Browse regulations

The 2015 Amendment Order modifies the 1999 Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government) Order by: (1) inserting paragraph 5BA into Schedule 1 Section 10 to extend continuity of employment provisions to persons performing local authority education, social services (children), and childcare functions pursuant to Secretary of State directions under s.497A(4)/(4A) Education Act; and (2) omitting paragraph 20 from Schedule 2 Part 2 Section 4 (education). The regulation determines which public sector employments count as 'relevant service' for redundancy payment entitlements.

Without this regulation, workers redirected to perform local authority education, children's social services, or childcare functions under Secretary of State direction could lose accumulated employment continuity, resulting in reduced or denied statutory redundancy payments they would otherwise be entitled to receive. The provision prevents arbitrary breaks in service that would harm workers who are fulfilling important public functions at the direction of central government.

These Regulations amend the Welfare Food Regulations 1996 by replacing the definition of 'dried milk' to mean any infant formula specified in Schedule 1, and substituting Schedule 1 with a specific list of 11 branded infant formula products (SMA, Cow & Gate, HiPP, and Aptamil varieties). The regulation takes effect 1st July 2015.

This regulation creates a closed, brand-specific approval system for infant formulas rather than setting performance or safety standards. By specifying exact product names rather than nutritional/safety criteria, it: (1) restricts competition by excluding other compliant manufacturers from the welfare food supply, (2) creates ongoing bureaucratic need to update the list as products evolve, (3) risks regulatory capture through static brand lists, (4) limits consumer choice for welfare recipients. A standards-based approach allowing any formula meeting nutritional requirements would better serve free-market principles while maintaining legitimate safety objectives.

This Order amends Schedule 1 of the Superannuation Act 1972 to add employments (College of Policing Limited, JISC Limited, British-American Parliamentary Group, Crofting Commission, Radioactive Waste Management Ltd, NHS Confederation Limited, Royal Household, House of Lords staff, Historic Environment Scotland) and offices (Adjudicator for HMRC/VOA/Insolvency Service, Service Complaints Commissioner) to the list of public sector roles eligible for civil service superannuation benefits, while also removing certain obsolete entries (Partnerships for Schools Limited, Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, Learning and Skills Improvement Service, BRB Residuary Limited, Capital for Enterprise Limited, NHS Confederation Employers Company) and updating the British Library entry.

This Order merely administers an existing statutory scheme by updating which employers and offices are covered by civil service superannuation. Deleting it would create gaps in superannuation coverage for affected public sector workers who were added with retroactively effective dates, causing genuine harm to employees who took positions relying on this coverage. While one may critique civil service pension schemes generally, this administrative Order simply maintains the operation of a scheme Parliament has already sanctioned, and removing specific entries without alternative provision would be harmful to those workers.

The Renewables Obligation Closure (Amendment) Order 2015 amends the Renewables Obligation Closure Order 2014 to close the Renewables Obligation (RO) subsidy scheme for large solar PV stations (>5MW capacity) after the 'solar pv closure date' (later of 31 March 2015 or end of month of Order making). It establishes grandfathering provisions (articles 2B-2D) specifying circumstances under which ROC certificates may still be issued: for original capacity of accredited stations meeting certain criteria, pre-2016 additional capacity for stations accredited by 13 May 2014, and additional capacity for stations accredited before the closure date with grid works evidence. It also defines key terms including 'developer', 'exclusivity agreement', 'large solar pv station', 'pre-2016 additional capacity', and 'solar pv closure date'.

While the underlying Renewables Obligation is itself a market distortion, deleting this Order would expand the subsidy burden by allowing unlimited ROC certificate issuance for large solar PV stations indefinitely. The closure prevents additional consumer cost from subsidising large solar generation. However, this should be viewed as a transitional step—the RO regime itself should ultimately be repealed to restore competitive electricity markets.

These 2015 Amendment Regulations added provisions to the principal 2013 Regulations requiring local authorities to provide universal health visitor reviews to pregnant women and children under five at specified developmental stages (28+ weeks pregnant, 1 day-2 weeks, 6-8 weeks, 9-15 months, and 24-30 months old). The regulations specified who must carry out reviews (health visitors, qualified health professionals, nursery nurses, or family nurses under FNP), contained a review mechanism, and crucially included a sunset clause in Regulation 8A causing Regulations 5A-5C to cease having effect on 31st March 2017.

These regulations have already ceased to have effect as of 31st March 2017 per their own sunset clause (Regulation 8A). They are no longer operative law. Furthermore, the regulatory approach embodied in these rules - mandating specific timing of health reviews, prescriptive personnel requirements, and centralized performance targets - represents the kind of bureaucratic overreach this review process targets. The expiration itself demonstrates these were intended as temporary measures that served their purpose and should now be formally removed from the statute books rather than remain as expired law.

Amends section 267(4) of the Insolvency Act 1986 to increase the minimum debt threshold for a creditor's bankruptcy petition from £750 to £5,000, applicable to petitions presented on or after 1st October 2015.

This regulation reduces regulatory burden by raising the bankruptcy petition threshold, reflecting nearly 30 years of inflation since the original £750 figure was set. A higher threshold streamlines insolvency proceedings for genuinely significant debts, reduces court administrative costs for trivial claims, and allows debtors with modest debts greater flexibility to resolve matters without formal bankruptcy — consistent with minimizing state intervention in private contractual relationships.

This Order abolishes the Powysland Internal Drainage District and confirms a scheme submitted by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and the Environment Agency. It provides for the transfer of functions and liabilities to NRW, with expenses borne by NRW and the Secretary of State respectively. The Order comes into force the day after it is made.

This Order abolishes a regulatory district rather than creating one, representing deregulation and administrative simplification. Removing the Powysland Internal Drainage District eliminates a layer of bureaucratic oversight, reduces public expenditure burdens, and streamlines water management functions under NRW. The scheme confirms appropriate transition arrangements for any remaining functions. Britons are better off with this regulatory body removed, as it reduces administrative costs and complexity with no corresponding loss of essential services now provided by NRW.

A revocation order that removes two prior statutory instruments (the Anglian Water Parks Byelaws (Extension) Order 2003 and the Anglian Water Parks Byelaws (Extension) Order 2004) from the books, taking effect 1 July 2015. This Order itself constitutes deregulation by eliminating previously extended byelaw requirements.

This Order removes regulatory burdens by revoking unnecessary byelaw extensions that restricted water park operations. Britons would be worse off if deleted because the 2003 and 2004 extensions would remain in force, perpetuating restrictions on commercial water sports and recreational activities that could otherwise operate with fewer constraints. As a revocation instrument that reduces the regulatory stock, keeping it aligns with the goal of restoring Britain's dynamic free-trading heritage.

This Order amends the 2003 Order to expand the categories of 'appropriate officers' who can conduct proceeds of crime investigations across UK jurisdictions, adds 'detained cash investigation' as a new investigation type, updates terminology from 'customs officer' to 'officer of Revenue and Customs', and makes technical amendments to cross-border enforcement provisions between England/Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Without this regulation, coordination between UK jurisdictions for criminal asset recovery would be fragmented and practically unworkable. Deleting it would create operational confusion, enable criminals to exploit jurisdictional gaps, and impair law enforcement's ability to recover proceeds of crime. The amendments facilitate rather than restrict legitimate activity.

This Order brings into force a Code of Practice relating to the retention of Communications Data under DRIPA 2014, effective the day after the Order is made. The Code provides guidance on how service providers should retain communications data and how law enforcement may access it.

This Order is now spent legislation. DRIPA 2014 was itself found incompatible with EU law by the Court of Justice in the Watson case (2016), and was subsequently repealed and replaced by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The Code of Practice this Order brought into force has no current legal effect. Furthermore, mandatory data retention regimes impose compliance costs on communications service providers without proportionate benefit, as the original legislation demonstrated by creating a bulk surveillance infrastructure that lacked adequate safeguards. Keeping dead law on the books serves no purpose and maintains a false record of the regulatory landscape.

This Order brings into force a Code of Practice governing the acquisition and disclosure of communications data (such as phone records, internet usage) by public authorities under Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The Code provides procedural guidance on how relevant authorities may exercise their existing statutory powers to obtain communications data.

While surveillance powers under RIPA are themselves open to criticism, deleting this Order would not eliminate those powers—it would merely remove the procedural guidance governing their exercise. Without this Code of Practice, the acquisition of communications data would continue under RIPA but without established safeguards, oversight mechanisms, and procedural constraints that help prevent abuse. The Code constrains how powers are exercised by requiring proper authorisation procedures, limiting data access to what is necessary, and establishing accountability mechanisms. Removing it could lead to more arbitrary exercise of surveillance powers, which would be contrary to the rule of law and economic liberty. The deletion of this Order would not reduce the surveillance state—only the framework that disciplines it.

These Regulations amend the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015's Prevent duty provisions. Key changes include: extending the Prevent duty to post-16 education bodies in Scotland under the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005; adding explicit freedom of speech requirements for relevant institutions (with a statutory definition requiring reasonably practicable steps to secure freedom of speech for members, students, employees, and visiting speakers); updating enforcement mechanisms for directions (mandatory orders in England/Wales, order of specific implement in Scotland); and including Scottish chief constable and councils within the Act's scope.

While the underlying Prevent duty imposes compliance burdens on educational institutions, these specific amendments represent improvements by explicitly embedding free speech protections. The statutory definition of 'the need to ensure freedom of speech' and requirements for 'particular regard' to that need provide meaningful safeguards against over-reach. Deleting these regulations would remove these free speech safeguards while leaving the base Act intact, resulting in less protection for speech rather than more. The free speech provisions here directly reflect the classical liberal principle that coercive power must be constrained by robust civil liberties.

A Commencement Order bringing section 1(6) of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 (DRIPA) into force on 13th April 2015. DRIPA required communications service providers to retain communications data and was the subject of significant legal challenge.

This Commencement Order concerns DRIPA, which has since been repealed and replaced by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The underlying Act was found by the Court of Justice of the EU to be incompatible with EU fundamental rights law. As DRIPA no longer exists, this commencement order is moot — it cannot bring into force a provision of an Act that has been repealed. Keeping it creates legislative confusion and preserves a record of a regime that was officially declared unlawful.

These Regulations implement civil penalties up to £50,000 for aircraft operators who fail to comply with information requirements (regulation 3) or directions (regulation 4) regarding inbound flights under the Aviation Security Act 1982. They establish procedural requirements for penalty notices, objection processes, appeals to county courts, and penalty recovery mechanisms. The Regulations were made in 2015 and include a 7-year sunset clause.

The Aviation Security Act 1982 already provides criminal penalties for the same conduct these regulations address (sections 11(5), 12(9), and 14(7)). These civil penalties add a redundant second layer of enforcement, creating duplicative burden on aviation operators. The 7-year sunset clause demonstrates Parliament intended these as a temporary, experimental measure requiring renewal and review — yet no action was taken to repeal them before expiry, meaning they now persist without affirmative parliamentary approval. Duplicative enforcement mechanisms that overlap with existing criminal sanctions impose unnecessary compliance costs on the aviation sector without corresponding security benefits.

A procedural statutory instrument that appoints 6th April 2015 as the date on which section 18(2) to (4) of the Finance Act 2014 comes into force. It contains no substantive policy provisions.

This is a pure appointed day Order with no substantive content — it merely specifies a commencement date for provisions already enacted in the Finance Act 2014. Such procedural instruments impose no regulatory burden, compliance costs, or trade restrictions. However, they also serve no ongoing purpose once the appointed date has passed; the provisions either took effect or they did not. Keeping this instrument on the statute book serves no economic or regulatory function. The underlying policy of section 18(2)-(4) of the Finance Act 2014 should be reviewed separately on its merits.