Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 - fixed penalty notice amendment: consultation

Closed 9 Jan 2025

Opened 9 Dec 2024

Contact

Product Stewardship Team

productstewardship@gov.scot

Feedback updated 21 Feb 2025

We asked

We asked for views on the proposed introduction of fixed penalty notices for offences under; 

  •  The Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, 

  • The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021,  

  • The Environmental Protection (Cotton Buds) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 and, 

  • The Environmental Protection (Microbeads) Regulations 2018. 

We sought your views on the levels at which we propose these penalties should be set, and asked for any comments in relation to other provisions in the Regulations.  

You said

We received 25 responses to this consultation. Of these, 11 responded as individuals and 14 on behalf of an organisation. Responses were primarily provided by Local Authority Trading Standards.  

An overwhelming majority of responses were supportive of the introduction of fixed penalty notices. Key points raised included extending the payment deadlines for fixed penalty notices, the introduction of an appeal mechanism for retailers if they believe an FPN was issued in error without an impact of the discount for early payment, raising the level of penalties set for fixed penalty notices, the importance of alignment with other UK nations, and the introduction of forfeiture and destruction provisions for single-use vapes supplied in contravention of the Vapes Regulations.  

We did

In response to feedback provided, we made the following changes to the Regulations: 

  • Amended the wording to remove the reference to online payments, to enable local authorities to utilise the most appropriate payment method in their area, as not all local authorities have an online payment system. 

  • Extended the payment deadlines to 14 days for discounted payments and 28 days for full payments for FPNs under the Vapes Regulations. This brings the deadlines in line with those in the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 (TMPS), which Trading Standards officers (who are also responsible for enforcing these Regulations) are experienced at enforcing and under which FPNs are regularly issued. 

  • Included provision for a direction-making power in the Vapes Regulations which will enable the Scottish Ministers to direct that single-use vapes supplied in contravention of the regulations are to be treated as waste and disposed of or treated as appropriate. This brings the Scottish Regulations in line with similar provisions in the other UK vapes regulations. 

We agreed with the importance of alignment across the UK nations with regards to enforcement, and therefore opted to keep the proposed level of penalties as are set out in the draft Regulations. 

The full government consultation response has been published on the gov.scot website: Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 - fixed penalty notice amendment consultation: response  

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

Environmental Protection (Injurious Articles) (Fixed Penalty Notices and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025: Consultation on amendments to introduce Fixed Penalty Notices for offences under the Single-use Vapes Regulations, the Single-use Plastic Products Regulations, the Cotton Buds Regulations and the Microbeads Regulations and to make other amendments to the Single-use Vapes Regulations including a change to the coming into force date

On the 18th September 2024, the Scottish Parliament approved The Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 to prohibit the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland.

We held three consultations on these Regulations during 2023 and 2024, which informed agreement to align definitions and timelines, and the need for effective enforcement. You can read the government response to these consultations at the links below:

Following enactment of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 which provides for the use of fixed penalty notices in respect of offences in regulations made under section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and in line with previous consultation responses we propose to amend the Single-use Vapes Regulations to enable enforcement officers to issue fixed penalty notices.

We propose to also take the opportunity to amend three other sets of regulations made using the powers in section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, to provide for a fixed penalty notice procedure in relation to offences under those Regulations:

  • Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021
  • Environmental Protection (Cotton Buds) (Scotland) Regulations 2019

  • Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Scotland) Regulations 2018

In line with our commitments made during the development of the Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes)(Scotland) Regulations 2025, we will also amend the coming into force date from 01 April 2025 to 01 June 2025 in order to maintain alignment across the UK and to provide certainty for businesses and consumers.

The proposed amendments also clarify that an enforcement officer may take samples of, test and take into their possession any vape or component of a vape which appears to that enforcement officer to be a single-use vape or component of a single-use vape.

This consultation invites feedback on the provisions set out in the draft Environmental Protection (Injurious Articles) (Fixed Penalty Notices and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 in general, and also poses specific questions in relation to the fixed penalty notices provisions.

Read the consultation paper here.

Useful information about responding to this consultation

As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.

Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.

On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.

After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.

A analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the Scottish Government website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us. You can also join our consulation mailing list where we regularly list newly published analysis reports (as well as new consultations).

 

Why your views matter

Your views will be used to consider any updates to the amending regulations, prior to them being laid in the Scottish Parliament

What happens next

Responses to this consultation will be analysed and used to inform any updates before the regulations are laid in the Scottish Parliament.

Interests

  • Environment and Climate Change
  • Main hub