Browse regulations

This Order appoints named individuals as His Majesty's Inspectors of Education, Children's Services and Skills, effective 16th February 2023. It is a purely administrative appointment mechanism that brings into effect personnel decisions already contemplated by existing legislation establishing the inspection framework.

This Order merely fills established positions within an existing inspection framework that Parliament has already authorised. The costs Britons bear arise from the underlying inspection regime (Ofsted, etc.), not from this appointment Order itself. Deleting this Order would simply leave inspector positions vacant, producing no regulatory relief while potentially disrupting oversight of education and children's services that Parliament has already mandated. The appointment mechanism itself imposes no additional regulatory burden—it is purely mechanical.

A Local Government Boundary Commission for England order that makes minor adjustments to East Cambridgeshire district ward boundaries by transferring part of Burrough Green parish from Woodditton ward to Bottisham ward, consequential to a 2022 Community Governance Order.

This is a routine administrative boundary adjustment necessary for the functioning of local electoral administration. Without such orders, ambiguity over ward boundaries would create confusion in local governance, voter registration, and councillor representation. The adjustment is minor, imposes no economic costs, and simply ensures administrative clarity following a prior community governance reorganization. Britons would be worse off without it as it prevents the administrative dysfunction that would arise from unclear electoral boundaries.

These 2023 Regulations amend NHS Charges and Pharmaceutical Services regulations to: (1) create an HRT-only pre-payment certificate (HRT only PPC) at £18.70 for 12 months, exempting listed HRT prescription items from NHS prescription charges; (2) allow pharmacists and dispensing doctors to refuse HRT items on mixed prescriptions where patients claim HRT exemption; (3) require HRT items to be ordered on separate prescription forms; (4) establish information-sharing mechanisms via prescribing software for medicine supply shortages; (5) exempt charges when patients receive smaller quantities under Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs).

The HRT PPC scheme imposes government-set price controls that distort pharmaceutical market signals and create administrative complexity with two parallel certificate systems. The restriction forcing HRT items onto separate prescription forms creates unnecessary clinical friction and delays treatment. The blanket disclosure exemptions for shortage information (section 264B overrides) privilege Secretary of State coordination over commercial confidentiality in ways that could discourage voluntary market transparency. While women with menopause symptoms may face genuine financial hardship, the root cause is NHS monopoly pricing power, not solved by yet another subsidy mechanism layered on top. These interventions address symptoms of state control rather than the underlying regulatory architecture that inflates drug costs and restricts patient choice.

These Regulations designate members of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary as authorized persons to exercise maritime enforcement powers under sections 84(3)(g) and 96(3)(e) of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, extending these powers to England, Wales, and Scotland. They came into force on 15th March 2023.

These regulations do not create new regulatory burdens on businesses or restrict economic activity. They merely designate existing trained and authorized police officers (the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, which already guards civil nuclear sites and transports) to exercise maritime enforcement powers that are already established in primary legislation. Deleting this would create a security gap for nuclear material transport and maritime nuclear site protection, leaving Britons worse off from a public safety standpoint. The regulation imposes no costs on trade, enterprise, or private individuals — it is an operational specification for which trained officers may exercise already-legislated powers.

These Regulations bring into operation a revised code of practice for law enforcement officers when making arrests under section 90 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (maritime enforcement powers). The code provides procedural guidance on the proper exercise of these powers and extends to England and Wales, effective 15th March 2023.

This regulation does not itself confer powers but provides a code of practice guiding the proper exercise of powers already granted in primary legislation. Deleting it would remove procedural safeguards for citizens during maritime arrests without eliminating the underlying powers, potentially leading to greater arbitrariness, unlawful conduct, and costly legal challenges. The regulation imposes no economic burden or market restriction; it is administrative guidance that protects both citizens and law enforcement by clarifying proper procedure.

Temporary amendment to the Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations 1999, reducing the required number of school sessions for the 2022-2023 academic year from 380 to 376 sessions. Came into force 15th March 2023.

This regulation is time-limited to the 2022-2023 school year, which has now passed, making it obsolete. It represents the kind of ad-hoc governmental intervention in school management that should be avoided — rather than establishing clear, permanent principles for handling disruptions, Parliament resorted to one-time numerical adjustments. If schools need flexibility around session requirements during future disruptions, such flexibility should be achieved through general principles or delegated authority to local administrators, not through bespoke statutory instruments for specific years. Keeping this regulation serves no ongoing purpose and adds unnecessary legislative clutter.

These Regulations designate specific areas (listed in Schedule 1) for special non-domestic rating treatment, effective from 1st April 2023 for 25 years. They establish rules in Part 1 of Schedule 2 for calculating the proportion of a billing authority's non-domestic rating income attributable to designated areas. Critically, these calculated proportions are then disregarded for purposes of distributing business rates income between billing authorities, major precepting authorities, and the Secretary of State under Schedule 7B arrangements (central share payments, levy payments, safety net payments, etc.).

This regulation perpetuates a politically-directed, bureaucratically complex business rates system that distorts property markets. By designating specific areas for preferential treatment over a 25-year period, it creates artificial advantages for selected locations based on political judgment rather than market forces. The complicated carve-outs from standard Schedule 7B distribution mechanisms introduce additional complexity and uncertainty into local government finance. Business rates themselves are a distortionary tax on commercial property that should be abolished rather than reinforced through specialized exemptions. This regulation locks in interventionist regional policy rather than promoting the competitive, market-driven approach that made Britain great.

This Order dissolves the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and transfers all its functions, property, rights and liabilities to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. It also amends various provisions in the Transport Acts 1968, 1985, and 2000, and Railways Act 2005 to reflect this transfer, removing certain reporting requirements, approval requirements (such as Authority approval for land disposal), and other procedural obligations in the combined area.

This order consolidates public transport functions into a larger bureaucratic structure, removing competitive governance mechanisms. The amendments strip out oversight requirements including Authority approval for land disposals, joint reporting obligations, and various procedural checks originally designed to prevent abuse of monopoly position. While the stated aim is administrative rationalisation, the effect is to concentrate transport planning under a single regional authority with fewer checks, reducing accountability and removing incentives for efficiency that competition between bodies provided. The dissolution of a specialized transport executive in favour of a combined authority model represents governance consolidation rather than liberalisation.

These 2023 Regulations require 'relevant intermediaries' (such as heat network operators) in the energy supply chain to pass through government Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme benefits to end users. They mandate just and reasonable pass-through calculations, detailed notification requirements within 30 days, and allow end users to recover unpaid amounts as civil debt with interest. The regulations apply to England, Wales, and Scotland.

These regulations impose comprehensive bureaucratic compliance requirements on energy intermediaries, forcing them to act as administrators of government energy subsidies. The mandatory notification duties, calculation methodologies for 'just and reasonable' pass-through amounts, and prescribed tariff adjustment mechanisms add significant compliance costs without adding value to the economy. The civil debt recovery and interest provisions create a coercive framework that distorts commercial relationships. While the AFP scheme itself represents government intervention in energy markets, these regulations compound that intervention by codifying exactly how subsidies must flow through supply chains, restricting freedom of contract, and creating a quasi-regulatory relationship between intermediaries and end users. Deletion would restore market freedom to intermediaries and end users to negotiate arrangements freely.

Technical amendments to Tax Credits and Child Benefit regulations, including: (1) adding transition profits reference for 2023-24 basis periods reform, (2) incorporating Scottish carer's assistance into Working Tax Credit eligibility, (3) simplifying Child Benefit evidence requirements, (4) adding revision procedures for anticipatory superseding decisions, and (5) updating approved training definitions to include Jobs Growth Wales+.

These are purely technical, housekeeping amendments that maintain administrative consistency with other legislation (Scottish devolution, basis periods reform) and modestly simplify some procedures (evidence requirements). Deleting them would create gaps and inconsistencies in the statute book without reducing the regulatory burden of the underlying schemes, which remain a matter for broader policy debate.

Amendment to the Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions Regulations 2014 establishing new tiered member contribution rates for scheme year 2023-24 onwards (4.6% up to £32,001, 5.45% for £32,001-£56,001, 7.35% for £56,001-£150,001, 8.05% above £150,001), with automatic CPI-indexation of earnings thresholds on 1st April annually through 2026, and subsequent annual indexation thereafter.

Public sector defined benefit pension schemes represent state intervention that distorts labor markets, creates inequity between public and private sector workers, and imposes unsustainable long-term fiscal burdens on taxpayers. These contribution rate adjustments perpetuate a system where civil servants receive guaranteed defined benefits—a privilege unavailable to most private sector workers—funded by general taxation. The automatic indexation provisions (paragraphs 9-14) ensure thresholds escalate annually regardless of parliamentary scrutiny, deepening future liability. Britons would be better served by a system where pension provision is individualised, portable, and competition-driven rather than a closed public sector scheme that suppresses private alternatives and creates inter-generational fiscal imbalance.

These regulations provide tax exemptions and relief for compensation payments under three schemes: (1) Overturned Historical Conviction payments for those wrongly convicted due to Horizon system evidence in the Post Office scandal, (2) Group Litigation Order payments for parties in Post Office Horizon group litigation, and (3) Infected Blood Scheme payments for those harmed by contaminated blood products. The regulations designate these payments as 'qualifying payments' under various paragraphs of Schedule 15 to the Finance Act 2020, effectively exempting them from income tax.

While these regulations represent government intervention through the tax code, deleting them would leave thousands of victims of two of Britain's most grievous historical injustices—the Post Office Horizon scandal and the infected blood tragedy—facing unexpected and substantial tax bills on compensation meant to address fundamental wrongs. The underlying compensation is paid by the responsible entities (Post Office Ltd, NHS bodies), not from general taxation. Removing these exemptions would directly harm victims without correcting any market distortion; it would merely shift costs to those already wronged. These schemes do not create monopolies, restrict supply, or distort incentives in product markets—they represent targeted, retrospective relief for identifiable victims of institutional failures.

These regulations prescribe mandatory training requirements for police driving under sections 2A and 3ZA of the Road Traffic Act 1988. They require police drivers to complete College of Policing-approved training courses covering the National Decision Model and Authorised Professional Practice for Roads Policing, delivered by licensed providers using instructors meeting College standards. Refresher training intervals are specified, with special provisions for Police Scotland and grandfathering for prior training approved by chief officers.

These regulations impose College of Policing monopolistic requirements that restrict chief officers' discretion and create barriers to innovation in police driver training. The mandatory licensing of training providers and prescription of specific instructor standards by a non-democratic body duplicates what market forces and professional police leadership could achieve more efficiently. The regulations add compliance costs across all 43 police forces without demonstrated evidence that this prescriptive approach produces better safety outcomes than chief officer discretion. Such detailed operational training mandates should be determined by police leadership, not secondary legislation.

Amends the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 to exclude Post Office Horizon compensation payments from the calculation of earnings for national insurance contributions. Specifically exempts: (1) compensation from Post Office Limited for quashed historic convictions involving Horizon evidence, and (2) compensation from the Department for Business and Trade to parties in Horizon group litigation. Defines 'Horizon system' as any version of the Horizon computer system used by Post Office Limited.

These victims suffered extraordinary historical injustice — wrongful convictions, imprisonment, financial ruin, and some died before exoneration — due to faulty technology mandated by the state. Their compensation is restorative justice, not ordinary earnings. Subjecting these payments to national insurance contributions would reduce their value to already-wronged individuals. The regulation is targeted, time-limited to a specific historical scandal, and imposes no regulatory burden on business or competition. Deleting it would compound the injustice already suffered by these victims.

This Order facilitates local government structural changes by establishing new unitary authorities (Cumberland Council, Westmorland and Furness Council, North Yorkshire Council, Somerset Council) and transferring pension fund assets/liabilities between exiting and incoming authorities. It also amends numerous other statutory instruments to reflect the new council boundaries and updates references from old county councils to new unitary councils, including amendments to fisheries, transport, national park authority appointments, and harbour legislation.

This is purely administrative machinery for local government reorganisation that does not regulate business activity, impose regulatory burdens, or distort market incentives. Deleting it would leave newly created unitary councils without legal personality, pension transfers without statutory foundation, and create widespread legal uncertainty as countless regulations would reference non-existent councils. Britons would be worse off from the resulting legal chaos, uncertainty over pension obligations, and inability of new authorities to function.