Browse regulations

Amends the Trade Marks Act 1994 to expand protection for well-known trade marks. Key changes: (1) extends qualifying protection to UK nationals and those with UK establishments, (2) restructures Section 56(2) to separate confusion-based and reputation-based infringement tests, and (3) adds new subsection 56(2A) extending protection to goods/services that are not similar to those the well-known mark protects.

The expansion to 'not similar' goods/services in new subsection 56(2A) creates excessive trademark monopoly rights beyond preventing consumer confusion. This allows well-known mark owners to block legitimate competition in unrelated markets, functioning as an anti-competitive barrier to entry. While trademark protection serves useful purposes, extending it to non-similar goods/services based solely on 'reputation' and 'unfair advantage' claims goes beyond protecting consumer welfare and into rent-seeking behavior that raises costs for businesses and limits consumer choice.

These Regulations implement sections 8 and 9 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, creating duties and powers for 'specified authorities' (local authorities, police, health bodies, etc.) to prepare and publish strategies to prevent and reduce serious violence. They establish publication requirements, submission deadlines to the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers, bilingual requirements for Wales, and grant convening powers for local policing bodies. The Regulations also amend the 2007 Crime and Disorder Strategy Regulations to integrate serious violence into existing partnership strategies.

These regulations exemplify how government planning documents create bureaucratic burden without demonstrably preventing violence. They compel local authorities to produce prescribed strategies, submit them to central government, and follow detailed procedural requirements—all adding administrative cost with no clear evidence that such strategic documents reduce serious violence. The amendments to 2007 regulations show regulatory accumulation rather than streamlining. The true drivers of violence reduction are economic opportunity, rule of law, and strong institutions—not the production of strategic documents mandated by central government. Such mandates crowd out local innovation and community-based solutions while perpetuating the costly illusion that Whitehall-directed planning can solve complex social problems.

These Regulations amend EU Regulation 1024/2012 (the Internal Market Information System Regulation) to replace EU-centric references with UK equivalents, update data protection references from EU directives to the UK GDPR, and make consequential changes. The IMI Regulation is revoked in relation to England, Wales, and Scotland but continues to apply to Northern Ireland only, maintaining administrative cooperation procedures for mutual recognition of goods, return of cultural objects, and firearms control via the Information Commissioner's oversight.

Post-Brexit regulatory cleanup that retains an EU-derived administrative cooperation structure now limited to Northern Ireland only. The IMI system was designed for multi-state EU coordination; reducing it to a single jurisdiction removes its original network effects while preserving the compliance burden. The three retained cooperation areas (goods mutual recognition, cultural objects, firearms) could be handled through simpler bilateral mechanisms or direct enforcement rather than maintaining a complex electronic system with ongoing administrative overhead. The regulation represents legacy EU infrastructure inadequately adapted rather than a purpose-built UK solution.

Commencement regulations that bring into force provisions of the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act 2021, specifically sections 1-2 and the Schedule regarding code rights for telecommunications infrastructure on leasehold land. In force in England and Wales from 26th December 2022 and Scotland from 1st July 2023.

These provisions enable telecommunications operators to exercise code rights over land connected to leased premises, facilitating broadband and telecom infrastructure deployment. Without this statutory framework, leaseholders and operators would face costly private negotiations or litigation to resolve access disputes. The regulation addresses a genuine coordination problem in property rights that the market alone cannot efficiently resolve, reducing transaction costs for infrastructure deployment that benefits consumers and businesses alike.

Amends multiple electoral regulations to improve voting assistance for persons with disabilities, including updating terminology from 'blind person' to 'persons with disabilities', requiring appropriate equipment in polling stations, expanding who can assist disabled voters (age 18+ in England), and creating new declaration forms for companions across various election types (parliamentary, local, mayoral, referendums, PCC elections, and recall petitions).

These regulations remove barriers to democratic participation for disabled citizens — expanding access rather than restricting it. Unlike economic regulations that distort markets or create monopolies, these ensure disabled persons can exercise a fundamental constitutional right. Deletion would harm disabled voters' ability to participate in elections, create inconsistent standards across election types, and remove clear guidance for returning officers. The benefit to disabled citizens of being able to vote independently or with assistance clearly outweighs the administrative costs of compliance.

Amends the Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) Regulations 2020 to modify fee structures for Broadcasting (VHF band frequencies), Fixed Wireless Access, and Spectrum Access. Increases the ERP threshold for lower-tier VHF fees from 1 Watt to 2 Watts, introduces daily caps of £200 and £1,200 for respective tiers, and adds new Spectrum Access entries.

Spectrum licence charges are a government-imposed cost structure that artificially elevates the cost of broadcasting and wireless access, creating barriers to entry for smaller operators and suppressing innovation in the sector. These fees represent the kind of regulatory burden inherited from EU frameworks that should have been subject to democratic scrutiny rather than retained wholesale. The cap system, while seemingly generous, still represents arbitrary price controls that distort market signals about spectrum value. Wireless access and broadcasting markets would function more efficiently without government-mandated fee schedules dictating what entities pay for spectrum usage — allocation should be market-driven rather than administratively priced.

Amends the Communications Act 2003 to delay implementation of advertising restrictions on 'less healthy' food and drink products from 1 January 2023 to 1 October 2025. The regulation extends to all of the UK and affects sections 321A, 368FA, and 368Z14 regarding advertising objectives, definitions, and prohibitions for less healthy food and drink advertising.

This regulation merely postpones existing advertising restrictions on 'less healthy' food, rather than removing them. The underlying restrictions represent government interference in commercial speech that distorts competition in the food industry. The 'less healthy' classification is inherently paternalistic, with government deciding which products may or may not be advertised. Such restrictions limit consumer information, harm businesses' ability to compete, and represent a command-and-control approach that has repeatedly failed in practice. Deleting this amendment means the restrictions remain delayed, and further legislative action should be taken to repeal the underlying advertising prohibitions entirely, restoring the freedom of businesses to advertise lawful products and consumers to receive commercial information.

These 2022 Regulations amend the Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 and the Customs (Special Procedures and Outward Processing) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018. Key changes include: (1) adding a pre-notification option allowing importation notifications up to 4 hours before goods arrive under specified conditions; (2) updating the Oral or By conduct list reference from version 5 (March 2022) to version 6 (December 2022); (3) expanding free-circulation procedures to include Part H (reusable packaging) alongside existing categories; (4) adding section 43 relief to the available duty/VAT relief provisions; and (5) adding a specification requirement for inward processing authorisations.

This instrument imposes no new regulatory burden—it only adds optional flexibilities and expands categories of goods eligible for simplified customs procedures. The pre-notification option (new paragraph 6) gives traders valuable flexibility without mandating action. The expanded relief categories (Part H reusable packaging, additional relief sections) reduce friction for legitimate trade. Deleting these amendments would remove beneficial provisions while leaving the underlying 2018 Regulations intact with outdated references and narrower scopes, creating inconsistency and reducing trading flexibility with no corresponding benefit.

The Aviation Security (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 amend Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1998 on aviation security standards. The amendments omit certain airport security provisions (points 1.1.3.4, 1.3, final sentence of 1.6.5), delete Chapter 4 entirely on passengers and cabin baggage, modify hold baggage requirements, remove point 7.1.2 on air carrier mail/materials, and insert definitional amendments for LAGs (liquids, aerosols and gels), STEBs (security tamper-evident bags), and LEDS equipment across Chapters 8, 9, and 12.

This regulation removes critical aviation security measures including entire chapters governing passengers, cabin baggage, and hold baggage screening. While the stated aim is regulatory simplification post-Brexit, these deletions appear to reduce security requirements without clear evidence that equivalent safety can be maintained through less prescriptive means. The amendments create definitional additions but remove substantive security obligations, potentially creating gaps in passenger and baggage screening regimes. Britons would face increased security risks from removing layers of aviation security without demonstrated compensating measures.

The Animals and Animal Health, Feed and Food, Plants and Plant Health (Amendment) Regulations 2022 is a post-Brexit statutory instrument that amends retained EU regulations in the areas of plant health (EU 2016/2031), official food/feed controls (EU 2017/625), transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE/999/2001), animal transport (1/2005), and various import/ certification regulations. It primarily: (1) inserts penalty provisions allowing regulations to create criminal offences for infringements with up to 2 years imprisonment; (2) replaces 'Member State' references with 'appropriate authority' to enable national rather than EU-level control; (3) provides administrative powers for the appropriate authority to designate, modify, or revoke competent authority designations; (4) makes numerous technical amendments to import lists, certification requirements, and transitional arrangements.

This regulation perpetuates the problem of unscrutinised retained EU law on the UK statute book. While it makes technical amendments necessary post-Brexit, it embeds problematic features: (1) Criminal penalty provisions (up to 2 years imprisonment) creatable by delegated legislation - excessive government power over citizens without full Parliamentary scrutiny; (2) The retained EU regulatory apparatus for food, animals, and plants imposes compliance costs that drive business to less regulated jurisdictions, yet this regulation makes no fundamental reform of that framework; (3) These rules were inherited wholesale from EU directives without democratic review and remain on the books despite the Brexit opportunity to repeal them. The core functions of food safety, biosecurity, and animal welfare could be achieved through less burdensome means such as private certification, liability rules, and targeted civil penalties rather than this comprehensive criminal regulatory regime.

This Order amends the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Estimates and Accounts) Order 2022 by substituting an updated Schedule of designated bodies. It comes into force on 31 January 2023. The Order adjusts which public bodies are classified as 'designated bodies' subject to specific government resource accounting, estimates, and audit requirements under the 2000 Act.

Removing this amendment would leave an outdated schedule of designated bodies in place, potentially creating confusion about which entities have current reporting obligations. The underlying framework (resource accounting, audit, estimates) serves important functions for parliamentary accountability and transparency of public finances—without which citizens and markets cannot properly assess government liabilities and fiscal sustainability. While some compliance costs exist, these are integral to maintaining trust in public finance rather than regulatory burden on private enterprise.

These Regulations amend Schedule 10 of the Finance Act 2022 by substituting a date related to the Public Interest Business Protection Tax. Specifically, they change the deadline from '28 January 2023' to '30 April 2024' — a deferral of approximately 15 months.

This is a minor administrative date change that provides additional time for implementation of an existing tax measure. While the underlying Public Interest Business Protection Tax may warrant separate review, this specific instrument merely extends a deadline and imposes no additional regulatory burden. Deleting it would simply revert to the earlier, potentially problematic deadline without removing the underlying legislation.

This SI amends the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 and the Trade in Animals and Related Products (Scotland) Regulations 2012 to implement post-Brexit changes. It modifies numerous EU Directives (64/432, 88/407, 89/556, 90/429, 91/68, 92/65, 92/118, 2002/99, 2004/68, 2009/156, 2009/158) for UK use, defines key terms, and delegates legislative functions to the appropriate authority (Secretary of State or Scottish Ministers). It extends to England, Wales, and Scotland.

This regulation exemplifies the core problem Better Britain seeks to address: thousands of EU laws were retained wholesale after Brexit with no democratic review. Rather than seizing regulatory independence to reduce burden, this regulation simply transposes EU directives into domestic law with only mechanical modifications (replacing 'Member State' with 'country', etc.). The extensive cross-references to 11 EU directives, layered definitions, and delegated powers to make further regulations perpetuate the EU's bureaucratic approach to animal trade. Animal health objectives could be achieved through simpler, market-friendly mechanisms such as private certification, liability rules, and destination-country requirements rather than prescriptive import controls. The regulation also lacks proper parliamentary scrutiny—regulations made under delegated powers are subject only to annulment, not affirmative approval.

These Regulations set mandatory standard terms for agreements imposed by a Part 4A order (under the Electronic Communications Code) relating to telecommunications infrastructure on leasehold property. They apply to England, Wales, and Scotland, with different commencement dates.

These regulations impose standardised contract terms by government decree, removing the freedom of parties to negotiate mutually acceptable arrangements. While telecommunications infrastructure access serves a public interest, mandating specific 'Terms of Agreement' via regulation rather than allowing market negotiation constitutes intrusive price and contract fixing. Such regulations create precedent for further contractual interference, remove incentives for telecommunications providers to offer competitive terms to leaseholders, and reflect the very bureaucratic approach to private property rights that inhibits infrastructure investment. The public benefit of connectivity can be achieved through other means that preserve contractual freedom.

Amends the Prescribed Persons (Reports on Disclosures of Information) Regulations 2017 to add members of the Scottish Parliament as 'relevant prescribed persons' who may receive protected disclosures of information, while removing sub-paragraph (e) and adding 'or' after sub-paragraph (d).

This regulation expands the prescribed persons framework by adding Scottish Parliament members to the list of those who can receive protected disclosures. This imposes additional compliance costs and potential liability on businesses and individuals who must navigate an expanded reporting regime. The framework itself restricts voluntary information exchange by creating government-defined categories of acceptable recipients. Parliamentarians should not be substituted for technical regulators in receiving disclosure reports — this conflates political representation with regulatory oversight, potentially politicising sensitive information flows and adding bureaucratic layers without corresponding benefit.