Browse regulations

This Order, made under the Pension Schemes Act 1993, specifies statutory revaluation percentages (higher and lower) for occupational pension benefits for defined revaluation periods. It provides the technical indexation rates used to adjust accrued pension benefits between the date of accrual and retirement, ensuring pension rights maintain their purchasing power.

Without statutory revaluation percentages, pension schemes would face uncertainty about how to revalue accrued benefits, potentially creating disputes and administrative chaos. Removing this would harm pensioners by introducing volatility and potential erosion of pension rights through inadequate revaluation. While this is technical regulation, the revaluation mechanism serves a legitimate function in preserving the value of occupational pension promises, and alternative mechanisms (like scheme-specific rules) would likely introduce greater complexity and cost for smaller schemes unable to set their own actuarial assumptions.

A correction order that fixes clerical and drafting errors in the Hornsea Two Offshore Wind Farm Order 2016. It contains a schedule (not provided) specifying which provisions are corrected and how. Comes into force 17th November 2016.

This is a purely administrative correction order that rectifies errors in the parent Order. Deleting it would leave uncorrected drafting mistakes that create legal uncertainty and compliance burdens for the wind farm operator. No new regulatory burden is imposed—only existing errors are being fixed. Britons would be worse off without these corrections as they create clarity and reduce litigation risk over ambiguous regulatory language.

The Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 implement safety requirements for pressure equipment (vessels, piping, safety accessories) to ensure they meet essential safety requirements before being placed on the UK market. The regulations establish conformity assessment procedures, technical documentation requirements, UK marking obligations, and enforcement mechanisms. They apply to equipment with maximum allowable pressure exceeding 0.5 bar and cover manufacturers', importers', and distributors' obligations throughout the supply chain.

This regulation was transposed from EU Directive 2014/68/EU and retained post-Brexit without fundamental review. While pressure equipment safety is a legitimate concern, this regulation imposes extensive conformity assessment procedures, technical documentation requirements, and bureaucratic obligations that add significant compliance costs with questionable marginal safety benefits. The reliance on EU-derived designated standards (CEN, Cenelec, ETSI) and the complex module-based assessment system represents regulatory inheritance rather than deliberate UK policy choices. Post-Brexit, the UK has the opportunity to adopt a more principles-based approach to pressure equipment safety that relies on common law liability and market forces rather than preemptive bureaucratic control, consistent with Britain's tradition of free trade and economic dynamism.

The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2016 implement the ATEX Directive (2014/34/EU) for Great Britain, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for equipment and protective systems used in potentially explosive atmospheres. The Regulations set essential health and safety requirements, conformity assessment procedures, UK marking obligations, and impose duties on manufacturers, importers, distributors, and authorised representatives. They cover equipment for mines (Group I) and other explosive environments (Group II), including safety devices, controlling devices, and components. The Regulations also establish market surveillance authorities and enforcement mechanisms.

These Regulations exemplify the uncritical retention of EU law described in Better Britain's mandate. Originally implementing the ATEX Directive, they were retained wholesale after Brexit with no democratic review by Parliament. While the Regulations address genuine safety concerns regarding explosive atmospheres in industrial settings, the compliance burden is disproportionate—imposing extensive documentation, testing, certification, and ongoing monitoring obligations on multiple economic operators. The regulation creates significant barriers to entry for smaller manufacturers and new market entrants, who must navigate complex conformity assessment procedures, maintain detailed technical documentation for 10 years, register complaints, conduct sample testing, and coordinate with market surveillance authorities. These costs ultimately inflate prices for industrial equipment needed in hazardous environments. The same safety outcomes could be achieved through performance-based standards combined with robust common law liability for negligence, which would incentivise safety without imposing uniform bureaucratic compliance costs regardless of firm size or actual risk context.

These Regulations update cross-references to the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance (CHPQA) Standard from Issue 5 (November 2013) to Issue 6 (October 2016) across eight separate statutory instruments governing the Renewables Obligation, Contracts for Difference, Emissions Performance Standards, Renewable Heat Incentive, and Guarantees of Origin schemes. The amendments ensure consistency in the technical definition used to determine eligibility for various government energy subsidy programmes.

This regulation perpetuates government subsidy regimes (Renewables Obligation, Contracts for Difference, Renewable Heat Incentive) that distort energy markets by picking winners and losers. CHPQA defines eligibility criteria for these corporate welfare schemes, which artificially inflate investment in politically selected technologies rather than allowing markets to determine optimal energy mix. The regulation's sole function is to update a technical reference to maintain these intervention mechanisms, creating administrative dependency rather than genuine economic value. Removing this would force a清理 of which energy subsidies genuinely deserve continuation.

Amends the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 by adding: (1) a broad 'structural similarity' definition to Schedule 2 Part 2 capturing JWH-018 (synthetic cannabinoid) and chemically related compounds as Class B drugs, with extensive permitted modifications listed; and (2) Dienedione (estra-4,9-diene-3,17-dione) to Schedule 2 Part 3 as a Class C drug. Creates criminal penalties for possession and supply of these controlled substances.

This amendment expands drug prohibition rather than contracting it, adding criminal sanctions for victimless activities. The 'structural similarity' definition is drafted with extreme breadth, capturing pharmacologically diverse substances through mechanistic sub-structure replacement rules that could ensnare compounds with entirely different effects and safety profiles. Drug prohibition creates black markets, enriches criminal enterprises, drives harm reduction underground, and restricts medical research — costs that systematically outweigh any claimed benefits. Parliament should not be in the business of criminalizing adults for ingesting substances they choose, and certainly should not do so via regulations that list permitted chemical modifications like a recipe book for synthetic drugs.

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Transfer of Functions Order that moves responsibility for the Chequers Estate (official PM residence) and Dorneywood Estate from the Lord Privy Seal to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, including transfer of associated property, rights, liabilities, and continuation provisions for legal proceedings and instruments.

This is a purely administrative machinery-of-government change transferring ministerial responsibilities for two state estates. Deletion would create legal ambiguity about estate management, leave ongoing legal proceedings without a proper respondent, and create confusion in property rights and contracts. It imposes no regulatory burden, restricts no economic activity, and creates no bureaucratic obstacles. The Order merely reflects an organizational decision about which minister should hold these ceremonial/trust functions - removing it would harm government administration without any corresponding benefit to Britons.

Amends the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) Regulations 2015 by substituting Form No. 3 in the Schedule with an updated version. Comes into force 1st December 2016. This is an administrative forms update, not a substantive change to tenancy law.

This regulation merely updates a required form to reflect current legal requirements. Deleting it would revert to an outdated form, causing confusion and potential legal errors in tenancy documentation. Unlike substantive tenancy regulations that restrict landlord/tenant freedom, this is a minimal administrative requirement that ensures consistency with underlying law. The costs of keeping it are negligible, while deletion would create procedural inefficiencies without freeing any meaningful resources.

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Regulations granting immunities and privileges to members and staff of the Commission established under the Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan, including immunity from suit and legal process, income tax exemptions on Commission salaries, and social security contributions exemptions.

These regulations create a privileged class exempt from income tax and social security contributions that ordinary citizens must pay, violating equality before the law. Such government-granted immunities distort labor market decisions, create unfair competitive advantages for the Commission in attracting staff, and represent the kind of state-orchestrated privilege that Mises identified as fundamentally incompatible with a free society. The tax exemption on salaries paid by the Commission is a direct market distortion that Friedman would condemn as preferential treatment by the state. These privileges cannot be justified by normal market necessity — if the Commission's work requires such extraordinary measures, it suggests the Commission itself is an inefficient institution requiring artificial support.

These regulations establish the Independent Reporting Commission to monitor and report on paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland, requiring the Commission to support peace, stability and devolved government while avoiding interference with crime prosecution. The Secretary of State must lay and publish Commission reports and audited accounts before Parliament.

While creating a new public body entails costs, this regulation serves a unique function that private actors or market mechanisms cannot replicate: independent verification of paramilitary activity compliance as part of the Stormont Agreement framework. Northern Ireland's history of conflict means accountability mechanisms for paramilitary activity carry substantial value. The regulation imposes minimal direct economic costs and does not interfere with market competition or trade. Removing it would leave a gap in democratic oversight without an obvious alternative mechanism.

These 2016 Amendment Regulations modified three sets of Education Regulations to implement the EU Professional Qualifications Directive's 'partial access' provisions, allowing EU-qualified teachers with limited qualifications (specifically in special educational needs) to teach in UK special schools or specialist units. The regulations inserted a new category of 'partially qualified' teacher status tied to the European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2015.

Post-Brexit, this regulation is obsolete - it implemented EU single-market professional qualification rules that no longer apply to the UK. The underlying 2015 EU Regulations have been substantially superseded by the Immigration Act 2020 and other Brexit legislation. The 'partial access' framework was designed for EU freedom of establishment, not an independent UK immigration and skills policy. Maintaining this creates unnecessary legal complexity while the EU rules it references no longer govern UK- EU professional recognition. The regulation adds a two-tier qualified teacher status without corresponding democratic scrutiny.

This Order amends the Misuse of Drugs (Designation) Order 2015 to add generic chemical definitions covering synthetic cannabinoids structurally related to JWH-018. It creates broad catch-all provisions to prohibit compounds with modified indole rings, pentyl substituents, linking groups, or naphthyl rings, with specific pharmaceutical exemptions listed.

This regulation perpetuates drug prohibition that creates violent black markets, enriches criminal enterprises, and infringes individual liberty. The generic chemical definition is excessively broad—capturing countless benign substances—and demonstrates the inherent futility of prohibition: manufacturers simply modify one sub-structure to evade the law. The listed pharmaceutical exemptions (atorvastatin, losartan, etc.) prove authorities cannot reliably distinguish harmful from harmless compounds through criminalization. As Mises recognized, prohibiting consensual exchanges drives activity underground, raising prices and violence. Hayek would note this command-and-control approach cannot capture the dynamic complexity of chemical innovation. A free Britain would not criminalize adults for ingesting substances—the state has no legitimate authority to dictate what individuals may consume.

Amends the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to add: (1) synthetic cannabinoids structurally related to JWH-018 to Schedule 1 (controlled drugs subject to strict requirements including manufacturing, supply, and possession restrictions), and (2) Dienedione (estra-4, 9-diene-3,17-dione) to Schedule 4 (excepting it from possession prohibition when in medicinal product form).

This prohibition regime creates perverse incentives that drive synthetic cannabinoid production toward increasingly exotic compounds to evade scheduling, while simultaneously restricting legitimate research. Criminalizing possession and supply of personal choice substances burdens the justice system, creates black markets, and infringes on adult autonomy. The broad 'structurally related' language captures countless lawful compounds, generating regulatory uncertainty. Dienedione scheduling restricts adults' right to make informed decisions about their own bodies. If genuine harms exist from these substances, they are better addressed through education, age restrictions, and civil rather than criminal sanctions.