Browse regulations

These regulations commence section 162 of the Health and Care Act 2022 on 18th August 2023 and include a saving provision allowing the 2019 Healthcare (EEA and Switzerland Arrangements) Regulations to continue operating for Northern Ireland planned healthcare applications. The regulations preserve defined terms from the 2019 legislation to maintain legal continuity during the transition.

This is a technical saving provision that prevents a legal vacuum in healthcare arrangements for Northern Ireland. Deletion would create uncertainty in cross-border healthcare rights and obligations, potentially leaving planned healthcare applications without a legal framework. It maintains existing definitions to ensure continuity rather than imposing new regulatory burdens.

Amends the School Teachers' Incentive Payments (England) Order 2019 to add 'International Relocation Payment' to the list of permitted incentive payments for school teachers, effective 1 September 2023. Extends to England and Wales.

This regulation distorts the teacher labor market by mandating a specific relocation payment rather than allowing wages to find their natural market level. If there is a genuine teacher shortage, market wages should rise to attract supply. Government-mandated incentive payments of this type pick winners (international teachers receiving relocation assistance) at the expense of domestic teachers who may equally need incentives. This adds regulatory complexity for schools without corresponding benefit, and represents the kind of targeted intervention that leads to unintended consequences in labor markets. The original 2019 Order's framework of defined incentive categories itself constrains schools' ability to respond flexibly to staffing needs.

Amends the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 to exclude compensation payments made under Part 1 of the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 from the calculation of earnings for National Insurance contribution purposes. Part 6 of Schedule 3 lists payments to be disregarded when calculating earnings-related contributions.

Without this amendment, compensation payments made to public sector workers under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 could be incorrectly classified as earnings, resulting in unintended NI contribution liabilities on payments that represent restitution for pension scheme changes rather than standard remuneration. Deletion would harm recipients of these targeted compensation payments and create administrative uncertainty around proper contribution treatment for a specific, time-limited policy intervention.

This Order amends the Immigration (Passenger Transit Visa) Order 2014 to add five countries (Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu) to Schedule 1, requiring their nationals to obtain transit visas when passing through the United Kingdom. It includes a grandfathering clause for passengers with existing bookings made before the Order came into force, effective 20th July 2023.

Transit visa requirements restrict freedom of movement, impose costs on passengers and airlines, and divert transit traffic to competing hubs such as Dubai, Amsterdam, and Paris. These requirements disproportionately affect citizens of smaller or less wealthy nations without evidence of corresponding security benefits that could not be achieved through less restrictive means such as enhanced exit checks or intelligence sharing. The regulation creates unnecessary barriers to travel and trade at minimal demonstrated security gain.

This Order amends the Education (Designated Institutions in Further Education) Order 1993 to remove the designation of The International Co-operative College, Loughborough from Schedule 1, omits article 4 and Schedule 2 entirely, and modifies article 2's wording. It extends to England and Wales but applies to England only, coming into force on 11th August 2023.

This amendment Order is itself a deregulatory measure that removes a specific institution from a designations list and eliminates redundant schedules. There is no apparent justification for retaining this amendment order on the statute book after its commencement date—it serves no ongoing function once the deletions are enacted. The original 1993 Order remains in force; this amendment merely tweaked it. More fundamentally, the designation regime itself reflects bureaucratic supply restrictions in further education that limit institutional diversity and competition. Keeping institutions on a designated list creates regulatory privilege for those included while excluding potential competitors, distorting the further education market.

The Insurance Premium Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2023 amend the 1994 Regulations to replace fixed forms in the Schedule with forms specified dynamically via HMRC Commissioners' notices. Key changes: regulations 2, 4, 4A, 7, 12, and 13 are amended to substitute 'form specified in a notice published by the Commissioners' for specific numbered forms in the Schedule, which is then omitted entirely.

This amendment reduces regulatory burden by allowing HMRC to update forms dynamically via administrative notice rather than requiring new secondary legislation each time. Britons would be worse off if deleted because reverting to fixed Schedule forms would: (1) require cumbersome legislative processes to update simple administrative forms, (2) create delay and compliance difficulties when forms become outdated, (3) increase administrative costs for both government and businesses. This is a rare example of a regulatory amendment that actually increases flexibility and reduces compliance costs, consistent with sound administrative practice.

Amends NHS (Performers Lists) (England) Regulations 2013 to simplify applications for returning practitioners, GP Registrars and dental foundation trainees; introduces 3-month delayed checks for returning practitioners; adds overseas criminal record certificate requirements for extended foreign residence; modifies suspension, payments and review procedures; extends national disqualification review periods in certain cases; adds annual declaration requirements for practitioners.

These amendments actually reduce regulatory burden for returning practitioners and trainees by exempting them from certain documentary requirements, and create a pragmatic 3-month delayed check system allowing practitioners to begin work while background verification proceeds. While performers lists inherently restrict supply in healthcare, deleting these specific amendments would remove modest deregulatory improvements and create confusion in suspension/review procedures without addressing the underlying structural issue. The patient safety rationale (preventing dangerous practitioners from practicing) provides justification even if alternative mechanisms might achieve the same outcome more efficiently.

This is a Scottish commencement order bringing into force on 17th August 2023 provisions of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, including: abolition of the Police Negotiating Board for the United Kingdom (section 131); consultation requirements for regulations (section 133); and repeals of various instruments relating to the Police Act 1996, Scotland Act 1998 orders, Freedom of Information Act 2000, and Police reform legislation in Scotland (Schedule 11, paragraph 102).

While the abolition of the Police Negotiating Board may reduce centralized wage-fixing, this order is a procedural mechanism that merely initiates provisions already enacted by Parliament in 2014. Deleting it would prevent the scheduled commencement on 17th August 2023, but the underlying policy debate about police pay bargaining is better addressed through primary legislation. The order's effect is limited to timing—it does not itself create regulatory burdens, but rather activates provisions that could be commenced by alternative means.

Police Pensions (Remediable Service) Regulations 2023 implement the McCloud remedy for police pension scheme members, allowing those who were wrongfully excluded from the 2015 reformed scheme during transitional arrangements to make elections to receive correct pension benefits. The regulations establish mechanisms for opted-out service elections, immediate choice decisions, and deferred choice decisions, along with provisions for remediable service statements, pension credit adjustments, and eligible decision-makers. They apply to members with remediable police service under the 1987, 2006, and 2015 police pension schemes.

This regulation corrects a proven legal injustice (age discrimination in the 2015 pension transition found in the McCloud/Sargeant case) by providing affected police officers with mechanisms to obtain their correct pension entitlements. Deletion would leave thousands of police officers and their survivors permanently locked into wrong pension arrangements with no recourse, causing direct financial harm. The regulation expands individual choice rather than restricting it, allowing members to elect between legacy and reformed scheme benefits. Unlike typical regulations that impose costs through compliance burdens, this is corrective legislation that merely facilitates the correction of administrative errors made in implementing the 2015 reforms.

This Order revises maximum tolls that the Dartmouth-Kingswear Floating Bridge Company Limited may charge for use of the floating bridge crossing between Dartmouth and Kingswear, Devon. It replaces a 2017 Order and defines relevant vehicle categories (goods vehicles, passenger vehicles) and weight specifications for the toll structure.

This is a government-mandated price cap on a private company's service, replacing market mechanisms with bureaucratic pricing. Price controls on private operators reduce investment incentives and distort supply signals. If the crossing represents genuine value, the company should be free to price accordingly and consumers free to pay or use alternatives. The 2017 Order's revocation does not go far enough — the entire regulatory framework imposing maximum tolls should be removed, allowing the market to determine fares for this private ferry service.

The A303 (Amesbury to Berwick Down) Development Consent Order 2023 grants development consent for the construction of a major road upgrade including a tunnel (Work No. 1F) on the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down in Wiltshire, passing through the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. The Order confers extensive powers on Highways England Company Limited (the undertaker), including compulsory acquisition of land, rights over land, temporary possession, exemptions from multiple environmental regulations (Wildlife and Countryside Act, Land Drainage Act, Environmental Permitting Regulations), deviation from approved plans within limits, and authority over streets and highways. It also grants immunity from certain street works regulations and imposes a maintenance regime for new and altered highways.

This Order exemplifies the worst aspects of state-directed infrastructure: compulsory land acquisition overriding property rights, blanket regulatory exemptions that circumvent environmental protections, creation of a legally protected monopoly for Highways England, and extensive administrative powers without market discipline. The Order grants immunity from competition in highway maintenance, exempts the undertaker from multiple environmental and planning statutes including the Environmental Permitting Regulations and wildlife legislation, and creates a bespoke legal regime where standard protections are waived. Such concentrated government power over private property and economic activity is fundamentally incompatible with a free society. The fact that this represents a retained EU-era NSIP framework, with its bureaucratic imposition of major projects without genuine local consent, makes it a prime candidate for deletion in a post-Brexit regulatory review.

UK regulation that amends the retained EU Cosmetics Regulation (1223/2009) by adding new restricted chemical substances to Annex 3 and UV filters to Annex 6, with staggered commencement dates and transition periods for existing products. Extends to England, Wales, and Scotland.

This regulation perpetuates EU-derived pre-market restrictions on cosmetic substances, imposing compliance costs on businesses and limiting consumer choice. While consumer safety is a legitimate concern, such blanket prohibitions represent government paternalism that Hayek would critique as removing individual choice. These restrictions raise costs, reduce product variety, and create barriers for smaller manufacturers. Post-Brexit Britain has the opportunity to adopt a more liberal framework where safety is addressed through market mechanisms (liability law, voluntary certifications, post-market surveillance) rather than pre-market prohibitions that lock in the EU's precautionary approach. Consumers capable of purchasing cosmetics can make informed choices about product ingredients; mandatory restrictions deny this autonomy.

This Order grants immunities, privileges, and tax exemptions to the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and its officials in the United Kingdom, pursuant to a bilateral agreement. It covers: organizational immunity from suit; inviolability of premises and archives; exemptions from direct taxation, VAT, insurance premium tax, and customs/excise duties; personal immunities for INTERPOL body members, officials, and representatives of member countries including functional immunity, inviolability of documents, and baggage exemption; and special provisions for INTERPOL statutory meetings held in the UK.

This Order implements a reciprocal international agreement with INTERPOL. While any regulation imposes costs, this Order merely formalises standard diplomatic immunities that facilitate international law enforcement cooperation. Deleting it would: (1) breach the UK's treaty obligations, damaging international standing; (2) trigger reciprocal treatment of UK officials abroad, harming British police working internationally; (3) hinder cross-border criminal investigation cooperation that British law enforcement relies upon; and (4) the tax exemptions are proportionate and customary for international organizations. The privileges are narrowly scoped to Official Activities and contain standard waivers for road traffic offences and third-party civil claims.

Establishes 500m safety zones around specified offshore oil and gas installations using WGS84 coordinates, and updates several previous Orders by removing obsolete entries for decommissioned installations (Orwell Subsea Structure, Curlew CUC-P1 Drill Site, Curlew Development, Horne and Wren).

While this is a retained EU law never properly scrutinized by Parliament, safety zones around offshore petroleum installations serve a genuine protective function preventing collision accidents that could cause loss of life, environmental damage, and energy supply disruption. The 500m exclusion zone addresses a real maritime navigation hazard where private coordination alone would be insufficient. Critically, this Order is primarily deregulatory in nature — removing three obsolete entries from previous orders, meaning it reduces rather than expands regulatory burden. The original 1997, 2013, and 2016 Orders that this amends would remain in force without the schedule corrections, so retaining this updated Order ensures accurate regulatory records reflecting decommissioned installations.

UK-Brazil bilateral tax treaty order providing double taxation relief for corporation tax, income tax, capital gains tax, and international tax enforcement cooperation. Revokes and replaces the 1968 Shipping and Air Transport Profits (Brazil) Order.

Double taxation treaties facilitate rather than hinder trade by removing a genuine barrier to cross-border investment. Unlike retained EU laws that were imposed without democratic scrutiny, this is a negotiated bilateral agreement that reduces tax-induced distortions to capital flows. International tax information exchange helps combat evasion that would otherwise give unfair competitive advantages to non-compliant actors. Deleting this would increase uncertainty for UK businesses operating in Brazil and Brazilian investors in the UK, raising costs and discouraging beneficial trade.