Browse regulations

This Order transfers ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Bailiwick of Jersey from the Bishop of Winchester to the Bishop of Salisbury, updates references in the Channel Islands (Church Legislation) Measure 1931 and Channel Islands (Representation) Measure 1931, lowers the church electoral roll voting age from 17 to 16, changes lay representative elections from annual to triennial, and modifies qualification requirements for church electoral roll enrollment.

While established churches can suppress competition in religious services, this Order is purely machinery transferring existing jurisdiction and makes minor procedural changes. Deletion would create legal uncertainty around ongoing proceedings and property matters, disrupt established rights dependent on the prior framework, and cause confusion without reducing any substantive regulatory burden. The economic impact is negligible and does not distort markets, restrict trade, or impose costs on businesses.

These regulations revoke the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Belarusian Aircraft) Regulations 2021, removing the prohibition on Belarusian aircraft operating in UK airspace with immediate effect. Signed by the Secretary of State for Transport.

This revocation removes sanctions imposed on Belarusian aircraft, restoring aviation freedom and permitting commercial flights between the UK and Belarus. While the original 2021 sanctions aimed to pressure the Lukašenka regime, such geopolitical leverage is better pursued through coordinated international measures rather than unilateral restrictions that harm UK aviation interests and consumers. Deleting this revocation would reimpose costs on airlines, reduce route competition, and signal protectionism rather than the free-trading principles Britain historically championed.

These Regulations implement the protection and trust services framework for the Register of Overseas Entities established by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. They set out procedures for electronic delivery of documents to the registrar, applications to make protected information (names, addresses, dates of birth, nationality of relevant individuals) unavailable for public inspection or disclosure, appeal mechanisms, and revocation processes. The regulations provide safeguards for vulnerable individuals including those at risk of violence or intimidation, minors, and those lacking mental capacity.

While these regulations add administrative complexity, deleting them would leave no mechanism to protect vulnerable individuals' residential addresses on the public register. The protection framework serves a genuine purpose in preventing harm to at-risk individuals, minors, and those lacking capacity. The compliance costs associated with this regulation stem from the underlying transparency requirements of the ECTEA itself, not from this protective mechanism — removing this regulation would not reduce those costs but would eliminate necessary safeguards for vulnerable persons. A functional beneficial ownership registry for combatting economic crime requires such protective mechanisms to operate humanely.

The Network Rail (Oxford Station Phase 2 Improvements (Land Only)) Order 2022 is a Transport and Works Act order authorizing Network Rail to compulsorily acquire land and rights for Phase 2 improvements to Oxford Station. The Order grants powers to acquire land (articles 3-5), take temporary possession (articles 8-9), extinguish private rights of way (article 15), close a level crossing (article 16), and conduct survey works (article 17). It applies modified versions of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 and the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981, with a 5-year time limit for exercising acquisition powers and compensation provisions under the Land Compensation Act 1961.

This is a targeted infrastructure order for a specific railway project, not a regulatory burden of the type Better Britain targets. It has a 5-year sunset clause, proper compensation requirements, prior approval from Oxford City Council, and represents legitimate infrastructure development rather than bureaucratic regulation. Without compulsory purchase powers, essential railway infrastructure cannot be delivered due to holdout problems inherent in natural monopolies. The Order does not derive from EU law and addresses a genuine public infrastructure need where market alternatives are not viable.

This Order authorizes Network Rail to compulsorily acquire land and rights for Oxford Station Phase 2 improvements, replacing an earlier order. It applies the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 and Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981 with modifications, grants powers of temporary possession, extinguishes private rights of way, closes a level crossing, and provides for survey/investigation powers. The Order includes compensation provisions and a 5-year time limit for exercising acquisition powers.

While compulsory purchase powers are inherently coercive, railway infrastructure projects cannot proceed without them due to holdout problems where individual landowners could extract excessive compensation by withholding consent. This Order is narrowly scoped to a specific, approved public infrastructure project (Oxford Station expansion) with mandatory compensation provisions. Unlike regulatory burdens that distort markets or impose ongoing compliance costs, this is a one-time enabling instrument for genuine public infrastructure that will deliver transportation benefits. The procedural safeguards, compensation requirements, and time limitations built into this Order adequately protect affected landowners while allowing socially beneficial infrastructure to proceed.

Amends the Protection of Trading Interests (Authorisation) Regulations 2021 to expand authorizations for UK persons to comply with US extra-territorial sanctions, specifically adding the US Cuban Assets Control Regulations and renaming the Iran sanctions provision. Removes separate authorization for compliance with the laws relating to Iran and consolidates schedules.

This regulation authorizes compliance with US extra-territorial sanctions rather than asserting British sovereignty over trading policy. Post-Brexit Britain should not need Treasury/Department for Business authorization for its own citizens to trade freely — the very existence of the 'Protection of Trading Interests' regime acknowledges these are foreign impositions Britain should be blocking, not facilitating. The retained EU Blocking Regulation (EC 2271/96) already prohibits UK persons from complying with many of these US extra-territorial sanctions; this amendment merely carves out exceptions without addressing the fundamental problem: that foreign governments can legislate for British companies and the UK government treats this as normal. A genuinely free-trading Britain would repeal the blocking regime entirely and refuse to recognize such foreign overreach, not continue administering permission slips for compliance.

A short statutory instrument appointing 1st August 2022 as the day on which Schedule 5 to the Finance Act 2021 (concerning Collective Money Purchase Benefits in pension schemes) comes into force. This is purely a procedural 'appointed day' regulation that triggers the implementation of primary legislation.

This regulation is merely an administrative trigger mechanism that appoints a date for primary legislation to take effect. Deleting it would not reduce any regulatory burden—it would simply leave Schedule 5 uncommenced, requiring another statutory instrument to achieve the same procedural effect. As a purely mechanical implementation tool with no independent regulatory force, there is nothing to delete and Britons would gain nothing from its removal.

The Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022 (ECO4) mandates that large energy suppliers (participants) achieve home-heating cost reduction targets by installing energy efficiency measures (insulation, efficient heating systems, heat pumps) in domestic premises. The overall target is £224.3 million in annual cost savings over four phases (2022-2026). Participants must also meet minimum requirements for solid wall insulation and installations in low SAP-rated (E/F/G) properties. The scheme focuses on 'help to heat groups' (vulnerable/low-income households) and uses TrustMark certification, PAS 2035:2023 standards, and SAP/RdSAP assessments. The obligation is apportioned based on market share, with dual licence-holders treated as separate electricity and gas participants.

ECO4 mandates energy companies to subsidize energy efficiency improvements, with costs ultimately passed to all energy consumers—creating a hidden tax that distorts energy markets. The £224.3m target is arbitrarily set by bureaucrats rather than reflecting genuine consumer preferences. The complex compliance framework (TrustMark, PAS standards, SAP assessments, scoring algorithms, phased targets with minimum requirements) generates substantial administrative burden without clear evidence of cost-effectiveness versus direct market alternatives. By compelling energy suppliers to act as de facto welfare agencies for fuel poverty, the regulation diverts resources from genuine competition and innovation in energy services. The scheme perpetuates a cycle of government-mandated 'obligations' that cannot be repealed without political backlash, entrenching interventionist logic rather than allowing market-driven solutions for energy efficiency.

Commencement regulations for the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, specifying dates (1st August 2022 and 5th September 2022) when various provisions of the underlying Act come into force, including the new register of overseas entities, land ownership provisions, and associated compliance mechanisms. The regulations also specify territorial extent across England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

These are pure commencement regulations with no independent regulatory force—they merely schedule when substantive provisions of the underlying Act take effect. However, the underlying Act creates a costly new register of overseas entities with language requirements, annotation obligations, inspection regimes, correction/removal procedures, and financial penalties. This regulatory machinery adds compliance costs for overseas entities seeking to own UK land without evidence such mandates reduce economic crime more effectively than market-based disclosure incentives. The commencement order itself should be deleted as obsolete once its provisions are in force, and the underlying Act's costly mandate-based approach to transparency should be reconsidered in favour of lighter-touch disclosure requirements.

These regulations define 'victim of slavery' and 'victim of human trafficking' for purposes of Part 5 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. They specify that slavery/servitude/forced labour has the same meaning as ECHR Article 4, establish that personal circumstances may be considered when determining victim status, clarify that consent is irrelevant, and enumerate the methods and exploitative purposes that constitute human trafficking (including sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ trafficking, and forced service provision).

These regulations merely provide consistent definitional guidance for existing offenses in the 2022 Act. Deletion would create uncertainty in identifying victims without reducing any regulatory burden on businesses or economic activity. The definitions track ECHR Article 4 standards and provide clarity needed for law enforcement and victim protection. Unlike regulatory instruments that impose compliance costs or restrict economic activity, this is purely definitional and necessary for coherent enforcement of anti-slavery and anti-trafficking law.

This Order amends the Power to Award Degrees etc. (University College of Estate Management) Order of Council 2018, substituting article 2 to confirm the University College of Estate Management's competence to grant awards under section 76(2)(a) of the relevant Act for an indefinite period beginning 1st January 2019.

While degree-awarding monopolies granted by the state are inherently problematic and represent the kind of regulatory barrier that suppresses educational competition, deleting this instrument would immediately harm students enrolled at the institution who reasonably expected their qualifications to be recognised. The transitional harm outweighs the benefit of deletion in this specific case. However, this reflects the broader problem of state-controlled degree authorisation that should be phased out to allow market competition in higher education.

This Order amends the Able Marine Energy Park Development Consent Order 2014, making technical modifications including: updating coordinates for the berthing pocket, adding a new 'inset berth' definition, substituting harbour limits table coordinates, updating numerous document references from旧的AMEP numbering to new AME-036 references, and adding certification requirements for updated plans, drawings, and assessments.

This is a project-specific development consent amendment for marine infrastructure, not a broad regulatory burden. The changes are technical corrections and nomenclature updates to reflect revised surveys, drawings, and plans. Deleting it would create legal uncertainty around the approved marine energy park development, potentially halting investment and causing contractual complications. No free market principle is served by deleting a targeted consent order that merely updates coordinates and document references to reflect the actual as-built or as-intended development.

This Order designates coastal margin land between Calshot and Gosport for public access under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, appointing 2nd August 2022 as the date when the access preparation period ends. It implements the Secretary of State's approval of Natural England's coastal access report for this stretch of coastline.

This regulation does not fit the pattern of regulations Better Britain is tasked to review. It is not an EU-derived regulation imposing economic burden, not a financial regulation distorting markets, not healthcare monopoly legislation, and not a planning restriction suppressing housing supply. Coastal access rights are public rights of way provisions, not economic regulations that distort trade, create monopolies, increase costs, or reduce supply. Without such provisions, existing historic public paths could be blocked by landowners, harming a legitimate public amenity. The regulation achieves a public good (coastal access) that the market would not otherwise provide efficiently through voluntary easements.

This Order appoints 2nd August 2022 as the date on which the access preparation period ends for coastal margin land between Gosport and Portsmouth, pursuant to coastal access approvals granted under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. It clarifies that the relevant approval was given by the Secretary of State on 2nd March 2022 following Natural England's coastal access report submitted on 20th June 2019.

This Order merely administers a statutory mechanism under the pre-EU 1949 Act to designate a specific date for coastal access rights taking effect in one local area. It does not restrict business, impose EU-derived burdens, harm financial services, affect the NHS, or impede planning. Coastal access rights represent established public rights with broad societal benefit and predate EU membership. Deleting this would simply delay administrative implementation without changing underlying law, and the parent statute (1949 Act) would remain. No regulatory burden justification exists for deletion.

Post-Brexit statutory instrument that removes EU-related electoral provisions following the UK's departure from the European Union. It amends multiple regulations (Representation of the People Scotland 1986, Combination of Polls England & Wales 2004, Police and Crime Commissioner Elections Order 2012, Combined Authorities Mayoral Elections Order 2017) by deleting definitions, references, and procedures specific to European Parliamentary elections. It also directly revokes four EU regulations concerning European political parties and the 2014 Welsh Forms Order.

This regulation reduces regulatory burden rather than increasing it. It eliminates obsolete EU-derived electoral provisions that ceased to have practical effect when the UK left the EU, removing compliance costs and administrative complexity with no corresponding benefit. The revoked EU regulations on European political party funding are particularly appropriate to remove, as they imposed regulatory constraints on political organisations with no democratic accountability post-Brexit. Deleting this cleanup regulation would leave the statute books cluttered with inoperative EU references, creating confusion without any useful function.