Browse regulations

Temporary pandemic measure suspending director liability for wrongful trading under Insolvency Act 1986 sections 214 and 246ZB. During the 'relevant period' (26 November 2020 to 30 June 2021), courts must assume directors are not responsible for any worsening of the company's financial position. Excludes banks, insurance companies, investment firms, electronic money institutions, payment institutions, and various other financial entities from eligibility.

This pandemic-era temporary suspension of wrongful trading liability has already expired (ended June 30, 2021) and should be deleted rather than remain on the statute book indefinitely. Beyond its obsolescence, the regulation creates perverse incentives: it shields directors from the consequences of continued trading during insolvency, effectively transferring risk from directors to creditors. The wrongful trading provisions exist precisely to deter directors from gambling with creditor assets when recovery is unlikely—suspending this deterrent during COVID likely worsened creditor outcomes. Keeping expired, sector-specific COVID interventions on the statute book serves no ongoing purpose and maintains a precedent of overriding insolvency law for political convenience.

Technical amendment regulations that modify air quality legislation to clarify the interaction between retained EU law and Northern Ireland Protocol obligations. The regulations add definitional provisions for 'NI Protocol obligation' and 'Northern Ireland Protocol', carve out activities within NI Protocol scope from certain BAT (Best Available Techniques) conclusions, and amend volatile organic compounds regulations to specify territorial application. Made under Brexit emergency powers to ensure legal coherence.

These amendments are necessary legal housekeeping to prevent conflicts and confusion between UK and EU regulatory frameworks under the NI Protocol. Without these clarifications, there would be legal ambiguity regarding which standards apply to industrial emissions in Northern Ireland, potentially creating compliance gaps or duplicate obligations. The amendments do not expand regulatory burden but rather define its proper scope. Deletion would create legal uncertainty and potential compliance issues for businesses covered by the Protocol.

Post-Brexit amendment to the Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000 introducing: (1) a new 'Service Provider from Switzerland visa' category with 90-day leave provisions, (2) S2 Healthcare Visitor provisions for Irish nationals aged 12+, (3) automated gate provisions where passage is deemed leave given before arrival, and (4) expanded list of countries whose nationals may use automated gates (including Switzerland).

This amendment primarily provides facilitative, procedural machinery rather than new restrictions. It streamlines entry for business travelers (Swiss service providers), maintains healthcare visitor access (S2), and expands automated gate use—all reducing friction for legitimate travelers. The original 2000 Order's framework has successfully managed immigration from countries like Australia, USA, Japan, Canada for decades without creating excessive burden. Deletion would create administrative chaos and harm legitimate travel and trade.

The Prevention of Trade Diversion (Key Medicines) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 adapt EU Regulation 2016/793 for post-Brexit Great Britain. The original EU regulation aimed to prevent cheap medicines intended for lower-income markets from being diverted back to higher-price EU markets through parallel trade. This SI transfers regulatory authority from the EU Commission to the Secretary of State, replaces 'Union' with 'Great Britain', updates customs procedure references to UK law (Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018), and adds review/reporting requirements. It maintains controls on tiered-priced medicines and allows the Secretary of State to regulate which products qualify.

This regulation perpetuates a system of trade restrictions on pharmaceutical products based on artificial price tiering. It restricts export freedom and creates bureaucratic approval requirements that add compliance costs with no corresponding benefit to Britons. The regulation constrains the ability of pharmaceutical companies to respond to price differentials across markets, which is a natural consequence of trade in a global economy. While the original EU regulation may have been intended to protect patients in developing countries from price arbitrage, it fundamentally interferes with market signals and creates opportunities for government overreach (the Secretary of State can add products to the regulated list by secondary legislation). Post-Brexit Britain should be removing such trade impediments, not codifying them into domestic law, particularly when these controls could drive pharmaceutical investment toward less regulated jurisdictions.

Temporary amendment to Parish and Community Meetings (Polls) Rules 1987 modifying poll timetables and procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applies to polls during a 'relevant period' (December 31, 2020 to May 5, 2021), adjusting deadlines for withdrawal notices, notice of poll timing, polling hours (4pm-9pm), and scheduling polls between May 6 and June 11, 2021.

This regulation was emergency COVID-19 legislation that has served its purpose and is now obsolete. The defined 'relevant period' ended on May 5, 2021, meaning the modified procedures no longer apply. Keeping an expired, time-limited instrument on the statute book serves no purpose and creates unnecessary legislative clutter. No Britons are worse off by its deletion as the original 1987 Rules automatically resumed after the relevant period expired.

Technical amendment regulations to the Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention) Regulations 2013 and Non-Domestic Rating (Levy and Safety Net) Regulations 2013. They adjust: cost factors for Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire areas; add Milton Keynes to the schedules; set 0% levy rate for certain authorities; modify formulas for calculating retained rates income; set Buckinghamshire Council's rates retention percentage at 71.6%; insert new calculation methodology for paragraph 1(4C); and update table values for Bournemouth/Christchurch/Poole and Dorset. These are administrative formulas governing how business rates revenue is distributed between local authorities and central government.

These are technical amendments to the business rates retention system—a tax regime that burdens commercial property and distorts market decisions. While business rates themselves are problematic, these amendments perpetuate a complex web of formulas, retention percentages, levy rates, and safety net mechanisms that add administrative burden without adding economic value. The specific values changed (cost factors, retention percentages, levy thresholds) represent arbitrary government-set parameters that distort local government incentives and create compliance costs for billing authorities. The regulation provides no path toward deregulation or simplification; it simply adjusts the numbers within an interventionist framework. Such technical fiscal adjustments benefit from parliamentary scrutiny but should not be retained as permanent statutory instruments—they should be incorporated into the annual financial settlement process rather than fixed in secondary legislation.

This is the Persistent Organic Pollutants (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, which amends the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations 2007 to align them with the UK's post-Brexit regulatory framework. The SI transfers competent authority functions from EU bodies to UK agencies (Environment Agency, SEPA, NRW, DAERA), substitutes references to EU legislation with 'retained EU law', establishes appropriate authority definitions for England, Scotland, and Wales, and makes various technical amendments to implement the UK's obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. It also addresses Northern Ireland Protocol implications.

This regulation is a Brexit-related technical amendment that merely reorganises which UK body holds authority over existing POPs controls. The underlying POPs restrictions remain intact and would continue under international treaty obligations (Stockholm Convention) regardless. This SI adds no new value - it simply replaces 'EU' references with 'UK' while maintaining the same restrictive substance controls, bureaucratic permit requirements, and compliance burdens. The real effect is rebranding regulation, not reducing it. If POPs controls are warranted, they should be achieved through simpler, more competitive mechanisms that don't require this degree of administrative overhead and criminal enforcement machinery.

The Construction Products (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 amend the 2019 Regulations to ensure the EU Construction Products Regulation (305/2011) and RAMS Regulation (765/2008) continue functioning in the UK post-Brexit, particularly regarding Northern Ireland. It defines UK-assessed vs EU-assessed products, establishes the UK(NI) indication marking for products placed on the Northern Ireland market, modifies definitions of 'importer' and 'authorised representative' to include EEA states, and provides enforcement mechanisms for Northern Ireland.

Unlike typical EU gold-plating, this regulation addresses genuine post-Brexit regulatory gaps rather than adding unnecessary burden. The Northern Ireland Protocol creates legal constraints requiring EU regulatory alignment for goods entering the EU single market from Northern Ireland. Deleting this would breach international treaty obligations, create regulatory voids, and harm Northern Ireland's construction sector. While the 'relevant market' definition linking Northern Ireland to EEA states is not ideal, it is a necessary consequence of the Protocol, not regulatory overreach. The regulation also distinguishes UK-assessed from EU-assessed products, creating some independent UK pathway.

UK statutory instrument amending COVID-19 international travel regulations, effective November 28, 2020. Removes certain exemptions and requirements from the International Travel Regulations, adds countries to exempt territories list (Aruba, Bhutan, Kiribati, Mongolia, Micronesia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu), removes Estonia and Latvia, and revokes the Denmark-specific travel regulations. Includes transitional provisions preserving prior rules for arrivals before the effective date.

COVID-19 travel restrictions caused catastrophic economic harm to aviation, tourism, and hospitality sectors while failing to prevent viral spread — variants still entered the UK regardless. These blunt restrictions on movement and liberty should have been deleted. The transitional provisions acknowledging retrospective application reveal regulatory incoherence. Any public health objectives could have been achieved through less restrictive alternatives such as targeted testing, vaccination verification, or voluntary isolation — without criminal penalties for non-compliance. The retention of these pandemic-era controls without sunset provisions represents the kind of regulatory creep that erodes both economic dynamism and personal freedom.

EU Exit amendment to Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002. Omits regulation 27B (cross border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences with EU member states), revokes the 2017 amendment regulations, and updates terminology from 'exit day' to 'IP completion day' in the 2018 EU Exit amendments.

This regulation is a technical Brexit amendment that removes an EU-derived regulatory mechanism (cross border information exchange). It achieves deregulation by eliminating a regulation tied to EU membership. Deleting it would反而 restore regulation 27B, reintroducing an obsolete EU-linked requirement that serves no purpose post-Brexit and would impose ongoing compliance costs with no corresponding benefit outside the EU framework.

Brexit amendment to vehicle registration plate regulations, introducing mandatory new specifications (Part A1) for plates on vehicles registered from 1st September 2021. Requires compliance with BS AU 145e or equivalent EEA standard, mandates specific color schemes (white front, yellow rear), and requires additional markings showing British standard number, manufacturer name, and supplier details with specific dimensional requirements (3-10mm height for markings, 7mm spacing, 5mm border width limit).

While overly prescriptive in dimensional specifics, deletion would create a regulatory vacuum. Without this, there would be no legal minimum standards for registration plate visibility, reflectivity, or legibility—undermining road safety and police vehicle identification. The supplier traceability requirements serve a legitimate purpose in holding manufacturers accountable. The BS AU 145e standard provides a performance-based framework that the market alone might not enforce, and post-Brexit the UK requires its own mandatory standards rather than relying on EEA equivalency. Future review could streamline unnecessary prescriptive details while retaining core safety requirements.

This Order amends Section 113A of the Police Act 1997, which governs criminal record certificates (DBS checks) and defines what convictions constitute 'relevant matters' for disclosure. The amendments: (1) expand disclosure from 'one conviction only' to 'any of the following convictions', (2) remove paragraph (b) entirely, (3) add an age condition (18+) to paragraph (c), and (4) in subsection (6E), omit paragraph (d)(ii). The Order extends to England and Wales only and came into force the day after it was made.

This regulation expands the scope of criminal convictions subject to mandatory disclosure on DBS certificates, creating greater barriers to employment for ex-offenders. Such employment barriers reduce economic efficiency, impede rehabilitation and reintegration, and increase recidivism by making lawful employment harder to obtain. While the stated aim is protecting vulnerable groups, the expansion captures many convictions unrelated to job performance, distorting the labor market for reformed offenders without proportionate safety benefit. The State should not mandate disclosure regimes that effectively bar reformed citizens from gainful employment — this is precisely the kind of bureaucratic interference Adam Smith warned against when he noted that monopolies and barriers to opportunity distort natural market outcomes.

Authorises Dyson Technical Training Limited (company number 10701273) to grant taught awards under section 42(2)(a) of the relevant Act, for a fixed term from 1 September 2024 to 30 November 2027, and permits Dyson to authorise other institutions to grant such awards on its behalf.

This Order grants a government-conferred monopoly privilege to a single company to award degrees, restricting other training providers from competing on equal terms. Degree-awarding authority is a valuable legal privilege that creates barriers to entry for alternative education providers. A free market in education would allow institutions to earn reputation through competition, with quality signaled through demonstrated outcomes rather than government authorization. The fixed term does not cure the fundamental problem: government is picking winners in the education market, creating artificial scarcity of credentialing authority that raises costs and limits options for learners and employers alike.

These Regulations amend the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012 to implement the EU Withdrawal Agreement's requirements for Northern Ireland. From 1 January 2021, the scheme applies in Northern Ireland only for electricity generation for the single wholesale electricity market in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Key changes include: transferring regulatory authority from the Secretary of State to DAERA (Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs); updating references from the 2013 to 2019 EU Registries Regulation; removing aviation-related provisions; significantly increasing certain penalties; adding new provisions for handling underreporting discovered after permit transfers; and omitting numerous regulations and schedules that no longer apply to Northern Ireland.

While these regulations represent retained EU law that should generally be scrutinized, deletion is not viable here. The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol legally obligates continued alignment with EU emissions trading rules—the regulations implement a binding international treaty commitment. Deleting them would breach the Withdrawal Agreement and disrupt the integrated single electricity market spanning Ireland and Northern Ireland. The regulations are narrowly scoped to Northern Ireland only and represent minimum necessary implementation rather than gold-plating. Notably, the amendments actually reduce regulatory burden by removing UK-wide aviation provisions and streamlining references. The underlying ETS framework, despite its inefficiencies as a market mechanism, cannot be unilaterally discarded in this context without violating international law.

This Order brings into force a variation to the Public Lending Right Scheme 1982, increasing the payment rate from 9.03p to 9.55p per loan of eligible books from public libraries. The rate change applies to the Central Fund payments to authors under the PLR scheme.

Britons would be marginally worse off only if this Order were deleted—the consequence would be authors receiving 9.03p instead of 9.55p per library loan, a reduction of 5.7%. While the underlying PLR scheme represents government intervention in the literary market, this particular Order simply adjusts a controlled price within an existing mechanism. Without this Order, the rate increase would not take effect, reducing authors' compensation with no corresponding benefit to taxpayers or library users. The change is minor and does not alter the fundamental nature of the scheme.