Section 20 of the Clean Air Act 1993 provides that where smoke is emitted from a chimney in a smoke control area and that chimney is either— a a chimney of a building; or b a chimney serving the furnace of a fixed boiler or industrial plan (not being a chimney of a building) the occupier of the building or, as the case may be, the person having possession of the boiler or plant, is guilty of an offence. It is a defence to show that the alleged emission was caused solely by the use of an authorised fuel.

These Regulations, which apply to Wales, further amend the Smoke Control Areas (Authorised Fuels) (Wales) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/3762 (W.311)) (“the 2001 Regulations”), which were earlier amended by the Smoke Control Areas (Authorised Fuels) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/3996 (W. 327)), so that Dragonglow and Dragonbrite briquettes meeting the conditions set out in regulation 2(3) are authorised fuels.

The Regulations also make miscellaneous amendments to the 2001 Regulations, and take account of the following changes— a the manufacturer has added an alternative binder to Homefire briquettes, Supertherm briquettes and Supertherm II briquettes; and b the place of manufacture of Homefire briquettes, Supertherm briquettes, Supertherm II briquettes and Thermac briquettes is now different.