Browse regulations

These Regulations provide income tax exemptions for non-UK resident accredited persons performing relevant activities in connection with the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow (1-3 March 2024). The exemption applies to employment income and trade/profession profits during the period 23 February to 4 March 2024, provided the person is non-UK resident for that tax year. Section 966 of ITA 2007 (duty to deduct income tax) does not apply to payments benefiting from this exemption.

Targeted tax exemptions for specific events represent picked winners economics that distort competition. This exemption, estimated to cost several million pounds in foregone revenue, benefits a narrow class of foreign nationals and the organiser World Athletics while ordinary taxpayers bear the burden. Such carve-outs create perverse incentives: rather than competing on genuine merits, cities bid against each other by offering tax concessions that ultimately subsidise multinational sporting bodies. If the event cannot be attracted to Britain on commercial and meritocratic grounds alone, that itself reveals its true value. These exemptions have proliferated across major events, creating a patchwork of special treatment that undermines tax uniformity and fairness. Repeal would restore neutral taxation and demonstrate confidence that Britain need not bribe event organisers to host world-class competitions.

These Regulations are a commencement order for the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, specifying when various provisions of that Act come into force, and containing transitional and saving provisions to manage the transition. Key provisions include: staggered commencement dates (from December 2023 through 2025) for FSMA 2023 sections on central counterparties, regulatory principles, sustainability disclosure requirements, and the Bank of England levy; revocation of retained EU law relating to financial services on various dates; transitional arrangements for ongoing consultations allowing them to be completed under modified timelines; and technical amendments to other regulations.

Without this regulation, the FSMA 2023's provisions would lack clear commencement dates, creating legal uncertainty in financial markets. The transitional provisions (regulations 12-17) prevent disruption to ongoing regulatory processes by grandfathering existing consultations and activities, which avoids forcing firms to restart compliance processes. While the underlying FSMA 2023 contains regulatory requirements that may be burdensome, this commencement instrument itself performs a necessary administrative function that prevents worse disruption and uncertainty. Deleting it would leave the statute book in disarray regarding when obligations take effect, harming market participants who need legal clarity.

The Haiti (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 2023 amends the Haiti (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2022, extending and modifying sanctions regulations relating to Haiti to British Overseas Territories. The Order: (1) substitutes references from 'military goods' to 'small arms, light weapons and ammunition'; (2) adds licensing requirements and consent provisions for trade licences; (3) modifies penalty provisions for trade licence offences; (4) changes Secretary of State references to Governors for territorial administration; (5) inserts a knowledge-based defence for export offences; and (6) renumbers and amends various regulatory provisions.

Sanctions inherently restrict voluntary trade between willing parties, contrary to Britain's heritage as the world's pre-eminent free-trading nation. These regulations create barriers to commerce with Haiti, add compliance costs for businesses, and risk driving legitimate trade underground. The licensing regime adds bureaucratic friction without demonstrated efficacy in achieving humanitarian or security objectives. As a general principle, trade restrictions make Britons worse off by reducing economic options and raising costs. While sanctions may pursue legitimate foreign policy goals, they are fundamentally inconsistent with restoring Britain's position as a champion of free trade.

These Regulations require that interviews by constables of persons detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023 at police stations must be video recorded with sound, in accordance with a statutory code of practice that came into effect on 20th December 2023. The Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Video recording requirements for detained persons provide critical accountability mechanisms, protecting both suspects from mistreatment and police officers from false allegations. Without this regulation, interviews conducted under national security powers would lack independent verification, increasing risks of coercive practices going undetected. While regulatory costs exist, the alternative—interviews conducted without transparent documentation—poses far greater dangers to civil liberties and could enable the very abuses of power that undermine public trust in security institutions.

These Regulations bring into operation on 20th December 2023 a revised code of practice governing Examining Officers and Review Officers exercising Schedule 3 powers under the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. The code of practice applies to port examinations across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, providing procedural guidance on the exercise of border security powers.

While this regulation implements a code of practice for counter-terrorism border security powers, deleting it would not eliminate the underlying Schedule 3 powers—it would simply remove the procedural safeguards and constraints governing how those powers are exercised. Without this code of practice, examining officers would lack guidance on proper procedure, increasing risk of arbitrary or inconsistent enforcement that could harm both civil liberties and effective security operations. The code of practice constrains power rather than expanding it.

Consequential amendment statutory instrument that amends primary legislation to reflect the National Security Act 2023. Comes into force 20th December 2023 and extends across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The substantive amendments are contained in the Schedule.

Consequential amendments ensuring legal consistency between the National Security Act 2023 and existing primary legislation are necessary machinery. Without these amendments, conflicts, gaps, or inconsistencies would arise in statute law, potentially creating confusion for courts, law enforcement, and citizens. However, the Schedule content was not provided, so a full assessment of the actual amendments could not be performed.

This Order amends the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 and related EU regulations (retained post-Brexit) to modify free allocation rules for the 2026-2030 period. Key changes include: (1) creating an exception allowing electricity generators to receive free allocations if they commit to not selling electricity outside the installation; (2) adding aviation sector provisions for 2024-2025; (3) defining 'relevant CHP electricity' and 'electricity generator' for allocation purposes; (4) modifying reporting requirements for cogeneration and heat benchmark sub-installations; and (5) adjusting aviation emissions allowance calculations.

This regulation perpetuates and expands the flawed logic of free allocations in a cap-and-trade system, which is corporate welfare masquerading as climate policy. The electricity generator exception (Article 2b) is particularly problematic—it allows generators to bypass the standard rule against free allocations simply by claiming they won't sell electricity externally, creating perverse incentives to restrict output or engage in artificial structuring. The 5% de minimis threshold and CHP carve-outs further erode the polluter-pays principle. Free allocations distort competition by benefiting incumbent installations over new market entrants, raise costs for conscientious actors, and add compliance complexity without proportionate environmental benefit. Post-Brexit regulatory independence should simplify this regime, not layer on additional EU-derived complexity. Aviation provisions for 2024-2025 merely delay necessary market corrections.

Amends the Consular Fees Order 2012 to update fees for document legalisation services, including standard, next day, digital (e-Apostille), urgent, and overseas services with fee reductions for most categories.

These are cost-recovery fees for government-provided consular services, not regulatory burdens on business. Deletion would remove the legal basis for charging these services, requiring either cross-subsidy from general taxation or elimination of the service entirely. The fees are reasonable cost-recovery for identity verification and document authentication services that individuals and businesses voluntarily request.

These Regulations set the small business non-domestic rating multiplier (C) at 123.8 for the financial year beginning 1st April 2024, pursuant to paragraph A6 of Schedule 7 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988. This multiplier determines the reduced business rates liability for small businesses eligible for small business rate relief.

While business rates generally distort property markets, this regulation provides tax relief to small businesses by maintaining a lower multiplier than the standard non-domestic rating multiplier. Deleting it would cause the statutory fallback formula to apply, likely producing a worse outcome for small businesses. The visible benefit to small ratepayers outweighs unseen costs within this existing framework, though the broader business rates system itself warrants separate review.

Amendment to the Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Farm Order 2022, modifying Part 3 (Requirements) of Schedule 1 paragraph 16(18), changing a numerical limit from 'must not exceed two' to 'must not exceed four'. Comes into force 14th December 2023.

Deleting this amendment would revert the requirement to the stricter 'must not exceed two' limit, harming Britons by restricting renewable energy capacity, increasing project costs, reducing investment in offshore wind infrastructure, and impeding the UK's net zero transition. While this regulatory approval regime represents government control over private development, this specific amendment relaxes a restriction and removing it would make the regulatory environment more restrictive, not less.

Amending regulations that extend fee deadline provisions in Plant Health (Fees) (Forestry) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015 and Plant Health etc. (Fees) (England) Regulations 2018 from 31st December 2023 to 30th June 2025. These are administrative fee amendments extending existing certification fee arrangements.

These are minor administrative amendments extending existing fee schedules for export certification services. They do not impose new regulatory burdens but merely maintain the status quo for fee collection. Deletion would create administrative chaos and revenue uncertainty for plant health certification services without achieving any free-market objective. The fees are charged for actual services provided (export certification), not punitive restrictions.

This Order designates Menorah Primary School for Boys, Barnet as a school having a religious character (Jewish denomination) and amends the 1999 Order to insert 'for Girls' alongside Menorah Primary School. It comes into force the day after being made.

Britons would be worse off if deleted because this Order enables parental choice by confirming the school's religious character designation under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, allowing parents who wish their children to receive Jewish religious education to access such provision. Removing this designation would deny families educational options aligned with their religious beliefs. While religious character schools have admission preferences, these are established by primary legislation; this SI merely administers the designation list.

The Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order 2023 establishes four trading schemes (CRTS, CCTS, VRTS, VCTS) to limit greenhouse gas emissions from non-zero-emission cars and vans. It creates a complex cap-and-trade system with allowances, credits, pooling mechanisms, banking, and borrowing provisions. Manufacturers must surrender allowances/credits matching their NZE vehicle registrations or face civil penalties. The schemes operate through a registry system administered by the Secretary of State, with detailed definitions for determining vehicle categories, zero-emission conditions, and manufacturer identification.

This regulation exemplifies the regulatory burden that suppresses economic dynamism. It imposes complex compliance costs on UK automotive manufacturers, distorts market incentives through arbitrary percentage-based allocation formulas, and creates opportunities for regulatory gaming through pooling, banking and borrowing mechanisms. The warranty requirements (8-year battery warranty, 70%/65% capacity thresholds) and 100-mile minimum electric range effectively mandate specific technological choices rather than allowing market discovery. By codifying NIMBY-adjacent environmental policy into detailed statutory machinery, it adds costs to vehicle manufacturing without clear evidence the emission reduction benefits justify these burdens. Post-Brexit regulatory independence should mean deleting such inherited EU-derived schemes rather than perpetuating them.

These Regulations preserve the continued recognition and enforcement of rights derived from the 2007 Lugano Convention (governing cross-border civil/commercial judgments between the UK, EU, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Denmark) in domestic law after the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 repealed the mechanism (s.4 of the 2018 Act) that originally preserved them. It is a saving provision maintaining legal continuity for cross-border dispute resolution.

Deleting this would create immediate legal uncertainty for UK businesses engaged in cross-border trade with Lugano Convention countries. The Convention provides essential predictability for enforcing contracts and resolving commercial disputes across jurisdictions—removing it would increase transaction costs and deter international commerce. While the UK should ultimately renegotiate such agreements independently, abruptly terminating existing legal frameworks without alternative arrangements in place would leave British exporters and firms worse off, not better.

Amendment Order that extends the sunset date in article 7 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (Commencement No. 7, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2015 from 2023 to 2028. Article 7 contains transitory provisions governing the exercise of local audit functions during the transition to the post-2014 Act regime.

While extensions of transitional provisions suggest poor implementation planning, deleting this would create immediate disruption to local authority audit arrangements in England. The transitory provisions exist to manage the orderly transition to reformed audit arrangements; without extension, authorities would face legal uncertainty regarding which framework governs their audit functions. The amendment itself adds no new regulatory burden—it merely preserves existing transitional arrangements that Parliament has already deemed necessary. However, this order exemplifies the problem of 'zombie laws' that never fully expire, suggesting the underlying 2014 Act regime should be comprehensively reformed rather than perpetually extended.