |
| 31 December 2009 |
40% |
| 31 December 2010 |
60% |
| 31 December 2011 |
80% |
| 31 December 2012 |
100% |
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| * for avoidance of doubt, a figure of e.g. 20% in this column means that 20% of the cremations needed to be subject to upgrading in order to reach the 50% reduction target, not 20% of all cremations |
As well as monitoring the percentage of upgrades completed, Defra will also be asking for data on what is committed (i.e. contracts signed and work programmed or begun) as a pointer towards future compliance. Defra will expect to see commitments at the end of each year which will give confidence that the benchmark specified for the end of the following year will be achieved. Thus, at the end of 2007 Defra will additionally expect to see commitments for a further 10% of cremator upgrades, and at the end of 2008 commitments for 20%. By the end of 2006 Defra will expect to see the first 10% commitments.
Defra
15 September 2005
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