Browse regulations

These Regulations designate specific functions of English local authorities under the Care Act 2014 (including assessments, charging, meeting needs, direct payments, safeguarding, transition services, and advocacy) as 'regulated care functions' for the purposes of section 46A(2) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, thereby bringing them under CQC regulatory oversight.

Extends regulatory oversight to local authority social care functions that are already governed by statute and democratic accountability. Local authorities are already bound by the Care Act 2014 duties; designating them as 'regulated care functions' subjects them to an additional layer of CQC regulation, creating duplicative compliance burdens without clear evidence of improved outcomes. This adds bureaucratic cost with no corresponding benefit—effectively gold-plating oversight on services already subject to legal requirements and political accountability.

Amendment to the Branded Health Service Medicines (Costs) Regulations 2018, adjusting payment percentages under the voluntary pharmaceutical price regulation scheme (PPRS). Increases the payment percentage from previously set rates to 27.5-28.6% for the applicable periods in 2023, with corresponding adjustments to reference dates for calculating net revenue. The scheme requires branded medicine suppliers to pay a percentage of their NHS sales revenue back to the NHS.

This regulation imposes a mandatory revenue repayment scheme on pharmaceutical companies supplying the NHS, effectively a stealth tax on the medicines industry. While presented as voluntary, it distorts the pharmaceutical market, creates administrative compliance burdens, and may discourage investment in UK medicine research. The NHS's near-monopoly purchasing position means these costs are ultimately passed to taxpayers anyway. More fundamentally, price controls and revenue caps on medical suppliers reduce supply incentives and can create shortages or restrict patient access to medicines, contradicting the goal of a dynamic healthcare market.

The Valuation for Rating (Coronavirus) (England) Regulations 2023 freeze rateable value determinations to reflect conditions as of 1 April 2021 regarding COVID-19 related factors, effectively ignoring how coronavirus legislation, provisions, and public guidance affected property valuations after that date. The regulation prescribes assumptions that COVID-related factors are to be treated as if they never changed from April 2021 levels when making relevant determinations for rating lists compiled on 1 April 2023. Exceptions exist for physical state of the property, locality, minerals, and waste materials.

This regulation distorts the rating system by artificially freezing property valuations to pre-COVID levels, creating cross-subsidies between ratepayers based on arbitrary COVID impact rather than actual property market values. It undermines the integrity of the rating system as a mechanism for reflecting true property values. As COVID-19 restrictions have largely ceased and society returned to normal by 2023, the rationale for this intervention has evaporated while the distortion persists. Such interventions should not become permanent fixtures in the rating system.

A minor statutory instrument that amends the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) Regulations 2003 by extending the application date for fair value gains and losses of pooled investment funds from 2023 to 2025. It extends to England and Wales and came into force on 31st March 2023.

This is a trivial date-extending amendment that adds no substantive regulatory value. It merely pushes an existing compliance deadline forward by two years. If deleted, the original 2023 date would simply be restored. The regulation itself does not reduce regulatory burden, create new restrictions, or improve market efficiency—it is purely an administrative timing change that could be achieved through the normal regulatory amendment process without requiring a separate statutory instrument.

Amendment Regulations 2023 updating Wireless Telegraphy Exemption Regulations 2021 and related Statutory Instruments. Updates OFCOM interface requirement document references from June 2021 to March 2023, adds definitions for 'MHz' and 'non-geostationary satellite', introduces restriction excluding non-geostationary satellites from fixed satellite service and earth station exemptions, revokes the 2011 ITS Regulations, and creates new exemption for Safety Related Intelligent Transport Systems in the 5875-5925 MHz band.

While the regulation updates outdated June 2021 references to March 2023 interface requirements and enables Safety Related Intelligent Transport Systems, these benefits are outweighed by significant concerns. The regulation adds restrictions against non-geostationary satellites for two exemption categories (high density fixed satellite service and earth stations in motion) with no technical justification provided—only that such satellites should be excluded. This 'not connected to a non-geostationary satellite' requirement appears to protect incumbent geostationary satellite operators from competition rather than serving any legitimate regulatory objective. Furthermore, the underlying licensing regime under section 8(1) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 remains unquestioned; these exemptions merely create exceptions to a system of prior restraint that should not exist in principle. Finally, the 'undue interference' standard throughout provides ambiguous and discretionary regulatory control that could be used to restrict beneficial deployment.

Amendment to NHS Optical Charges and Payments Regulations 2013 updating voucher face values, redemption values, and fees for optical appliances (glasses, contact lenses, repairs). Increases various subsidy amounts across Schedules 1-3 by approximately 4-5%, effective 1 April 2023. Preserves transition provisions for vouchers used before the commencement date.

Government price-fixing mechanism that perpetuates NHS monopoly in optical services, distorting market pricing and suppressing private healthcare alternatives. Annual uplifts to voucher values do not reflect market conditions but bureaucratic determination. This regime restricts consumer choice, limits supplier competition, and creates artificial pricing structures that harm both taxpayers and patients in the long run. The optical sector would benefit from liberalization rather than continued subsidy frameworks.

These Regulations implement the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS 1974) Chapter II-1 requirements for cargo and passenger ship construction, subdivision, stability, machinery and electrical installations. They apply to UK ships globally and foreign ships in UK waters, establishing three tiers of requirements for existing, intermediate and new ships based on construction date. The Regulations set out approval processes for alternative designs, exemption powers for the Secretary of State, enforcement provisions including detention powers and offences, and amend several related Merchant Shipping Regulations.

These regulations implement the SOLAS Convention, an international treaty to which the UK is party. Maritime safety regulations differ fundamentally from domestic regulatory burden because: (1) UK ships must comply with SOLAS to operate internationally regardless of domestic law - deleting these would not reduce actual compliance costs but would remove domestic enforcement and certification frameworks; (2) The regulations provide the legal basis for the MCA to survey and certify UK ships, which is a prerequisite for insurance and port access worldwide; (3) International maritime liability conventions and insurance markets operate on the basis of SOLAS compliance, making these standards effectively unavoidable market requirements rather than discretionary regulatory choices. The safety benefits are substantial and include preventing loss of life, environmental damage from ship failures, and third-party harms that market mechanisms alone cannot adequately address.

Amends the Health and Safety and Nuclear (Fees) Regulations 2022 to adjust fee structures for licenses and applications under Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017, Explosives Regulations 2014, Acetylene Safety Regulations 2014, and Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016. Introduces new fee provisions including hourly rate components for regulatory work, modifies payment timelines, and adds definitions for 'explosives licensee' and 'acetylene licensee'.

These amendments increase regulatory costs on already heavily regulated industries (nuclear, explosives, acetylene) through higher fees, hourly rate surcharges, and additional administrative requirements. The regulations add complexity with new fee calculation methods (base fee plus £138 per hour worked) without evidence of corresponding safety benefits. Such fee increases disproportionately burden small operators in dangerous industries, risk reducing compliance capacity, and represent the type of cumulative regulatory cost that erodes UK's industrial competitiveness. No analysis is provided demonstrating these specific fee levels are necessary for safety outcomes.

An administrative Order making minor adjustments to district ward boundaries in Bracknell Forest to align with parish boundary changes effected by the Bracknell Forest (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2022. Specifically transfers areas between wards: Winkfield Parish area moving to Warfield Parish shifts from Winkfield & Warfield East to Whitegrove ward; Bracknell Parish area moving to Winkfield Parish shifts from Harmans Water & Crown Wood to Swinley Forest ward; Sandhurst Parish area moving to Crowthorne Parish shifts from Sandhurst to Crowthorne ward.

This Order imposes no regulatory burden, does not restrict economic activity, and creates no compliance costs. It is purely administrative machinery that aligns electoral ward boundaries with community governance reorganisations already effected by the 2022 Order. Britons are neither better nor worse off regardless of whether this technical boundary adjustment exists—the underlying governance changes remain in force. Deletion would create administrative confusion without any liberalising benefit.

The Broxtowe (Electoral Changes) Order 2023 is a local government administrative order that realigns district ward boundaries and county electoral divisions to reflect prior parish governance changes made by the Broxtowe (Re-organisation of Community Governance) Order 2022. It transfers specific areas between wards (e.g., parts of Kimberley parish moving from Kimberley district ward to Awsworth, Cossall & Trowell district ward) and similarly adjusts county electoral divisions. The Order contains standard commencement provisions with different dates for electoral proceedings versus full implementation.

This Order is purely administrative housekeeping that mechanically realigns electoral boundaries to match prior governance reorganisations. It imposes no restrictions on economic activity, creates no new regulatory burdens, and does not distort markets or incentives. It is simply cartography for democracy — a technical mapping adjustment with no实质性 regulatory content that could conceivably harm Britons' economic freedoms. Technical administrative instruments that merely reflect prior policy decisions without adding new regulatory layers should be deleted as they represent unnecessary legislative clutter with zero economic impact in either direction.

Consequential amendments to two 2004 Orders (Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 Order and Criminal Justice Act 2003 Order) to update cross-references following the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The amendments update penalty provisions and offence categories relating to the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

These are purely technical, machinery amendments ensuring legal consistency across the statute book. Deleting them would create uncertainty and inconsistency with the 2022 Act they consequentially support, with no corresponding benefit. They impose no regulatory burden—they merely align cross-references in secondary legislation. Britons would be worse off without them due to legal inconsistency and potential sentencing/classification errors.

The Public Service Pensions Revaluation Order 2023 implements the statutory revaluation mechanism under section 9(2) of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. It sets the revaluation rates for the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023 at 10.1% for prices (CPI) and 7% for earnings, effective from 1st April 2023 (6th April for NHS and local government schemes). The Order mechanically applies the revaluation formula prescribed by Parliament.

This Order merely implements the mechanical revaluation formula prescribed by the Public Service Pensions Act 2013, which Parliament has already determined. Deleting it would create legal uncertainty and administrative chaos for millions of public sector workers and pension scheme administrators without addressing the underlying statutory framework. The real issue lies with the PSPA 2013's defined-benefit structure itself, not this implementation order. Without this revaluation mechanism, pensioners' real incomes could be eroded and scheme administrators would lack legal certainty on adjustment rates. While public service pension arrangements warrant broader structural reform, deleting this technical implementing order would harm Britons by creating uncertainty without achieving any policy objective.

These Regulations establish the revenue collection mechanism for nuclear power stations built under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model pursuant to the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022. They require electricity suppliers to pay RCC period contributions, interim levy payments, reserve payments, and reconciliation payments to a revenue collection counterparty, which then makes payments to nuclear operators (RCC parties). The regulations include provisions for adjusted levy rates, additional reserve amounts when the counterparty faces financial stress, and various BSC volume allocation run procedures for determining electricity quantities. SoS funds from the Secretary of State can supplement the system.

This regulation imposes a mandatory levy on electricity suppliers to fund nuclear power construction, creating a centrally-planned revenue guarantee mechanism that distorts the electricity market. The complex administrative apparatus—multiple reconciliation runs, reserve requirements with a 19-in-20 probability standard, interest payments, and adjustment mechanisms—adds significant bureaucratic overhead that increases costs. By embedding state-guaranteed revenue streams for nuclear power into law, it removes capital allocation decisions from market forces and creates implicit taxpayer guarantees that will ultimately be passed to consumers through higher electricity prices. The retained EU law concern is inapplicable here as this is a post-Brexit domestic instrument, but the underlying flaw is the same: regulatory intervention in the market thatcrowds out private initiative and distorts price signals.

A confirmatory instrument that confirms the Hampshire County Council M27 Junction 10 slip roads and special roads scheme without modifications, enabling the road infrastructure project to proceed upon publication of notice.

This is a confirmatory instrument for a specific road infrastructure project, not a regulatory burden. Deleting it would prevent the M27 Junction 10 improvement works from proceeding, harming local economic development and transportation capacity. Infrastructure confirmation instruments do not impose regulatory costs on businesses—they enable beneficial capital projects. No EU-derived regulatory burden, gold-plating, or bureaucratic impediment to trade is present.

Amends Individual Savings Account Regulations 1998 to: update dormant account definition aligning with Finance Act 2008; expand recognised UCITS to include schemes under FSMA 2000 s.271A; permit junior ISA withdrawals for terminally ill children with 12-month prognosis; extend dormant account treatment to Dormant Assets Act 2022; clarify qualifying investments for investment trusts; add conditions for innovative finance peer-to-peer lending payments; and create new regulation 17A with separate withdrawal procedures specifically for junior ISA account managers with associated notice and transfer requirements.

These amendments liberalize ISA rules by expanding eligible investments (innovative finance, investment trusts, dormant assets from 2022 Act) and provide compassionate provisions for terminally ill junior ISA holders. The changes align retained EU-era regulations with subsequent UK legislation (Dormant Assets Act 2022) and modernise the innovative finance framework with sensible anti-abuse conditions. Deletion would revert to more restrictive, outdated rules that limit savers' options and remove helpful terminal illness provisions for children.