Browse regulations

This Order modified the Football Spectators Act 1989 specifically for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, extending the 'control period' from five days to ten days before the first match. It applied to England and Wales and defined the control period as running from 10th November 2022 until the final match concluded on 18th December 2022.

This Order is wholly obsolete — it was a time-limited, tournament-specific instrument for an event that concluded in December 2022. No practical effect remains. Furthermore, the underlying 5-day control period mechanism in the 1989 Act itself restricts movement and imposes surveillance costs on individuals subject to banning orders, with dubious effectiveness at preventing the disorder it seeks to address. The arbitrary extension to 10 days compounds this without evidence of corresponding benefit.

These Regulations amend the Business and Planning Act 2020 and Licensing Act 2003 to extend the expiry date for coronavirus-era off-sales permissions for premises licences from 2022 to 2023. They extend regulatory easements originally implemented to help pubs and restaurants sell alcohol for off-consumption during the pandemic.

This regulation extends a temporary coronavirus emergency measure beyond its intended lifespan. The pandemic emergency has passed, and regulatory easements should expire as planned rather than being perpetually extended. This amendment perpetuates government intervention in alcohol licensing under the guise of emergency relief that is no longer justified, creating regulatory uncertainty and preventing return to normal market conditions.

These 2022 Regulations amend the Police Act 1997 criminal records disclosure regime to add the Ukraine Scheme (Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme) as a prescribed purpose for enhanced criminal record certificates and suitability checks. They require criminal record screenings of sponsors and all household members aged 16+ to assess suitability for providing accommodation to Ukrainian refugees.

While protecting vulnerable refugees has merit, this regulation imposes enhanced criminal record check requirements on private citizens volunteering to host Ukrainian families in their homes — a form of civic hospitality, not commercial activity. The compliance burden falls on ordinary households rather than institutions equipped for regulatory processes. The pre-existing Disclosure and Barring Service regime already prevents individuals from working with vulnerable groups if barred. These regulations add friction to the Homes for Ukraine scheme at precisely the moment streamlined private sponsorship should be encouraged, with unclear marginal safety benefit justifying the regulatory intrusion on private homes.

Amendment to the Customs (Tariff Quotas) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 that updates a version reference number in the definition of 'Quota Table' from version 3.0 (dated 22nd February 2022) to version 3.2 (dated 20th September 2022). This is a clerical/administrative update to point to the latest version of the incorporated Quota Table document.

This is a purely clerical amendment that merely updates a document version reference. It imposes no regulatory burden, creates no new obligations, and restricts no activity. The substantive tariff quota framework remains in the 2020 Regulations. Without this amendment, the legal text would reference an outdated version of the Quota Table, creating potential confusion between the text and actual administrative practice. The cost of keeping this technical update is zero; there is no regulatory burden to remove.

Administrative regulation that updates version numbers and dates in cross-references to three incorporated documents: the 'Authorised Use: Eligible Goods and Authorised Uses' document (v2.5 to v2.6), the 'Tariff of the United Kingdom' (version 1.10 to 1.11), and the relief regulations documentation (version 1.5 to 1.6). All changes update references to 20th September 2022 versions.

This regulation imposes no additional regulatory burden, cost, or restriction on economic activity. It is purely administrative housekeeping that updates cross-references to current document versions. Deleting it would create confusion and compliance uncertainty, as the referenced documents would become outdated. Britons would be worse off without this update as it maintains accurate references necessary for tariff classification, authorised use procedures, and duty relief calculations.

This Order extends the deadline for the Secretary of State to respond to the Committee on Climate Change's 2022 report (laid before Parliament on 29th June 2022) from the default period under section 37 of the Climate Change Act 2008 to 31st March 2023. It applies to the United Kingdom and came into force on 14th October 2022.

This Order serves no substantive regulatory purpose—it merely extends a administrative deadline. The real regulatory burden lies in the Climate Change Act 2008 itself, which this Order does nothing to address. Deleting this Order would simply revert to the original deadline, producing no meaningful deregulation. The underlying climate change reporting apparatus remains intact regardless. If the goal is reducing Britain's regulatory burden, attention should focus on primary legislation like the Climate Change Act 2008, not procedural instruments that merely adjust timelines.

This Order amends the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998 by updating various schedules containing subsidy calculation figures for local authorities administering housing benefit and related income-related benefits. It provides for updated sums applicable for subsidy calculations for years beginning April 2021 and April 2022, and updates the interpretation provision for HBAP (Housing Benefit Administration Penalty) from March 2020 to March 2022.

This is a purely technical amendatory instrument that updates figures and schedules within an existing administrative framework. Deleting it would not reduce regulatory burden, stimulate competition, or advance free-market principles in any meaningful way. Without these updated figures, the housing benefit subsidy system would lack current parameters for calculating payments to local authorities, causing administrative dysfunction. The underlying policy of housing benefit subsidy administration is not affected by this amendment — it simply ensures the existing system operates with accurate, contemporary figures. No gold-plating, no new compliance costs, and no restriction of supply or competition is introduced by this Order.

These Regulations amend the Building Regulations 2010 and Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 in England, coming into force on 26th December 2022. They include transitional provisions exempting 'previously notified work' (building work notified to local authorities before the new regulations) from the new requirements for 12 months. The actual substantive amendments are contained in the Schedule not provided here.

These amendment Regulations represent further regulatory layering onto an already complex building regulatory regime. The Schedule amendments are not visible, but the instrument itself demonstrates the problem of retrospective regulatory burden — new requirements being imposed on an industry with only a 12-month grandfathering window. Building regulations, while serving safety functions, have become a significant contributor to Britain's housing crisis by adding compliance costs, delays, and complexity to construction. Each amendment cycle deepens this burden. The retention of these amendments alongside the base 2010 Regulations creates cumulative regulatory weight that suppresses construction supply and increases costs — hidden harms that ultimately fall on consumers and renters. Parliament should repeal this instrument and conduct a comprehensive review of whether the original 2010 base Regulations and subsequent amendments collectively serve their stated purposes at proportionate cost.

Charities Order extending to England and Wales that brings into force on 17th October 2022 provisions relating to Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, with substantive amendments contained in the Schedule.

This is a routine administrative statutory instrument relating to the charitable status of a specific educational institution (Royal Holloway and Bedford New College). It provides procedural framework for the Order's commencement and extent, with substantive provisions in the Schedule. No regulatory burden is evident from the face of the instrument - it simply facilitates existing charitable arrangements rather than imposing new restrictions or requirements.

Saving provision that preserves the effect of regulation 2 of the 2020 Regulations (suspension of waiting days for statutory sick pay for coronavirus-related incapacity) beyond the expiry of section 43 of the Coronavirus Act 2020. Applies only to periods of incapacity for work related to coronavirus that begin on or before 24th September 2022. Extends to Northern Ireland only.

This regulation perpetuates a COVID-era emergency intervention beyond its intended lifespan. By September 2022, coronavirus was no longer a public health emergency warranting special statutory sick pay treatment. The suspension of waiting days distorts labor market signals by artificially lowering the cost of coronavirus-related absenteeism. This saving provision prevents the natural expiry of temporary measures, creating lasting complexity in the sick pay system from an emergency that has passed. Such emergency exceptions should sunset, not be preserved through saving provisions that extend them indefinitely for legacy cases.

Commencement regulation that brings sections 94 and 96 of the Environment Act 2021 into force on 29th September 2022. These sections concern valuation of other land and agricultural land within internal drainage districts in England (and partially Wales).

This is a procedural commencement instrument with no substantive regulatory content—it merely triggers the effective date for provisions already enacted in the Environment Act 2021. Deleting it would create administrative confusion regarding when the underlying provisions take effect, without actually removing any regulatory burden, which resides in the primary legislation itself.

Amends multiple Social Security regulations to clarify that individuals who do not require leave to enter or remain in the UK under section 3ZA of the Immigration Act 1971 are not subject to habitual residence requirements for benefit eligibility. Affects Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, State Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit, and various disability/attendance allowances.

While these amendments expand the scope of benefits, they address a genuine administrative anomaly rather than creating new regulatory burdens. Without this clarification, individuals legally present in the UK who do not require leave to remain would face arbitrary exclusion from benefits they would otherwise qualify for, creating both humanitarian hardship and administrative chaos from appeals and judicial reviews. The regulation removes a barrier rather than expanding entitlements—it ensures existing statutory schemes function as Parliament intended for a specific category of persons.

Amendment to NHS Pension Scheme Regulations 2015 updating employee and practitioner contribution tables for scheme year 2022/23, with revised pensionable earnings bands (£13,246 to £72,030+) and corresponding contribution percentage rates (5.1% to 13.5%). Also amends transitional provisions for tier 2 ill-health pensioners returning to NHS employment on or after 1 April 2022.

These regulations impose mandatory contribution tiers on NHS employees and practitioners without parliamentary scrutiny of the underlying scheme design. The contribution structure effectively operates as a regressive payroll tax within a defined-benefit scheme, reducing take-home pay and distorting labour market incentives for healthcare workers. The rigid band structure prevents individual choice and creates administrative complexity. While NHS pensions serve a recruitment function, the specific contribution rate regime represents unnecessary state-mandated compulsion rather than voluntary pension provision. A competitive labour market for healthcare workers would allow employers and employees to negotiate compensation packages including retirement benefits without government-dictated contribution schedules.

This Commencement Order brings section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 into force on 26th September 2022, enabling video recorded cross-examination or re-examination for vulnerable witnesses. It applies to specific Crown Courts listed in the Order (such as the Central Criminal Court, various combined courts, and trial centres) and one youth court (Leeds Magistrates' Court), for witnesses eligible for assistance under sections 16 (age/incapacity) or 17 (sexual offence/ modern slavery complainants).

Without this regulation, vulnerable witnesses—including sexual offence victims and those with age-related or incapacitating conditions—would face greater trauma from live, in-person cross-examination. Video recorded examination preserves testimony when memory is freshest while reducing secondary victimisation. Deleting this regulation would harm the most vulnerable participants in the criminal justice system without any corresponding economic benefit. While this is a procedural rather than economic regulation, the welfare of vulnerable witnesses is a legitimate public interest that this mechanism serves in a way that is hard to replicate through market mechanisms or private arrangement.

Technical amendment regulations that update cross-references from the 2017 Standard Crime Contract to the 2022 Standard Crime Contract across the Criminal Legal Aid (General) Regulations 2013, Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013, and Criminal Legal Aid (Financial Resources) Regulations 2013. Includes transitional provisions for services pursuant to pre-1st October 2022 determinations.

This is a purely administrative amendment that updates outdated cross-references to reflect the new 2022 Standard Crime Contract. Without these updates, the principal regulations would incorrectly reference an obsolete 2017 contract that has been replaced, creating legal uncertainty and potential contractual chaos in criminal legal aid delivery. The amendment itself imposes no new regulatory burden—it merely aligns reference points with current contractual arrangements. Deleting it would leave the statute books referencing a non-existent contract.