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STV News
5 hours ago
- Business
- STV News
UK ban on single-use vapes comes into force
Single-use vapes will no longer be stocked or sold in Scotland under new legislation that has come into force. The UK-wide ban has been introduced to prevent the environmental damage disposable vapes cause and to cut their use among young people in line with government ambitions to create a tobacco-free generation by 2034. The crackdown on the devices makes it illegal for any retailer, ranging from corner shops to supermarkets, to sell them. Rogue traders who continue to sell them risk a £ 200 fine in the first instance, followed by an unlimited fine or jail time for repeat offending. An estimated 26 million disposable vapes were thrown away in Scotland in 2023. Of these, more than half were not recycled properly, and around 10% were littered. The batteries used in disposable vapes are difficult to recycle, leak harmful waste, and can cause fires in waste facilities. Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said: 'Scotland was the first nation in the UK to commit to taking action on single-use vapes. 'It's estimated that over half of disposable vapes are incorrectly disposed of each year in Scotland – creating a fire risk and littering our beautiful environment. They also contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. 'This change to the law fulfils a Programme for Government commitment and will help tackle the threat that single-use vapes pose to our environment as well as to our public health. 'We have worked closely across the four nations to ensure a consistent approach to a ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes and will continue to work with regulators regarding enforcement once in force.' STV News An estimated 26 million disposable vapes were thrown away in Scotland in 2023 STV News Moves to raise the age of sale of tobacco products and regulate the displays, flavours, and packaging of reusable vapes are being pursued separately through the four-nations Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Last year, it was estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK, the equivalent of eight being thrown away per second. There was an exponential increase in children's use of e-cigarettes in Scotland, driven by the popularity of disposable vapes, between 2018 and 2022. Data collected by Keep Scotland Beautiful highlighted that single-use vapes were the fastest-growing litter type in 2024/25. With half of people in Scotland saying sightings of the products have become more common in the past 12 months, we know that a ban will help reverse this trend. Source to Sea litter surveys carried out by Marine Conservation Society volunteers in streets, parks and beaches revealed an increase in prevalence of vapes from being recorded on 46% of surveys in Scotland in 2023 to almost all – 85% – of surveys carried out in 2024. Barry Fisher, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: 'We first became aware of the impact single-use vapes were having on our environment back in 2022 when members of the public and our volunteers were noticing them more often and asked what could be done. 'I'm proud of the effort we have made, alongside our partners, to see this product banned in Scotland – it shows what true collaboration can achieve. 'Our surveys and supporters have made it clear that this product was becoming more and more common, spoiling our environment and causing danger to wildlife. 'We are dealing with a litter emergency and the last thing we need is single-use products coming to market that can end up discarded harming our environment. This ban will help remove the fastest growing litter item from our streets, parks and beaches and is a welcome step in the right direction, but everyone must dispose of their waste in the correct way.' STV News Disposable vapes to be banned in Scotland STV News Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, said: 'We celebrate the ban of cheap recreational disposable e-cigarettes, which are the starter vaping product for most youngsters who vape, as a vital first step towards halting the alarming upsurge of children vaping in Scotland during the last few years. 'Although we warmly welcome these regulations coming into effect, government must take further, stronger actions to restrict the advertising and promotion of all e-cigarettes as well as banning vape flavours, colours, descriptors and branding on device designs and packaging to reduce the attractiveness of the products to children. 'The tobacco and nicotine industries must be halted in their attempts to attract children to use their addictive and health harming products, generating huge profits at a considerable cost to the health of our young people now and future generations.' Catherine Gemmell, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Marine Conservation Society, said volunteers found vapes on 85% of their litter surveys in 2024. She added: 'Littered vapes can leak harmful chemicals and microplastics into the environment which can find their way into our seas and pose a real risk to marine life. 'This is a great step in removing single-use products from the market. We know bans and charges like this work, having seen a decrease in things like single-use plastic bags in our litter surveys. Like so many areas of our society, we must move away from other single-use products, including plastic cigarette filters, towards a circular economy – one in which refilling and reusing is the norm, rather than throwing away and polluting our environment.' STV News is now on WhatsApp Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
The National
10 hours ago
- Business
- The National
Single-use vape ban comes into force in Scotland
From June 1, it is now illegal to sell or buy disposable vapes in the country, with only vapes considered reusable being legal. The Scottish Government, as well as the Northern Ireland Executive, had delayed the decision to outlaw the product to align with a similar ban in England and Wales. Ministers say the UK-wide ban is needed to prevent the environmental damage caused by vapes, while addressing health concerns from inhaling nicotine. READ MORE: Labour have 'given up' on by-election amid SNP-Reform contest, says John Swinney The measure will form part of the Government's plans to move towards a tobacco-free generation by 2034. An estimated 26 million disposable vapes were thrown away in Scotland in 2023. Of these, more than half were not recycled properly, while around 10% were littered. The batteries used within disposable vapes are difficult to recycle, leak harmful waste, and can cause fires in waste facilities. Moves to raise the age of sale of tobacco products and regulate the displays, flavours and packaging of reusable vapes are also being taken forward separately through the UK-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Gillian Martin, Scotland's acting Net Zero Secretary, said: 'Scotland was the first nation in the UK to commit to taking action on single-use vapes. (Image: Web) 'It's estimated that over half of disposable vapes are incorrectly disposed of each year in Scotland, creating a fire risk and littering our beautiful environment. They also contain nicotine which is highly addictive. 'This change to the law fulfils a Programme for Government commitment and will help tackle the threat that single-use vapes pose to our environment as well as to our public health. 'We have worked closely across the four nations to ensure a consistent approach to a ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes and will continue to work with regulators regarding enforcement once in force.'
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
‘We need a multi-year budget': NI housing group warns funding uncertainty could hinder efforts to address crisis
According to NIFHA, a total of 1,410 new-build homes were completed by housing associations across the region in 2024/25. It added that the completed homes, all of which are already tenanted, exceeded the target of 1,400. Construction, meanwhile, has begun on 1,504 new homes. It comes after a challenging year for housing associations, which began with projections that just 500 new-starts would be possible due to budget constraints. Chief Executive of NIFHA Seamus Leheny said: 'It is far from ideal for housing associations to operate in an environment where they do not know their budget allocation until well past the midpoint of the financial year. 'At one stage it looked like only about 500 homes would be budgeted for, but housing associations have been working hard on the ground, actively building for the future, continuing to find sites and build new homes. 'Their commitment has been instrumental in reaching this year's targets, despite the many obstacles they face.' The more recent statistics show that the number of households with homelessness status in NI continues to rise On March 31, there were 49,083 households on the social housing waiting list, with 31,719 of those households having homelessness status. Mr Leheny said that in order to address the current housing crisis, a multi-year budget is required. The Programme for Government includes a target of 5,850 new social homes by 2027, meaning more than 2,000 new-starts each year. However, officials have warned the target is unlikely to be met under current budget constraints. Current projections suggest as few as 1,000 new-starts next year without additional funding. Mr Leheny said that current budgets 'fall far short of what we need to be building to address the huge housing waiting list'. 'We need a multi-year housing budget, which gives [NIFHA] the ability to plan and construct around 2,200 homes every year,' he added. 'We have seen the NI Executive give commitment to housing in the Programme for Government, but unless we see direct support in the social housing budget and action on the wastewater issue, this commitment means little. 'There is still a lot of uncertainty ahead, including seeing how the wastewater issues are resolved, the ongoing impact of inflation on the price of materials, and the increased national insurance costs on labour.' Nicola McCrudden, CEO of Homeless Connect, said that the provision of social housing is 'fundamentally important' to public policy. 'Social housing is central to achieving so many people's main aspirations and is centrally important to addressing homelessness,' she said. 'Simply put, you cannot prevent homelessness without an adequate supply of social housing. 'Failure over several years to properly invest in new social housing, and the infrastructure required to support it, is leaving many households struggling to find an affordable home or having to stay for lengthy periods in temporary accommodation.' Ms McCrudden added that meeting the target set out in the Programme for Government will require a higher number of new housing starts each year. 'The Department for Communities has recently indicated that the initial capital allocations provided to it will only allow for up to 1,000 new social homes' she added. 'This is not enough to turn the curve on the rising need for temporary accommodation. 'We will continue to advocate for the Executive to live up to the commitment it has made to this society in the Programme for Government.' A spokesperson for the Department for Communities (DfC) said that minister Gordon Lyons 'supports the need for multi-year budgets, which would allow some clarity of funding'. They added: 'DfC received an allocation of £100m specifically for the Social Housing Development Programme. 'This is being used to fund commitments carried into the 2025/26 financial year, of £105m from schemes that commenced in previous years. 'In addition, the minister has allocated over 80% of his remaining available capital funding to new-builds, with a further allocation of £63m.'
Edinburgh Reporter
2 days ago
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Plans for Winchburgh station to be ‘lodged imminently'
Plans for the new Winchburgh Railway station will come before West Lothian councillors within months. The business case for development of the station is near completion and designs are ready to go to planning consent. A report to councillors, set to go before a meeting of West Lothian's Executive on Tuesday, says: 'It is anticipated that a planning application (likely to be an application for matters specified in conditions) is expected to be submitted to the council as planning authority imminently.' That means the principle of the station has already been accepted; only details have to be agreed. The station could be operational by the end of the decade. The report said: 'On 6 May the First Minister set out the Scottish Government's Programme for Government for 2025-26. The programme makes specific reference to a railway station at Winchburgh in the section on A Safe Sustainable Transport System for Scotland.' That says funding should be considered for the new station. Network Rail is set to lodge the planning application. The station cost is estimated at between £20.5 million and £22 million. The report details: 'An additional stop at Winchburgh has already been incorporated within the timetable for the Edinburgh – Dunblane service and this has no timetabling impacts on the Edinburgh- Falkirk High – Glasgow timetable.' The design will incorporate an initial 100 space car park with room for expansion. The reports adds: 'Modelling of the station forecasts around 625 passengers boarding per day at Winchburgh in 2030, increasing to 768 in 2045. 'In the morning peak hour there will be around 80 passengers travelling towards Edinburgh and an estimated 50 towards Stirling. This will equate to an increase of around 10% in rail usage on the Stirling to Edinburgh rail service. 'Winchburgh passenger demand is forecast to grow by around 20% between 2030-45. There is likely to be a 20-25% reduction in bus patronage when the station opens but this loss will be recovered as the housing development is built out.' As a comparison passenger usage at nearby railway stations shows Linlithgow has 1,400 passengers a day and Uphall with 650. Only Falkirk High, with 1,100 passengers comes close to Linlithgow, with passenger numbers in the hundreds at Polmost and Falkirk Grahamston. A steering group, which includes the lead developer, Winchburgh Developments, Transport Scotland, Network Rail, SEStran, ScotRail, the City Region Deal and the council, has been meeting monthly for around a year now and 'good progress is being made'. The steering group reports to a stakeholder group comprising MSPs and elected members from the council together with members of the steering group. The next meeting of the stakeholder group has been confirmed for later this month. With the business case complete and designs ready funding has to be secured. Current costs are based on 2027 estimates. By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Live
2 days ago
- Business
- Edinburgh Live
New West Lothian railway station plans 'imminent' amid hope it could open by 2030
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Plans for the new Winchburgh railway station will come before West Lothian councillors within months. The business case for development of the station is near completion and designs are ready to go to planning consent. A report to councillors, set to go before a meeting of West Lothian's Executive on Tuesday, says: 'It is anticipated that a planning application (likely to be an application for matters specified in conditions) is expected to be submitted to the council as planning authority imminently.' That means the principle of the station has already been accepted; only details have to be agreed. The station could be operational by the end of the decade. The report said: 'On 6 May the First Minister set out the Scottish Government's Programme for Government for 2025-26. The programme makes specific reference to a railway station at Winchburgh in the section on A Safe Sustainable Transport System for Scotland.' That says funding should be considered for the new station. Network Rail is set to lodge the planning application. The station cost is estimated at between £20.5 million and £22 million. The report details: 'An additional stop at Winchburgh has already been incorporated within the timetable for the Edinburgh – Dunblane service and this has no timetabling impacts on the Edinburgh- Falkirk High – Glasgow timetable.' The design will incorporate an initial 100 space car park with room for expansion. The reports adds: 'Modelling of the station forecasts around 625 passengers boarding per day at Winchburgh in 2030, increasing to 768 in 2045. 'In the morning peak hour there will be around 80 passengers travelling towards Edinburgh and an estimated 50 towards Stirling. This will equate to an increase of around 10% in rail usage on the Stirling to Edinburgh rail service. 'Winchburgh passenger demand is forecast to grow by around 20% between 2030-45. There is likely to be a 20-25% reduction in bus patronage when the station opens but this loss will be recovered as the housing development is built out.' As a comparison passenger usage at nearby railway stations shows Linlithgow has 1,400 passengers a day and Uphall with 650. Only Falkirk High, with 1,100 passengers comes close to Linlithgow, with passenger numbers in the hundreds at Polmost and Falkirk Grahamston. A steering group, which includes the lead developer, Winchburgh Developments, Transport Scotland, Network Rail, SEStran, ScotRail, the City Region Deal and the council, has been meeting monthly for around a year now and 'good progress is being made'. The steering group reports to a stakeholder group comprising MSPs and elected members from the council together with members of the steering group. The next meeting of the stakeholder group has been confirmed for later this month. With the business case complete and designs ready funding has to be secured. Current costs are based on 2027 estimates.
