Browse regulations

This Order amends the Building Societies (Insolvency and Special Administration) Order 2009, making technical modifications to how Parts 2 and 3 of the Banking Act 2009 apply to building societies. Key changes include: modifications to creditor/contributory meeting voting procedures (using share value instead of number of votes); application of Companies Act provisions on dissolved company property to building societies; transfer of certain dissolution functions from Secretary of State to FSA; and modifications to Pension Protection Fund Entry Rules regulations to apply them to building societies. The changes ensure the existing insolvency and special administration frameworks operate correctly for the distinct legal structure of building societies.

While this Order represents regulatory complexity, it consists of technical amendments necessary for the existing insolvency framework to function properly for building societies. Without these modifications, there would be legal uncertainty regarding how bank insolvency and administration procedures apply to building societies' cooperative structure. The voting rights modification based on share value reflects building societies' distinct nature as member-owned institutions. Critically, the Pension Protection Fund modifications ensure workers' pensions remain protected when a building society enters insolvency proceedings—removing this would leave employees worse protected in failure scenarios with no obvious market alternative.

Amends FSMA 2000 by substituting section 90A and inserting Schedule 10A, creating a statutory regime for issuer liability to pay compensation to persons suffering loss from misleading statements, dishonest omissions, or dishonest delays in published information relating to securities. Applies to information first published on or after 1st October 2010.

The 'dishonest' mens rea requirement distinguishes genuine fraud from mere negligence, limiting meritless litigation. While not a traditional common-law fraud claim, the explicit statutory right with defined scope and elements may actually reduce litigation costs compared to uncodified fraud actions. The regulation serves a legitimate function in maintaining market integrity and investor confidence, which are preconditions for a functioning securities market. Deleting it would create uncertainty about investor remedies for information-based harm and potentially undermine confidence in published corporate information without clear benefit, since existing fraud law provides even less guidance on the elements a claimant must prove.

These are the Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces (Amendment) Regulations 2010, which amend several existing regulations concerning parking, speed limits, and vehicle management in London's royal parks. The regulations add definitions for private hire vehicles, amend parking charges (increasing from 25p to 30-35p in various parks), establish speed limits on park roads (30mph, 20mph, 15mph, or 10mph depending on location), and set excess charges of £80 for parking violations (reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days). The regulations also provide exemptions for disabled badge holders, motorcyclists, and valid parking permit holders.

These regulations impose parking charges and speed restrictions on public parks that restrict liberty without sufficient justification. The £80 excess charge for minor parking violations is disproportionate and creates a punitive regime for routine activities. Speed limits in parks could be managed through voluntary guidelines or common law rather than criminalised enforcement. The regulations represent typical bureaucratic management of public spaces that could be liberalised, allowing park authorities to set their own arrangements without centralized mandates. Genuine safety concerns could be addressed through simpler means.

Amends the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 2001 by substituting tables in Schedules and removing Asparagus officinalis L. and Cichorium intybus L. (Large leaved (Italian) chicory) from the vegetable species list. Governs which plant varieties may be marketed in the UK through a mandatory registration and approval system.

The National Lists regime imposes mandatory registration requirements that restrict which seed varieties can be legally sold, creating barriers to entry for smaller breeders and limiting farmer choice. This is a classic regulatory barrier that raises costs, suppresses innovation, and benefits incumbent players. The removal of asparagus and chicory from the list demonstrates even the regulator recognizes some species don't require this level of control. The market can achieve variety verification through contract law, reputation, and private certification schemes more efficiently than through statutory registration.

Amends the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 to introduce a Safe Road Use Test as part of the driving licence examination process, creates an abridged standard test of driving theory, and restructures Category B driving tests from two parts to either two or three parts depending on whether the candidate holds a qualification award certificate. Also modifies requirements for supervisors of provisional licence holders of sub-category C1, C1+E, D1 and D1+E vehicles, establishes a regime for appointing persons to conduct safe road use tests, and sets the fee for certain theory tests at £24.

This regulation adds bureaucratic layers to driving licence testing with no demonstrated safety benefit beyond existing requirements. The Safe Road Use Test creates a new category of government-approved test administrators, prescribed examination formats, and certificate validity rules that add cost and complexity without evidence of improved road safety outcomes. The mandatory 3-day waiting period after a failed test and the requirement for candidates to be accompanied by a person from their school or college are arbitrary restrictions that impede access to driving licences. Government-mandated testing regimes of this nature suppress private sector alternatives and inflate costs through rent-seeking behaviour by approved institutions. Road safety can be better addressed through liability-based incentives rather than bureaucratic examination requirements.

These Regulations establish a standard constitution for commons councils in England, setting out the standard terms for their constitution and administration. They apply to every commons council established under section 26 of the Commons Act 2006, meaning any council managing common land in England is bound by these mandated governance rules by operation of law.

These regulations impose a one-size-fits-all standard constitution on private common land governance arrangements that could otherwise be structured through private contract or voluntary association. The mandated governance framework removes flexibility for landowners and commoners to tailor arrangements to their specific circumstances. Common land management involves relatively small-scale local arrangements where private ordering and contract law provide sufficient governance mechanisms without state-mandated constitutions.

These Regulations prescribe the particulars required for applications for certified copies of entries in the Parental Order Register (child's full name, date of birth, parents' full name) and specify the forms of entry for courts in England and Wales. They revoke and replace the 1994 Regulations of the same name.

This is a purely administrative, procedural regulation that merely specifies the form and particulars required for recording legal facts in the Parental Order Register. It imposes no economic burden, creates no market distortions, and does not restrict competition or trade. As a technical recording requirement for an official register, deleting it would create administrative chaos in family law proceedings without producing any measurable economic benefit. There is no gold-plating, no EU-derived burden, and no restriction on freedom that would warrant its removal.

These Regulations implement section 58AA of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, establishing a statutory framework for damages-based agreements (DBAs) in employment matters. They cap the representative's payment at 35% of damages recovered, mandate specific contractual terms and disclosures, prescribe information about alternative funding methods (including ACAS), and impose termination restrictions on both parties.

The 35% statutory cap on contingency fees is a government price control that restricts voluntary contractual freedom between lawyers and clients. As Friedman recognized, price controls distort markets and reduce supply. This cap particularly harms clients with complex or lower-value claims by reducing lawyer willingness to accept such cases, thereby restricting access to justice rather than expanding it. The extensive prescribed disclosure requirements, mandatory contractual provisions, and termination restrictions add compliance costs without clear benefits — clients can already seek independent legal advice and negotiate terms voluntarily. The regulation paternalistically overrides what consenting parties could agree to freely, replicating the bureaucratic overreach that Mises warned would lead to economic calculation problems. Post-Brexit Britain should allow the market for legal services to determine appropriate contingency fee structures rather than imposing one-size-fits-all restrictions inherited from EU-influenced domestic legislation.

This Order amends the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to add 4-Methylmethcathinone (mephedrone) and related cathinone derivatives to Schedule 2 as Class B controlled substances, effective 16th April 2010. It creates a broad structural definition capturing any compounds derived from 2-amino-1-phenyl-1-propanone with various substitutions.

Prohibition of psychoactive substances predictably creates black markets, drives violence through organized crime, and shifts consumption to more dangerous unregulated alternatives. As Friedman documented, the 'war on drugs' causes more societal harm than the substances themselves. This blanket criminalization restricts individual liberty, enriches criminal enterprises, and displaces potential harm reduction approaches. The broad structural definition also captures legitimate pharmaceutical research. A regulatory framework for novel psychoactive substances would better protect public health than prohibition.

This Order amends the Government of Wales Act 2006 to expand the National Assembly for Wales's legislative competence over transport. It adds matter 10.2 granting competence over concessionary travel on bus services and franchised Welsh rail services, amends exceptions for learner transport vehicle regulations, and updates an EU regulation reference from Regulation 1191/69 to Regulation 1370/2007 on public passenger transport services.

This Order expands devolved regulatory competence over public transport in a way that entrenches government intervention in transportation markets. Concessionary travel mandates effectively impose price controls on bus operators, distorting market signals and potentially reducing service availability. The retained EU public service obligation framework (Regulation 1370/2007) constrains competitive tendering and locks in politically-motivated route obligations. The learner transport provisions create regulatory carve-outs that add complexity without clear market benefits. Rather than freeing markets, this transfers additional regulatory authority to a sub-national body, compounding the interventionist framework.

This Order amends Schedule 5 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 to expand the National Assembly for Wales's legislative competence in education. It inserts three new Matters (5.2A, 5.2B, 5.2C) into Field 5, granting the Welsh Assembly power to legislate on: (1) conduct and governance of local authority-maintained schools including allocation of functions, property, rights and liabilities; (2) securing collaboration between persons/bodies with school-related functions; and (3) establishment of bodies to carry out education activities or exercise education functions on behalf of local authorities. The Order also contains transitional provisions referencing the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

This Order expands Welsh legislative competence over education governance, creating another layer of government intervention in school management. The establishment of bodies to exercise education functions on behalf of local authorities introduces additional bureaucratic structures that distort incentives, reduce accountability, and fragment decision-making authority. Such governance matters are better determined locally by schools, parents, and communities without top-down legislative frameworks from Cardiff Bay. The Order represents the kind of government expansion that Friedman and Hayek warned always leads to reduced individual liberty and economic calculation errors.

This Order amends the Government of Wales Act 2006 to grant the National Assembly for Wales legislative competence over Matter 11.1 - requiring automatic fire suppression systems in new residential premises. It defines 'new residential premises' to include newly constructed, newly converted, subdivided, or amalgamated residential buildings.

This Order creates enabling legislation for mandatory fire suppression requirements without any demonstrated market failure or cost-benefit analysis. It establishes a legislative competence that will predictably increase construction costs for new residential premises in Wales, adding regulatory burden before any problem is proven to exist. As a competence-granting instrument rather than a direct regulation, it sets the precedent for future mandates that will raise housing costs and potentially reduce housing supply in an already constrained market.

This Order amends Schedule 5 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 to expand the legislative competency of the National Assembly for Wales over local government matters. It introduces new matters (12.8-12.17) covering community governance structures, electoral arrangements, well-being powers for community councils, Welsh Minister grants, public participation, information provision, member payments, and membership promotion. The key substantive power is Matter 12.10, which allows conferral of broad 'well-being' powers on community local government institutions.

This regulation expands bureaucratic competency rather than restricting it. Matter 12.10's broad 'well-being' power allows community councils to do anything they consider likely to promote economic, social or environmental well-being — a dangerously vague discretionary power that distorts market incentives and creates uncertainty. Matter 12.13's accreditation schemes risk creating barriers to entry in local services. Matter 12.16 entrenches public sector employment structures with mandatory pay and pension arrangements. Together these provisions expand government intervention at the community level without corresponding benefits — they replicate at local level the same interventionist logic that fails at national level. The Welsh devolution framework itself can remain; only these expanded competency matters enabling discretionary local intervention should be removed.

This Order amends Schedule 5 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 to expand the fields of legislative competence for the National Assembly for Wales (Senedd Cymru). It adds Matter 2.1 to Field 2 (ancient monuments and historic buildings), Matter 3.1 to Field 3 (culture), and Matter 16.4 to Field 16 (sport and recreation), each defining local authority functions in these areas. Part 2 inserts exceptions excluding public lending right, film/video classification, and betting/gaming/lotteries from the relevant fields. The Order defines 'local authorities' as county and county borough councils in Wales.

This Order is a constitutional instrument allocating legislative competence between Westminster and Cardiff, not a typical regulatory burden. It defines what the Welsh legislature may legislate on—functions that local authorities already exercised before devolution. Deletion would create constitutional ambiguity about Welsh legislative authority without reducing any regulatory costs, as the underlying local government functions in culture, heritage, sport, and recreation would remain. There is no practical alternative mechanism for achieving this democratic devolution structure.

These are 2010 amendment regulations that modify the Children Act 2004 Information Database (England) Regulations 2007, which established the ContactPoint database for tracking children in England. The amendments make technical changes including: redefining 'ordinarily resident in England' to 'in the area of a local authority', adding definitions for 'additional service' and 'parent', replacing 'specialist or targeted service' with 'additional service', and omitting Schedule 3 paragraph 15.

These regulations maintain a government database infrastructure that tracks all children in England, creating surveillance apparatus prone to mission creep and data breach risks. The amendments, while technically minor, preserve a regulatory framework that imposes compliance burdens on local authorities and practitioners, represents government intrusion into family life, and operates on the premise that blanket data collection on children serves protection better than targeted, consent-based approaches. The shift from 'ordinarily resident' to 'in the area of a local authority' may actually expand database scope without corresponding benefit.