Browse regulations

Export control order implementing sanctions on North Korea, Iran, Ivory Coast, and Syria through export restrictions, criminal offenses for violations, and extraterritorial jurisdiction over UK persons. Establishes review mechanisms for penalty rules and was brought into force on 22nd February 2017, revoking the 2013 version.

While typically opposing trade restrictions, these sanctions implement binding international obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and represent commitments to non-proliferation and human rights. Deleting would expose UK businesses to legal liability, damage international relationships, and undermine credibility in multilateral frameworks. The review requirement itself reflects appropriate regulatory scrutiny. However, gold-plating beyond UN requirements should be eliminated, and the extraterritorial reach should be narrowly construed.

Amendment Regulations 2017 to the Ministry of Defence Police (Conduct etc.) Regulations 2015 and Ministry of Defence Police Appeals Tribunals Regulations 2009. Primarily contains transitional/saving provisions preserving old rules for pre-existing cases, and extends protected disclosure (whistleblowing) protections to Ministry of Defence Police officers under Employment Rights Act 1996 definitions. Comes into force 1st March 2017.

Deleting this instrument would remove statutory whistleblower protections for Ministry of Defence Police officers, leaving a gap in accountability for a force guarding sensitive defence installations. The protected disclosure provisions serve a legitimate function in enabling officers to report wrongdoing without fear of retaliation, which serves the public interest. The transitional provisions ensure legal certainty for ongoing cases. This is a narrow procedural instrument, not a source of economic distortion.

This Order amends the Export Control Order 2008 with technical changes: updating definitions of 'European military items', expanding control scope to include software alongside goods, removing certain exemptions (omitting article 30 and related references), replacing Schedule 2 with a new military goods/software/technology schedule, modifying Schedule 3 dual-use definitions (firearm and parts definitions), and omitting Schedule 5 entirely.

Export controls restrict voluntary trade between consenting parties, penalise British businesses competing internationally, and represent government picking winners through licensing regimes. This amendment expands controls by adding software to regulated categories and removing exemptions, increasing bureaucratic burden without clear market rationale. The deletions of exemptions (article 30, Schedule 5) actually tighten restrictions. Such controls distort price signals, create rent-seeking opportunities, and impede Britain's historical role as a free-trading nation. The Corn Laws were repealed precisely because restrictions on trade harm the very people they claim to protect.

This Harbour Revision Order transfers the undertaking of the Port of Teignmouth from Teignmouth Quay Company Limited (TQC) to Associated British Ports (A.B. Ports), establishing A.B. Ports as the new harbour authority. The Order provides for the automatic transfer of all powers, duties, assets, liabilities, lands, rights, byelaws, contracts, and legal proceedings from TQC to A.B. Ports on 1st April 2017.

This Order merely effects an administrative transfer of harbour authority ownership and does not create new regulatory burdens, restrict trade, or impose costs on third parties. It is a structural reorganization that preserves existing rights and obligations while changing the entity to which they attach. Deletion would leave the port's governance in legal limbo, create uncertainty for existing contracts and ongoing legal proceedings, and provide no benefit. Unlike regulations that restrict supply, distort incentives, or create monopolistic barriers, this is simply a change of ownership documentation for a specific port undertaking.

The Social Housing Rents (Exceptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 amends the 2016 Regulations to add new excepted categories of social housing accommodation (domestic violence refuge accommodation, almshouse accommodation, co-operative housing association accommodation, community land trust accommodation, and accommodation subject to housing administration orders), modify rent calculation formulas (using CPI+1% adjustments rather than fixed 1% reductions), and allow higher rent percentages (105-110% of formula rent) for certain excepted accommodation types.

These regulations perpetuate rent control mechanisms in social housing, creating a complex web of exceptions, formulas, and price restrictions that distort housing supply incentives. The CPI+1% rent increase formulas and the 105-110% of formula rent allowances for excepted categories are still forms of price control that reduce the viability of developing social housing. The exceptions for domestic violence refuges and community land trusts may serve legitimate purposes, but they are achieved through regulatory prescription rather than market mechanisms. A truly dynamic housing market would allow providers to set rents based on costs and demand, not government formulas. Britons would benefit more from liberalised planning and reduced regulatory barriers to housing development than from this intricate system of rent prescription.

Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2017 amending the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, covering: trial fee payment sanctions with automatic striking out for non-payment (new rules 3.7A1, 3.7AA); costs management amendments (rules 3.15, 3.18 terminology changes); and costs limits in Aarhus Convention environmental claims (£5,000/£10,000 claimants, £35,000 defendants) under new Section VIIC of Part 45 and rule 52.19A.

The automatic striking-out provisions for non-payment of trial fees are overly punitive, denying legitimate claimants access to justice for administrative failures rather than substantive claims. The Aarhus Convention costs-capping regime creates a two-tier justice system that artificially limits cost recovery in environmental claims, potentially encouraging frivolous environmental litigation while disproportionately burdening defendants. These amendments introduce regulatory complexity and unequal treatment without demonstrated net benefit, implementing EU-derived procedural requirements that add no value to Britain's court system.

Amends the Rights of Passengers in Bus and Coach Transport (Exemptions and Enforcement) Regulations 2013 to extend an exemption period from March 2017 to February 2021, and inserts a provision into the Consumer Rights Act 2015 coordinating it with EU Regulation 181/2011 on bus/coach passenger rights.

The exemption period defined by this regulation (2017-2021) has long since expired, rendering its main operational provision moot. The coordination with EU Regulation 181/2011 in the Consumer Rights Act reflects the pre-Brexit legal landscape and adds unnecessary complexity now that the UK has left the EU. Retained EU passenger rights law should be reviewed holistically rather than through this patchwork amendment that extends transitional exemptions from a bygone era. Keeping this creates confusion in the statute book with no current regulatory benefit.

These Regulations disapply Sections 88 and 89 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (which impose costs protections/limitations in judicial review proceedings) specifically for Aarhus Convention claims (environmental law challenges) and appeals against decisions in such claims, effective 28th February 2017.

Creates unequal treatment in judicial review proceedings by exempting Aarhus Convention claims from costs rules applicable to all other judicial reviews. This differential treatment: (1) violates principles of equal access to justice by giving environmental claimants preferential costs treatment, (2) distorts litigation incentives by making Aarhus claims disproportionately attractive relative to other meritorious claims, (3) amounts to regulatory capture where one interest group secured favorable treatment through international obligations that bypass domestic democratic deliberation. If Sections 88 and 89 impose excessive costs burdens, they should be repealed for all claimants; if they are appropriate, they should apply to all. Carve-outs for specific claim types are indefensible and represent the kind of interest-group favoritism that inflates regulatory burden while enriching specialized practitioners at public expense.

Amends the Cattle Identification Regulations 2007 to update cross-references to EU regulations, add a power of entry by reasonable force for enforcement, and correct article references in schedules related to cattle tagging, passports, and tracing requirements.

While largely technical, deleting this amendment would leave inconsistent cross-references in the 2007 Regulations without eliminating the underlying cattle identification requirements. Critically, the reasonable force entry power serves a legitimate function: without powers to enter premises for inspections, disease control and traceability - which protect both public health and the agricultural sector - would be unenforceable. The regulation addresses specific gaps in enforcement capability that, if removed, would leave authorities unable to verify compliance with requirements that exist regardless. Britons would be worse off without the ability to enforce cattle traceability, risking disease outbreaks that could devastate both public health and farming livelihoods.

This Order amends thresholds for non-domestic rating reliefs in England, including: raising the unoccupied property rateable value threshold to £2,900 for properties with rateable values below that amount; increasing the stud farm deduction from £4,200 to £4,700; and revoking the Small Business Rate Relief Order 2012 with transition provisions for pre-April 2017 chargeable days. Effective from 3rd March 2017.

Small business rate relief and unoccupied property thresholds are arbitrary market distortions that pick winners and losers, artificially favouring certain businesses over others based on political determination rather than economic merit. These rating reliefs distort investment signals in the commercial property market, create perverse incentives to keep properties occupied or vacant based on relief eligibility rather than highest and best use, and impose costs on other ratepayers who must makeup the shortfall. The stud farm deduction similarly represents government intervention favouring one sector over others. Such fragmented, politically-set thresholds should be eliminated rather than periodically adjusted upward.

This Order brings into force revised codes of practice (C, D, and H) under section 66(1)(b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, governing police procedures for detention, treatment, questioning, and identification of persons. The revised codes were laid before Parliament on 22nd November 2016 and come into operation 21 days after the Order is made.

PACE codes govern the exercise of state power against citizens—removing them would create a vacuum of procedural standards, exposing individuals to arbitrary treatment and undermining the rule of law. These are not economic regulations but civil liberties safeguards. Deletion would leave citizens worse off by removing binding constraints on police conduct that prevent abuse, coercion, and inconsistent treatment. Such procedural protections are foundational to a functioning free society and complement, not contradict, economic freedom.

Amends Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 Schedule 2 to split penalty points for section 41D offences (vehicle lighting/signalling) from a flat 3 points to 3 points for 41D(a) offences and 6 points for 41D(b) offences, effective 1st March 2017.

Britons would be worse off if deleted because the graduated penalty structure appropriately distinguishes between offence severities—imposing 6 points only on more serious violations while retaining 3 points for minor ones creates proportional deterrence rather than a one-size-fits-all approach that would either over-penalise minor offenders or under-penalise serious ones.

Amends the Infrastructure Planning (Compulsory Acquisition) Regulations 2010 by substituting regulation 3 (prescribed forms for compulsory acquisition notices) with updated versions, inserting a new regulation 3A requiring periodic review of these forms every five years, and substituting Schedule 1 with new form templates (Forms A and B). The regulations apply to development consent orders made on or after 23rd February 2017.

Prescribed forms for compulsory acquisition notices create unnecessary regulatory burden. While the review requirement (regulation 3A) superficially addresses the concern about regulatory accumulation, it merely perpetuates bureaucratic oversight of paperwork requirements that could be fulfilled through voluntary industry standards or less onerous means. The fundamental issue is that such detailed form requirements, originally gold-plated from EU directives, add compliance costs to infrastructure projects without proportionate benefit—affected parties can be informed adequately through simpler disclosure requirements. The five-year review cycle ensures this regulatory provision remains permanently embedded rather than being critically examined for necessity.

The Electricity (Connection Charges) Regulations 2017 establish a framework for reimbursing first connection expenses when a second connection is made to premises. It defines 'eligible persons' entitled to reimbursement, sets procedural requirements for distributors to identify eligible persons, issue payment demands, and distribute recovered costs. Key mechanisms include a formula using the Retail Prices Index to estimate net first connection expenses, administrative expense deductions with £300 minimum thresholds, and mandatory periodic reviews by the Secretary of State. The regulations apply to connections made on or after 6th April 2017 and preserve the existing 2002 Regulations for earlier connections.

This regulation imposes complex cost-sharing mechanisms that distort market incentives and add significant administrative burden. The RPI-indexed formula for estimating expenses is arbitrary and may not reflect actual current costs. The multi-step process for identifying eligible persons, demanding reimbursements, and distributing payments creates compliance costs ultimately borne by consumers. The £300 minimum thresholds and various exemptions create perverse incentives. Critically, this represents retained EU law from the third energy package that was never subject to democratic scrutiny by Parliament — the very 'inherited wholesale' regulatory burden post-Brexit offers an opportunity to shed. A simpler framework where connection costs are borne directly by those requesting connections would enhance market efficiency and reduce regulatory overhead.

This Order commences Sections 165 and 167 of the Equality Act 2010 on 6th April 2017. Section 165 requires transport operators to assist passengers in wheelchairs boarding, travelling and alighting from vehicles. Section 167 requires operators to maintain lists of wheelchair-accessible vehicles and make these available to the public.

Mandating specific physical assistance and vehicle requirements creates compliance costs ultimately borne by all passengers through higher fares. More critically, such prescriptive regulations discourage innovation in accessible transport solutions—the market is better positioned to develop diverse technologies (lifts, ramps, adaptive vehicles) than bureaucratic specification. These provisions also set a precedent of government dictating physical operational requirements to private transport operators, creating regulatory path dependency that impedes future deregulation efforts. A principles-based approach focusing on non-discrimination outcomes rather than prescribed physical mandates would better serve both wheelchair users and the travelling public.