Browse regulations

These Regulations amend retained EU Commission Implementing Regulation 20177/39, which governs Union aid for supplying milk and milk products in educational establishments. The amendments modify Article 4(6) regarding evidence requirements for aid applications and omit Article 9(2). The regulations apply to England and Scotland.

This regulation maintains a bureaucratic subsidy apparatus for school milk programs that props up dairy producers at public expense. Post-Brexit regulatory independence should be used to shed such interventions rather than preserve them. The school milk scheme represents a transfer payment to agricultural interests, distorting market signals and redirecting resources from more productive uses. Child nutrition can be better addressed through targeted, transparent mechanisms rather than propping up an EU-derived subsidy regime. The amendments only simplify administrative paperwork — they do nothing to reduce the fundamental interventionist nature of the program.

These Regulations 2022 revoke two prior COVID-19 restriction instruments: the 2020 Self-Isolation Regulations and the 2020 Restrictions (No. 3) Regulations (England). They came into force on 24th February 2022, effectively ending mandatory self-isolation requirements and the tier-based restriction system.

These 2022 Regulations themselves represent unnecessary bureaucratic machinery for ending emergency powers that should not have been enacted in the first place. The original 2020 restrictions imposed coercive self-isolation mandates and movement restrictions that violated personal liberty and inflicted severe economic damage. Rather than systematically revoking each regulation individually through delegated legislation, Parliament should have repealed the entire COVID regulatory apparatus wholesale. The continued existence of this revocation instrument, along with the complex revocation process it represents, perpetuates the institutional framework for government-mandated isolation that can be resurrected. Britons would be better served by complete legislative deletion of the COVID emergency regime, not incremental revocation instruments that leave the underlying structure intact.

A commencement order bringing into force select provisions of the Financial Services Act 2021 relating to overseas collective investment schemes and money market funds. Section 24/Schedule 9 (collective schemes in approved countries), section 25 (individually recognised overseas schemes), and section 26 (money market funds) take effect 23rd February 2022; section 25(4)(a) takes effect 1st January 2023.

This commencement order activates regulatory barriers that restrict UK investors' access to collective investment schemes not authorised in 'approved countries.' The approved-country whitelist regime is inherently protectionist, limiting competition and investor choice while favoring incumbents. Such restrictions drive capital toward less-regulated jurisdictions and reduce the diversity of investment products available to British savers. Rather than expanding freedom, these provisions codify a bureaucratic gatekeeping system that should never have been enacted.

Amendment to Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Operator Liability) (England) Regulations 2021, effective February 2022. Modifies self-isolation requirements for international arrivals, removes references to separate Self-Isolation Regulations, adjusts mandatory testing frameworks, updates notification forms for test results, and revises penalty provisions. The amendment relaxes some requirements by exempting additional passenger categories from self-isolation and simplifying compliance obligations.

These regulations originated as COVID-19 emergency powers that restricted international travel, mandated medical testing, and imposed house arrest (self-isolation) with criminal penalties for non-compliance. By February 2022, when this amendment was made, vaccines had reduced severe outcomes and these emergency restrictions were no longer proportionate. The underlying framework remains a bureaucratic apparatus for restricting movement and coercing medical procedures—including criminal offences for ordinary citizens who fail to isolate or provide household information on request. Such powers should not persist in peacetime; they represent state overreach that suppresses economic activity, deters travel, and treats citizens as subjects requiring permission to move or associate. The retention of these laws, even in modified form, keeps alive powers fundamentally incompatible with a free society and Britain's liberal traditions.

Post-Brexit amendment to the Income Tax Act 2007 updating references in section 454 (qualifying maintenance payments) from 'member State' to 'the United Kingdom' to reflect the UK's departure from the EU. Regulation 2 takes effect from IP completion day (31 December 2020).

This is a technical Brexit correction, not new regulation. It merely updates obsolete EU references ('member State') to 'United Kingdom' to maintain existing tax relief for maintenance payments. Deleting it would create legal uncertainty and restore an incoherent reference to EU membership in domestic tax law, providing no benefit while creating confusion. Britons would be worse off without this clarification, as qualifying maintenance payments (which reduce tax liability for divorced/separated individuals) would face legal ambiguity about their tax treatment post-Brexit.

Amendment Order to the Air Navigation (Isle of Man) Order 2015, making technical modifications to remove superseded articles (4-10, 63, 126-134, 141), update definitions in article 167 (adding 'Basic Regulation', 'Non-Part 21 aircraft', 'Single-seat deregulated aeroplane'), amend Schedule 2 and Schedule 9 omissions, and provide transitional provisions for aircraft registered under the old regime. The Order introduces a new 'single-seat deregulated aeroplane' category with mass limits (300-390kg depending on type) and 35kt stall speed threshold, effectively deregulating certain light aircraft from Part 21 requirements.

This amendment Order primarily removes obsolete provisions and creates a deregulated category for single-seat light aircraft (300-390kg max takeoff mass depending on type) that fall outside Part 21 requirements. Deleting it would restore the more regulatory structure with additional requirements. The Order achieves targeted deregulation for a specific aircraft class that poses minimal risk, and the transitional provisions ensure legal continuity for previously registered aircraft. While more could be deregulated, this represents a net reduction in regulatory burden for a defined category of aircraft.

These Regulations amend three customs and tariff EU Exit instruments to: (1) add new product categories (tobacco/nicotine products for inhalation, electrical waste, unmanned aircraft) to the Trade Preference Scheme with varying local content thresholds for LDCs vs other beneficiary countries; (2) update the Tariff Quotas Table reference to version 3.0 and remove annual quota restrictions from three quota numbers; (3) update document references (Preferential Tariffs and Origin Reference Documents) for numerous UK trade agreements including those with Colombia/Ecuador/Peru, Central America, Chile, Georgia, Iceland/Norway, Israel, Kosovo, Pacific States, Switzerland/Liechtenstein, Singapore, and Vietnam.

This regulation perpetuates a complex system of trade preferences and rules of origin that were inherited from the EU's external trade policy. The Trade Preference Scheme discriminates between LDCs and other beneficiary countries with different local content thresholds, creating bureaucratic complexity without free trade principles. Updating document version references (e.g., 'Tariff Quotas, version 3.0') is administrative busy-work that adds no economic value. Removing quota restrictions (annual limits on 05.4515, 05.4514, 05.4513) is marginal improvement but the underlying managed trade framework remains. This regulation represents the kind of technical preservation of EU-era trade management that prevents Britain from becoming the truly free-trading nation Adam Smith envisioned.

Amendment regulations extending temporary proxy vote application rules related to coronavirus until February 2023, modifying closing dates and eligibility criteria for proxy voting based on coronavirus advice in England, Wales, and Scotland for various elections including parliamentary, police and crime commissioner, and local government elections.

COVID-19 emergency provisions that were no longer warranted by 2022 as the pandemic transitioned to endemic status with widespread vaccination. The 'coronavirus advice' criterion had become vague and potentially subject to abuse, while genuine vulnerable voters already had permanent proxy voting rights. The regulation exemplifies how emergency measures accumulate and persist beyond their justification. The expiration clause demonstrates Parliament itself recognised these as temporary, time-limited measures rather than permanent electoral architecture.

A minor amendment extending the deadline for coronavirus-related Statutory Sick Pay employer liability funding schemes from 21st December 2021 to 17th March 2022, applicable to both Great Britain and Northern Ireland regulations.

COVID-era temporary measure that has been repeatedly extended without substantive parliamentary debate. The Secretary of State merely 'concurs' rather than actively endorsing the policy, indicating routine bureaucratic renewal rather than considered policy. Such emergency mechanisms, once their crisis purpose has passed, should expire rather than accumulate as permanent fixtures on the statute book.

This Order makes consequential amendments to various UK Social Security Regulations to incorporate Scottish disability benefits (adult disability payment and child disability payment) introduced under the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. It amends the Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Housing Benefit, and related social security regulations to ensure that recipients of Scottish disability benefits are treated equivalently to recipients of UK benefits like Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance for purposes of means-tested benefits, premiums, and eligibility criteria.

Deleting this regulation would create a gap in the social security system where Scottish disability benefit recipients would fall outside the scope of means-tested benefits and premiums they are entitled to. This would cause genuine harm to disabled individuals by denying them support they would otherwise receive. The amendments are coordinating provisions between two parallel systems (UK and Scottish devolved benefits), not additional regulatory burden — without them, families caring for disabled persons or disabled individuals themselves could lose critical means-tested support simply because they receive a Scottish benefit rather than an equivalent UK one.

Amends the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 to extend a compliance deadline from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2025. This is a technical administrative change that provides additional time for regulated entities to meet existing requirements.

While this regulation merely extends an existing compliance deadline rather than introducing new requirements, deleting it would impose stricter timelines on healthcare providers. The extension reduces regulatory burden by providing additional time for compliance adjustment. The 2014 Regulations themselves establish the substantive framework for regulated activities; this amendment merely adjusts the implementation timeline, which is a legitimate function of administrative flexibility.

These regulations prohibit Russian-owned, chartered, operated, or registered aircraft, as well as aircraft flying to/from Russia pursuant to a post-deadline flight plan, from operating in UK airspace. Exceptions exist for Secretary of State or Swanwick/Prestwick ATC permission. The regulations came into force the day after being made and cross-reference definitions from the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

This regulation restricts voluntary trade and movement based on nationality, establishing Russian aircraft as a prohibited class. While motivated by political events, it represents exactly the kind of coercive intervention in peaceful exchange that Mises identified as destructive of prosperity. The cross-reference to retained EU regulations (Russia Sanctions EU Exit Regulations 2019) highlights the irony of using inherited EU-derived restrictions to assert post-Brexit independence. Sanctions of this type predictably create black markets, harm ordinary Russian citizens more than elites, and distort aviation markets. A free Britain should compete for aviation business by openness, not close skies to entire categories of aircraft on pain of criminal sanction. National security objectives can be achieved through targeted security protocols rather than blanket prohibition.

These Regulations designate three specific geographic areas (East Midlands Gateway and Industrial Cluster Tax Site, East Midlands Intermodal Park, and Ratcliffe on Soar Tax Site) as 'special areas' for tax purposes under section 113(1)(a), (b) and (c) of the Finance Act 2021, effective 22nd March 2022. The regulation relies on map references to define the boundaries of these freeport tax sites.

While freeports may facilitate trade in principle, this regulation exemplifies government's tendency to pick winners through geographic carve-outs. By designating specific areas for preferential tax treatment, it distorts capital allocation, creates rent-seeking incentives, and represents unequal treatment under law. The benefits are likely illusory — businesses relocate from other UK regions rather than creating new economic activity, leaving Britain overall poorer. Such targeted interventions were precisely the mercantilist policies Adam Smith critiqued.

Designates three specific areas in the Liverpool City Region (3MG, Parkside East and West, and Wirral Waters) as Freeport Tax Sites under Finance Act 2021, effective 22nd March 2022. These areas receive preferential tax treatment including potential relief from employer NICs, business rates, and stamp duty to stimulate investment and employment.

Freeport tax designations represent government picking winners and losers through preferential tax treatment, distorting market signals and diverting investment from productive uses to politically-favoured locations. This is corporate welfare funded by other taxpayers who receive no such benefits. A truly dynamic free-trading nation would lower taxes for all businesses rather than creating gilded enclaves — this perpetuates the very interventionism that has shackled the British economy. These zones primarily benefit large property developers and multinationals, not the broader economy.

These regulations designate specific areas within the Solent Freeport region as 'special areas' for tax purposes under section 113(1)(a), (b) and (c) of the Finance Act 2021. The designated sites include Dunsbury Park Tax Site and multiple Southampton Water Tax Sites (Fawley Complex, Fawley Waterside, Marchwood Port & Strategic Land Reserve, and Redbridge). The regulations establish the geographic boundaries of freeport tax sites using map references, with the designations taking effect on 22nd March 2022.

Freeport tax sites represent a legitimate policy tool for stimulating trade, investment, and economic growth in designated areas. Unlike restrictive regulations that suppress economic activity, these designations create zones with preferential tax treatment that can attract international investment, generate employment, and encourage exports. Such free trade zones are consistent with Britain's historical role as a trading nation and can help offset regulatory costs that might otherwise deter business. The regulation imposes no new restrictions—it merely designates boundaries for tax incentives already authorised by Parliament through the Finance Act 2021.