← Back to overview

Browse regulations

Search, filter, and sort all reviewed regulations.

keep The North London Heat and Power Generating Station (Correction) Order 2018 uksi-2018-822 · 2018
Summary

This is a correcting statutory instrument that makes technical amendments to the North London Heat and Power Generating Station Order 2017, which originally authorized the construction and operation of an energy-from-waste generating station in North London. The correction Order contains a schedule with a table specifying what text is to be substituted, inserted, or omitted at specific locations in the original Order.

Reason

This is a minor technical correction Order that rectifies errors in the 2017 authorization for an energy infrastructure project. Deleting it would leave uncorrected errors in the underlying Order without reducing any regulatory burden — corrections merely fix mistakes, they do not impose new obligations. The project itself (energy-from-waste generating station) contributes to UK energy security and infrastructure, and removing this correction would create administrative confusion rather than reduce statism.

delete Scheme submitted by the Agency, as modified by the Secretary of State uksi-2018-823 · 2018
Summary

A local statutory instrument establishing the Axe Brue Internal Drainage Board, confirming a scheme submitted by the Environment Agency for the management of water levels and drainage in a specific geographic district. The Order defines administrative arrangements for the drainage board and incorporates modifications made by the Secretary of State.

Reason

This is a hyper-local administrative order confirming an internal drainage district scheme. It has no discernible impact on national economic competitiveness, trade, financial services, healthcare, or planning. Internal Drainage Boards are legacy local authorities that add a layer of bureaucracy for ratepayers without driving any identifiable economic policy objective within this agency's free-market mandate. The regulation is obsolescent as a routine administrative confirmation with no ongoing regulatory burden to assess.

keep Scheme submitted by the Agency, as modified by the Secretary of State uksi-2018-824 · 2018
Summary

The Parrett Internal Drainage Board Order 2018 confirms a scheme submitted by the Environment Agency with modifications made by the Secretary of State. The Order establishes the legal framework for the Parrett Internal Drainage Board, a local body responsible for managing water levels, drainage, and flood risk in the Parrett catchment area (primarily in Somerset). The scheme details are contained in a Schedule appended to the Order.

Reason

Internal Drainage Boards are locally-accountable bodies performing legitimate functions in flood prevention and water management — critical infrastructure services for low-lying areas. Without this Order confirming the scheme, the legal basis for the Board's powers and responsibilities would be absent, potentially leaving properties and agricultural land at increased flood risk. While the regulation creates a degree of local administrative burden, the harm of deleting it (loss of coordinated water management authority) outweighs the cost of retention, and the Board operates under democratic oversight from its ratepayers.

delete The Trade Marks Regulations 2018 uksi-2018-825 · 2018
Summary

The Trade Marks Regulations 2018 amend the Trade Marks Act 1994 to implement EU trade mark directives into UK law. Key changes include: expanded definition of trade marks to include sounds and shapes; new grounds for refusal of registration (geographical indications, plant variety denominations, traditional wine terms); enhanced infringement provisions including customs border enforcement powers; expanded licensing rights; and updated procedures for opposition and renewal. The regulations extensively reference EU law including the European Union Trade Mark Regulation and European Customs Enforcement Regulation.

Reason

Post-Brexit this regulation perpetuates EU-derived trade mark bureaucracy that was never properly scrutinized by Parliament. It creates artificial monopolies restricting competition, expands protected categories (sounds, shapes, colours) beyond what is necessary for genuine identification, and imposes customs enforcement obligations tied to EU regulations that no longer serve UK interests. The special protections for geographical indications, plant varieties, and traditional wine terms represent protectionist measures benefiting incumbents at expense of consumers and new market entrants. The extensive EU law references (European Union Trade Mark Regulation, European Customs Enforcement Regulation) create legal uncertainty and maintain EU regulatory entanglement incompatible with UK's independent trade policy.

delete Prescribed Forms uksi-2018-827 · 2018
Summary

UK statutory instrument establishing procedures for Combined Authorities (Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West of England) regarding spatial development strategies. Covers requirements for strategy content (title, reasoned justification, key/inset diagrams), public participation (12-week consultation), examination in public, publication requirements, and temporarily modified COVID-19 provisions for online participation.

Reason

These Regulations reinforce a planning system that restricts supply through mandatory consultation periods, examination panels, and documentation requirements that delay development and enable NIMBY opposition. The 12-week consultation (extendable), multi-stage examination process, and detailed diagrammatic requirements add cost and time without improving outcomes. The 2020-2021 COVID modifications demonstrated that many线下 requirements were unnecessary - online publication proved sufficient. While the underlying planning legislation causes more harm, this Regulation perpetuates restrictive planning culture by mandating extensive procedural hurdles that any development proposal must clear, driving up costs and suppressing construction. The UK has some of the most restrictive planning controls in the developed world; this Instrument contributes to that dysfunction by codifying delay-inducing processes into law.

keep The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Codes of Practice) (Revision of Codes C, E, F, and H) Order 2018 uksi-2018-829 · 2018
Summary

This Order brings into force revised codes of practice under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, specifically Codes C, E, F, and H. These codes govern: Code C - detention, treatment and questioning of suspects; Code E - audio recording of interviews; Code F - visual recording of interviews; and Code H - similar to Code C but applicable to terrorism suspects. The revisions were laid before Parliament on 21st May 2018 and came into force 21 days after making.

Reason

These are procedural codes governing police conduct during criminal investigations, not economic regulation. They protect citizens' rights during police detention and interview processes, provide legal certainty for both suspects and officers, and impose no costs on businesses or market participation. The regulation of police procedure is a core state function where minimum standards serve to prevent abuses.

keep Schools having a religious character uksi-2018-830 · 2018
Summary

Designates specific voluntary schools in England as having a religious character and specifies the relevant religious denomination for each listed school. The Order is administrative in nature, confirming the religious status of schools that operate according to religious tenets.

Reason

This Order merely formally designates schools that already operate according to religious tenets - it does not impose costs or restrictions but enables parental choice in education. Deleting it would create administrative uncertainty about schools' legal status without providing any economic benefit. Schools with religious character offer plurality in the education sector, allowing parents to select schools aligned with their values. The regulation imposes no burden on competition, supply, or market entry - it is purely a factual recognition of existing school characteristics.

delete The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Order 2018 uksi-2018-831 · 2018
Summary

This Order amends the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 and related Orders. It updates references from MiFID (2004/39/EC) to MiFID II definitions for alternative finance investment bonds, adds trading on multilateral trading facilities (MTF) and organised trading facilities (OTF) as qualifying activities under Article 77A, and inserts a new Article 4A defining that administering a benchmark constitutes carrying on a regulated activity by way of business.

Reason

This Order expands regulatory burden without justification. Adding MTF and OTF trading to the definition of regulated activities for alternative finance investment bonds creates compliance barriers that increase costs for financial institutions and discourage legitimate trading activity. The new Article 4A designation of benchmark administration as a regulated activity 'by way of business' similarly adds regulatory burden without evidence that current arrangements were inadequate. Such expansions of regulated activity definitions tend to entrench incumbent financial institutions by raising compliance costs that disproportionately affect smaller entrants and innovative firms, reducing competition in the City of London.

delete The Electronic Presentment of Instruments (Evidence of Payment and Compensation for Loss) Regulations 2018 uksi-2018-832 · 2018
Summary

These Regulations implement requirements for electronic presentment of instruments (primarily cheques) under the Bills of Exchange Act 1882. They require bankers to provide instrument copies to creators within 10 working days upon request (first copy free, subsequent copies at cost-based fee), establish a statutory compensation scheme for losses from electronic presentment failures, set detailed claims procedures (56-day waiting period, 6-year limitation, 15-day initial response with 120-day extended assessment), and require the Treasury to conduct 5-year regulatory reviews.

Reason

These regulations impose statutory compensation liabilities and procedural mandates that interfere with contractual freedom between banks and their customers. The prescriptive claims process (detailed timelines, mandatory responses, reduced compensation for contributory fault) creates a bureaucratic regime that could be achieved through private contract or existing common law. The copy provision requirements, while seemingly innocuous, add operational compliance burdens. As retained EU law (implementing PSD1/PSD2), they represent the very bureaucratic inheritance that post-Brexit Britain should shed. The compensation scheme may encourage moral hazard and substitutes government-mandated risk allocation for market-determined solutions. Banks and customers should be free to negotiate their own terms for document provision and loss allocation.

keep The Financial Market Infrastructure Administration (England and Wales) Rules 2018 uksi-2018-833 · 2018
Summary

These Rules establish the procedural framework for FMI (Financial Market Infrastructure) administration in England and Wales, made under the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013. They govern: applications to the High Court for FMI administration orders by the Bank of England; requirements for applications including financial statements, nominated administrator details, and witness statements; service of documents on infrastructure companies, operators, and regulators; court procedures and orders; and the application of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 to FMI proceedings with specific modifications for the Bank of England's role.

Reason

Deleting this regulation would leave critical financial market infrastructure companies (payment systems, securities settlement systems) without an orderly resolution mechanism. The failure of such entities without proper administration procedures could cause systemic risk to the entire UK financial system—far outweighing any regulatory burden. These rules provide essential procedural clarity for the Bank of England, FCA, PRA, and Payment Systems Regulator to coordinate responses to failing FMI operators, protecting the financial system from contagion effects that would be vastly more harmful than the compliance costs of these procedural rules.

delete Information which may need to be included in an environmental statement uksi-2018-834 · 2018
Summary

The Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 amend the 1999 NREIAR regulations. They update definitions to reflect current EU directives, expand the definition of environmental impact assessment to include ONR's consideration and conclusion-making process, modify exemptions for national defence and civil emergency projects, add requirements for coordination with habitat assessments, revise environmental statement content requirements, replace publicity regulations with detailed newspaper and website notice requirements, add new regulations on further information and ONR decision-making procedures including conditions that may be attached to consents.

Reason

These are retained EU laws imposing extensive procedural requirements (30-day publicity periods, newspaper advertisements, website publication mandates, detailed consultation procedures) that add significant administrative burden to nuclear decommissioning without proportional benefit. The EU-derived directive implementation was never properly scrutinized by Parliament when retained post-Brexit. While environmental assessment for nuclear decommissioning serves legitimate purposes, the specific implementation mechanisms (mandatory newspaper notices, lengthy consultation timelines, extensive notification requirements) reflect bureaucratic box-ticking rather than efficient regulation. The UK's nuclear decommissioning program would benefit from streamlined, modernized assessment procedures tailored to British circumstances rather than inherited EU template requirements.

keep The Visiting Forces (Designation) Order 2018 uksi-2018-836 · 2018
Summary

Designates Saudi Arabia for the purposes of the Visiting Forces Act 1952, granting Saudi military personnel legal status, privileges and immunities when present in the UK. Came into force 12th July 2018. Does not extend to territories specified in section 15(3) of the 1952 Act.

Reason

This is a military cooperation instrument implementing the domestic Visiting Forces Act 1952, not an EU-derived regulation. It does not impose economic restrictions, distort markets, or affect the City, NHS, or planning. Deleting it would impair military cooperation with a key ally and leave Saudi personnel without clear legal status in the UK, creating diplomatic and operational difficulties with no corresponding benefit.

delete Amendments to the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 uksi-2018-838 · 2018
Summary

The Nursing and Midwifery (Amendment) Order 2018 amends the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 and related subordinate legislation to establish regulatory standards for nursing associates as a new professional category, including registration requirements, competency standards under article 5(2)(a), and fee rules under article 7(1). It introduces phased commencement dates with most provisions taking effect January 2019.

Reason

This Order creates mandatory licensing requirements and fee obligations for a new category of healthcare worker (nursing associates), adding regulatory barriers that restrict supply of healthcare services. Such occupational licensing regimes raise costs, limit workforce entry, and benefit existing incumbents at public expense. While patient safety is a legitimate concern, the fee requirements and standards imposed here go beyond what market mechanisms or tort liability could achieve, creating an unnecessary administrative burden that contributes to NHS wait times and healthcare costs.

keep The Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Cyprus) Order 2018 uksi-2018-839 · 2018
Summary

The Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Cyprus) Order 2018 implements a bilateral tax treaty (Convention and Protocol) between the UK and Cyprus. It declares that arrangements have been made to afford relief from double taxation in relation to capital gains tax, corporation tax, and income tax, and to assist international tax enforcement.

Reason

Double taxation treaties are sovereign bilateral agreements—not EU regulations—that reduce barriers to international trade and investment by preventing the same income from being taxed twice. Without such treaties, British businesses operating in Cyprus face higher costs and uncertainty, making them less competitive. The exchange of information provisions also support legitimate tax enforcement rather than create barriers. While any treaty could theoretically be improved through renegotiation, deleting this Order would harm Britons by removing tax relief and creating obstacles for cross-border commerce, with no corresponding benefit.

keep The Double Taxation Relief (Mauritius) Order 2018 uksi-2018-840 · 2018
Summary

The Double Taxation Relief (Mauritius) Order 2018 implements a Protocol amending the 1981 bilateral tax treaty with Mauritius, declaring that arrangements have been made to afford relief from double taxation in relation to capital gains tax, corporation tax, and income tax between the UK and Mauritius.

Reason

Without this Order, British individuals and businesses operating in or with Mauritius would face genuine double taxation on the same income in both jurisdictions. Double taxation is a real economic harm that reduces incentives for cross-border trade and investment. While bilateral tax treaties are imperfect instruments, they address a genuine problem: the risk that income earned across borders is taxed twice. Deleting this would harm British exporters, investors, and workers engaged with Mauritius without providing any market benefit.