Browse regulations

This Order amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Application of PACE 1984) Order 2015 to extend police powers under PACE 1984 (sections 15, 16, 21, and 22) to cover 'cryptoasset investigations' alongside existing 'frozen funds investigations'. It also updates chapter references in POCA 2002 to include newly added Chapters 3A to 3F. The amendments take effect 26th April 2024 and apply to England and Wales.

This Order represents regulatory expansion rather than deregulation. While ostensibly modernising powers for new technology, it extends state investigative and seizure powers without evidence of parliamentary scrutiny or cost-benefit analysis. The addition of 'cryptoasset investigation' as a trigger for expanded police powers risks chilling innovation in a legitimate technological sector. Asset forfeiture regimes under POCA have well-documented problems with due process and wrongful seizure — extending these powers to a new asset class without corresponding safeguards increases the risk of harm to innocent parties. Britons with cryptoassets or those operating in this sector would face greater state intrusion without clearer evidence that this specifically targets criminal activity rather than catching lawful businesses.

This Order amends the Designation of Schools Having a Religious Character (Independent Schools) (England) (No. 2) Order 2013 and the 1999 Order. It updates King's School's postal code (BN41 2PG to BN3 8BN) and corrects its religious character classification from 'Christianity' to 'Church of England'. It also revokes religious character designations for three Catholic schools and one Catholic academy that have apparently closed or changed status.

This Order perpetuates a designation regime that creates state-sponsored religious segregation in education, artificially privileging religiously-designated schools with public funding, employment discrimination exemptions, and admissions preferences. The regime's costs include distorting the education market, entrenching religious segregation in schooling, and imposing ongoing bureaucratic overhead to maintain designations. While the revocation components remove obsolete entries (a marginal benefit), the Order overall maintains and perpetuates a problematic interventionist framework that should be repealed in its entirety, allowing religiously-affiliated schools to operate as ordinary independent or state schools without special designations.

These Regulations amend various election-related legislation to increase spending limits for Greater London Authority elections, mayoral elections in England and Wales, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. They also introduce new exclusions from the definition of 'election expenses' for costs reasonably incurred in protecting persons or property, and remove certain regional entries from expense tables. The Regulations include transitional provisions for candidates who become candidates before the commencement date.

While this regulation maintains an inherently problematic system of campaign spending limits (which restrict political speech and entrench incumbents), its specific effect is to deregulate by raising caps and adding reasonable exclusions for security costs. Deleting it would revert to lower spending limits and fewer exclusions, directly harming candidates and restricting electoral competition. Britons would be worse off under the pre-existing, more restrictive regime.

This Order brings into effect a revised ACAS Code of Practice on Requests for Flexible Working, effective 6th April 2024. The Code applies to England, Wales and Scotland and governs how employers should handle requests under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It provides guidance on handling flexible working requests, including procedural requirements and factors employers should consider.

This Code of Practice adds regulatory friction to employment arrangements without genuine benefit. The underlying right to request flexible working already exists in primary legislation (s.80F ERA 1996); this Code merely layers additional procedural expectations that employers must follow or risk adverse tribunal findings. Such codes drive defensive HR practices, increase litigation exposure for employers (especially SMEs), and substitute regulatory prescription for genuine bilateral negotiation. Post-Brexit, Britain should trust employers and employees to reach flexible arrangements without ACAS-prescribed processes. The right exists in law; the Code overreaches by prescribing how that right should be exercised in practice.

Amends the Combined Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Access to Information and Audit Committees) Order 2017 to extend its provisions to combined county authorities (new bodies created under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023), adds definitions for 'independent remuneration panel', 'substitute member', and 'principal council', introduces provisions allowing combined authorities and combined county authorities to pay allowances to overview and scrutiny committee and audit committee members subject to independent remuneration panel recommendations, and makes various technical amendments to update references and extend procedural requirements.

These are procedural governance regulations for combined authorities and combined county authorities that ensure democratic accountability through overview and scrutiny committees, access to information requirements, and audit committees. While any regulation carries costs, these bodies are creatures of statute requiring some governance framework. The independent remuneration panel mechanism for allowances provides appropriate external review. Deletion would create governance gaps for these elected metropolitan bodies without providing a viable alternative mechanism for accountability.

This Order appoints 28th March 2024 as the day the Pensions Regulator's General Code of Practice comes into force, amends the 2005 Commencement Order, and revokes seven older Orders relating to various Codes of Practice under the Pensions Act 2004. It extends to England and Wales and Scotland.

This Order merely facilitates the coming into force of the General Code of Practice - it does not itself contain regulatory substance but enables consolidated regulations to take effect. While revoking older Orders is streamlining, the Order serves primarily to operationalise a comprehensive new regulatory code without any apparent sunset mechanism or post-implementation review. Parliament should scrutinise whether the consolidated General Code represents net regulatory benefit rather than simply rubber-stamping its commencement.

The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 amends the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 to increase statutory minimum wage rates across all worker categories: the national living wage for workers 21+ rises from £10.42 to £11.44; 18-20 year old rates from £7.49 to £8.60; 16-17 year old rates from £5.28 to £6.40; and the accommodation offset from £9.10 to £9.99. These changes take effect from 1st April 2024 and apply across all of the United Kingdom.

Minimum wage laws are price controls that distort the labor market by artificially setting wages above the equilibrium rate, leading to unemployment particularly among low-skilled workers, young people, and those with limited experience. These regulations prevent mutually beneficial employment agreements between willing workers and employers, reduce opportunities for skills development and career progression, increase costs for small businesses, and drive economic activity underground or to other jurisdictions. As Friedman acknowledged, minimum wages harm the most vulnerable workers they purport to help. The accommodation offset cap similarly restricts contractual freedom between parties. Rather than addressing genuine market failures through competition policy, these regulations substitute government mandate for voluntary exchange, undermining the dynamic, flexible labor market that made Britain great.

This Order makes consequential amendments to various UK statutes to reflect the replacement of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) with the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research, as established by the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022. It updates references in the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, and Higher Education and Research Act 2017.

This Order is purely machinery - it merely updates statutory references to reflect a body replacement already enacted by primary legislation (the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022). Deleting it would create legal confusion, as the old body (HEFCW) no longer exists and the new Commission must be recognized in law for the education system in Wales to function. The Order does not itself impose new regulatory burdens or create new bodies - it simply ensures existing legislation points to the correct entity. The underlying policy question of whether these bodies should exist was resolved by the 2022 Act, which is not subject to review here.

These Regulations amend the Electricity Capacity Regulations 2014 and Supplier Payment Regulations 2014 to introduce 'CM EII excluded electricity' - electricity supplied to Energy Intensive Industries that is excluded from capacity market calculations. They establish relevant arrangements for sharing meter data between electricity suppliers and the Settlement Body, update forecasting requirements, and modify how capacity market supplier charges are calculated by subtracting excluded electricity from 'relevant demand' calculations.

These regulations perpetuate a capacity market regime that artificially subsidizes backup electricity generation through levies on all suppliers, ultimately increasing costs for consumers. The 'CM EII excluded electricity' mechanism creates preferential treatment for politically-favored energy-intensive industries, representing corporate welfare that distorts market signals. The regulatory complexity imposes administrative burdens that disadvantage smaller suppliers and create barriers to entry. While the amendments appear technical, they reinforce a system of government intervention in electricity markets that Adam Smith would have recognized as restricting natural market dynamics. The policy rationale for supporting particular industries through capacity market exemptions should be questioned rather than simply implemented through more regulatory machinery.

A local government electoral boundary adjustment Order for the Wealden district in East Sussex, adjusting county electoral divisions and district wards to align with community governance reorganisation in the parish of Willingdon & Jevington (as enacted in the Wealden (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2023). The Order specifies transition dates for electoral proceedings (October 2024/2026) and full implementation (May 2027).

This is a technical administrative alignment instrument that corrects electoral boundaries to reflect governance reorganisations already enacted. Without it, residents in newly configured parish wards would vote in misaligned county divisions and district wards, causing unequal representation and potential disenfranchisement. It imposes no economic burden, restricts no activity, and creates no market distortions — it merely ensures democratic institutions function correctly within newly drawn boundaries. Deletion would leave a legal vacuum where electoral administration would be in conflict with actual community governance structures.

The HyNet Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Order 2024 grants development consent under the Planning Act 2008 for a carbon capture and storage pipeline infrastructure project. The Order authorises: repurposing an existing natural gas pipeline; construction of new CO2 pipeline sections; above-ground installations (AGIs) and block valve stations (BVSs); ancillary works; and associated development. It confers compulsory purchase powers, rights to alter streets and public rights of way, exemptions from certain byelaws, and environmental protections including requirements for construction environmental management plans. The undertaker is Liverpool Bay CCS Limited. The Order comes into force on 11th April 2024.

While this Order grants significant compulsory purchase powers and regulatory exemptions typical of NSIPs, deleting it would create legal uncertainty for a major infrastructure project that has undergone the full Planning Act 2008 examination process with public consultation. Carbon capture infrastructure represents potential competitive advantage for UK industry. The extensive requirements and environmental protections demonstrate that regulation can be calibrated rather than simply removed. However, the exclusive grant to a single undertaker without competitive tendering for such significant public infrastructure should be reviewed - future orders should consider whether such consents should be competitively awarded rather than granted to a single nominated entity.

These Regulations are a commencement order that brings into force provisions of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 on 1st April 2024. They cover the Regulator of Social Housing's powers including: collection of information, fee charging, designation of registered providers, health and safety lead requirements, moratoriums on land disposal, insolvency procedures, notification requirements for profit-making organisations, inspection and enforcement powers, performance improvement plans, and emergency remedial action. The Regulations also contain saving provisions that preserve the previous law for ongoing situations predating 1st April 2024. They extend to England and Wales primarily, with some provisions extending to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This is a procedural commencement instrument, not substantive regulatory policy. It implements provisions already passed by Parliament in the 2023 Act. Critically, the saving provisions actively protect individuals from retroactive application of new rules—a sound regulatory practice that prevents disruption to ongoing proceedings. The underlying policy question (whether social housing regulation is appropriate) is a matter for primary legislation, not for a commencement order. Deleting this would create legal uncertainty and gaps in the regulatory framework for social housing providers, potentially harming the very tenants the regulation aims to protect.

Commencement regulations that bring Section 1 of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 into force on 6 April 2024. Extends to England, Wales, and Scotland.

Commencement regulations are purely procedural instruments that merely activate primary legislation. They impose no regulatory burden themselves — the substantive policy questions about flexible working rights reside in the parent Act, not in these regulations. Deleting this SI would not prevent Section 1 from being commenced; Parliament could achieve the same effect through a simple motion or the parent Act's own provisions. The instrument has no independent regulatory substance to assess.

These Regulations amend retained EU Council Regulations to implement ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) requirements for statistical monitoring of swordfish and bigeye tuna trade. They establish document requirements for import, export, and re-export of these species, mandate validation by licensing authorities, create offences for non-compliance, and set penalties. The regulations apply UK-wide and reference ICCAT's conservation framework for highly migratory fish stocks.

Without these regulations, the UK would be unable to meet its international obligations as an ICCAT member, risking trade sanctions and exclusion from international fisheries management. The statistical document system for swordfish and bigeye tuna is essential for combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing—a genuine market failure that undermines sustainable fisheries. While the regulations impose compliance costs, the alternative of deleting them would expose UK fishing fleets to international isolation, loss of market access, and the collapse of fish stocks that UK boats rely on. The ICCAT framework operates independently of EU membership; maintaining it preserves the UK's leadership in Atlantic fisheries conservation and its ability to negotiate favorable fishing rights internationally.

These Regulations appoint 6th April 2024 as the commencement date for Schedules 24, 25, 26 and 27 of the Finance Act 2021 (penalty provisions for failure to make returns, deliberately withholding information, and failure to pay tax) in relation to 'eligible volunteers'. They establish a framework allowing individuals to elect to be 'eligible volunteers', with elections made to HMRC specifying the first applicable tax year, being irrevocable by the individual once accepted, but terminable by HMRC at will. Accepted elections apply from the specified tax year and continue indefinitely until terminated.

While the eligible volunteer election framework contains asymmetric power dynamics (HMRC can terminate while the individual cannot revoke), this regulation merely appoints commencement dates for penalty regimes already enacted by Parliament and does not itself impose regulatory burden. The voluntary nature of the scheme means it does not restrict supply or create monopolistic conditions. Deleting it would create uncertainty regarding when penalties apply to those who have voluntarily elected this status, potentially harming those individuals who opted into the scheme in good faith.