The Single Electricity Market (SEM) is a whole island of Ireland market consisting of both the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and Northern Ireland (NI) as a single electricity market.

MLex: With patent litigation ever expanding—and determinations of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing rates for standard-essential patents (SEPs) becoming fractured across different courts—thoughts are turning to the real-world use of aggregate royalty depositories as a way to give prospective patent licensees more certainty over their future costs.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency: Scotland’s environmental regulator. The main role is to protect and improve the environment. SEPA is a non-departmental public body, accountable through Scottish Ministers to the Scottish Parliament. SEPA has been advising Scottish Ministers, regulated businesses, industry and the public on environmental best practice for over a decade.

Background and introduction to SEPA Following the introduction of the euro in 11 EU countries in 1999, there was a perceived gap between the service levels of domestic and cross-border retail payment systems. In September 1999, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a report on improving cross-border retail payment services (the ECB 1999 Report). The ECB 1999 Report recognised that the service level for cross-border credit transfers within the euro area was far removed from the service level for domestic credit transfers, although a single currency environment would require a Single European Payment Area (SEPA). To launch the discussion and give a clear signal to the banking and payment systems industry, the Eurosystem (comprising of the ECB and the national central banks of those countries that had adopted the euro) defined the following seven objectives for the industry to fulfil: • enhanced system(s)/services should be ready by 1 January 2002 • priority should be given to cross-border credit transfers • the price of cross-border credit transfers should decrease substantially • settlement time should be comparable for domestic

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has developed a new corporate plan to be implemented over the next three years which focuses on five strategic priorities. The five strategic priorities are: net zero, climate resilience, water environment, resource efficiency and business environmental performance. Key parts of the plan include a new integrated framework which will bring together all main regulatory regimes under a single integrated process to improve efficiency and the development of flood warning and mapping services that SEPA provides for people. The plan aims to create health and wellbeing benefits, sustainable economic growth and achieve the greatest possible environmental benefit for Scotland.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has launched a consultation on its proposed Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme (EPAS), which aims to establish a transparent framework for reporting on how businesses are meeting their environmental responsibilities. EPAS will assess the severity of environmental harm caused and the time taken to resolve non-compliance, providing a standardised rating system to evaluate business environmental performance. Additionally, it aims to replace annual assessments with real-time performance updates. SEPA has clarified that environmental performance ratings will not influence decisions regarding enforcement actions against businesses that fail to comply with legal requirements. The consultation closes on 30 June 2025.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has launched new surface water flood maps that now include small watercourses. The maps, developed in partnership with JBA Consulting, utilise updated rainfall data and climate change projections to provide a more accurate representation of areas at risk of surface water flooding during heavy rainfall in Scotland. SEPA worked alongside local authorities and other partners to integrate local insights into the development and review of the maps. SEPA's Head of Hydrology and Flooding Services, Vincent Fitzsimons, stated that the maps aim to assist communities, businesses, and local authorities better understand, prepare for, and respond to surface water flooding risks and impacts.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has opened a consultation seeking views on proposed changes to the manner in which environmental activities are regulated, in accordance with the new integrated Authorisation Framework established by the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (EASR 2018). Views are sought on the proposed authorisations that would apply to water, waste and industrial activities, with the consultation document also setting out, where necessary, an explanation on why an activity needs the kind of authorisation proposed. An indication of where a change in the regulatory approach is likely to result in a change to the current charging structure is also provided where necessary. The consultation will close on 12 April 2024.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has announced its pilot plan to tackle online adverts promoting illegal waste collection services. The pilot has identified 50-60% of businesses advertising on social media that may be breaking the law and operating without a required waste carrier licence. The pilot has removed seven social media profiles and posts from online platforms. SEPA has also outlined telltale signs of businesses operating illegal waste collection services including cheap or same day waste collection and claims that the business is 'SEPA insured' which it cannot be as SEPA do not provide insurance.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has published their 2024-25 Annual Operating Plan which sets out how they aim to protect and improve Scotland’s environment over the next 12 months. A few key areas SEPA aims to focus on include, targeting interventions to disrupt and prevent environmental crime, consulting on proposals for a new environmental performance assessment scheme, regulatory reform, improving flood warning and mapping services, implementing e-DNA and chemical screening methodology and delivering projects that restore rivers and remove or ease barriers to migratory fish.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has published its 2022-23 Annual Report. The report highlights SEPA’s actions and performance in 2022-23 including the use of their new regulatory powers to protect communities, the water environment fund and the new three-day flood forecast. The report also provides SEPA’s corporate governance report, director’s report and annual accounts.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has reported that civil penalties totalling £85,700 were served in 2023 for breaches of environmental regulation. SEPA said that the civil penalties included 13 fixed monetary penalties of £300 or £600 for offences including disposal of controlled waste by burning, breaches of water use licences relating to discharges of surface water from a construction site, discharges of sewage effluent to the water environment and failure to provide SEPA with copies of requested documents. Additionally, SEPA served a £3,500 variable monetary penalty for allowing controlled waste to be disposed of by burial without a waste management licence and a £75,000 fine under F-gas regulations.