Business Diary: UK Regulations - January 2017
Currently, two to three new Regulation entries are added to the Archive each day. Regulation Watch covers business related topics such as new legislation, changes in legislation, consultations and regulatory body announcements.
1st
Rates & Reliefs
Rate Change: The Intellectual Property Office has announced that the fee structure for Patent Cooperation Treaty applications will change from 1 January 2017. The search fee, the international fee and the reduced fees for e-filing will increase.
Start Date: 1st January 2017
Regulator Services
Tribunal Services: HM Courts and Tribunals Service has confirmed that new employment tribunal decisions will be made available online by early 2017. The move aims to increase the transparency of the employment tribunal system as well as providing an incentive for parties in a dispute to settle.
Start Date: 1st January 2017
Regulator Services
IP Services: The Intellectual Property Office has announced that the 11th edition of the international system for classifying goods and services for trademark purposes, as established by the Nice Agreement, will come into force on 1 January 2017.
Start Date: 1st January 2017
4th
Rates & Reliefs
Rate Change: The Phone-paid Services Authority has announced a set of revised administrative charges. The charges ensure that those found to be in breach of the Code of Practice make a proportionate contribution towards the costs incurred during investigations.
Published Date: 4th January 2017
5th
Business Laws
Government Activity: The UK government has appointed a Director of Labour Market Enforcement to set strategic priorities for the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the National Minimum Wage enforcement team in order to tackle exploitation of casual workers.
Published Date: 5th January 2017
6th
Court Rulings
Safety Ruling: A Scottish court recently sentenced an employer to two years in prison for health and safety law breaches which resulted in the death of an employee and the serious injury of another. The ruling highlights that Scottish courts could take into account sentencing guidelines that apply in England and Wales, according to a legal expert from Pinsent Masons.
Ruling Date: 6th January 2017
9th
Compliance Guidance
Export Guide: The Department for International Trade and the Export Control Organisation have published new guidance on how to use SPIRE – the online export licensing system. The guidance includes information on the various types of licence available and the conditions for using them.
Published Date: 9th January 2017
Regulation Consultations
Sector Consultation: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is inviting views from all interested stakeholders on a strategy to develop pharmacopoeial public quality standards for biological medicines. The consultation also considers how standards can enable innovation now and in the future.
Response Deadline: 10th April 2017
10th
EU Laws
EU Regulation: The European Commission has announced a proposed new regulation to replace the existing e-Privacy Directive. The regulation sets out new rules on the use of 'cookies' and other "device fingerprinting" technologies as well as direct marketing via electronic communications.
Published Date: 10th January 2017
Regulation Consultations
Sector Consultation: The Scottish government is inviting views from all interested stakeholders on reforms to the planning system. The consultation includes measures which will make speculative planning applications even more challenging and costly.
Response Deadline: 4th April 2017
12th
Legal Statistics
New data from London Trading Standards reveals that 15 cosmetic businesses across the capital were fined a total of £168,579 in 2016 for selling unsafe cosmetic products. A total of 17 individual Directors were prosecuted.
Published Date: 12th January 2017
Business Laws
HMRC is warning that HFC pre-charged air conditioners or refrigeration units cannot be placed on the market unless they are accounted for within the F-gas quota system. From 2017, all refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment charged with HFCs are now part of the HFC phase-down system, which was implemented under EU law in 2015.
Published Date: 12th January 2017
EU Laws
Sector Regulation: The European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee voted in favour of a resolution calling for new laws to address the liability of robots, such as driverless cars, for damage caused by those machines.
Published Date: 12th January 2017
13th
Legal Statistics
Enforcement Statistics: The Information Commissioners' Office (ICO) has issued more than £1 million in fines since April 2016 to firms in breach of the rules surrounding unsolicited marketing calls, texts and emails. In addition, the ICO is expecting to issue a further £2 million in fines.
Published Date: 13th January 2017
16th
Regulation Consultations
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is inviting views from individuals and organisations on the uses of limited partnerships in the UK. The call for evidence was launched following allegations that Scottish limited partnerships are being exploited by criminals.
Response Deadline: 17th March 2017
Legal Statistics - Risks
Legal Alert: A new report from the Law Society is warning that US law firms will be less inclined to employ UK solicitors as a way to access European markets and the UK solicitor title could become less desirable as a result of Brexit.
Published Date: 16th January 2017
17th
Legal Statistics
SMEs saved £4.6 billion, or £4,500 each, in 2015 due to changes to audit exemptions which were implemented in 2012, according to new research published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Take-up of audit exemptions is expected to increase further following additional eligibility changes in 2016.
Published Date: 17th January 2017
19th
Court Rulings
Legal Opinion: The UK and Gibraltar should be considered a single Member State for the purposes of the application of Article 56 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU, meaning that the UK's new gambling rules are not in breach of EU law, according to the Advocate General for the Court of Justice for the EU.
Published Date: 19th January 2017
Business Laws
Government Activity: The government is working on proposals aimed at maintaining the pre-eminence of the UK's legal system after the nation has departed the European Union, according to the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas. A series of working parties will be established to progress the proposals and agree delivery targets and timetables.
Published Date: 19th January 2017
23rd
Regulation Consultations
Competition Law Consultation: The Competition and Markets Authority is inviting views from all interested stakeholders on a proposal to raise the threshold for markets considered sufficiently important to justify a merger reference to £15 million and to raise the threshold for markets generally considered not sufficiently important to £5 million.
Published Date: 13th February 2017
24th
Compliance Guidance
The Competition and Markets Authority has updated its short guide for senior managers, directors and their advisers on how to avoid breaking competition law. Alongside the updated guidance, the regulator has published a one-page 60-second summary dealing specifically with director disqualification.
Published Date: 24th January 2017
25th
Compliance Guidance
The Competition and Markets Authority is asking lawyers in the South East of England to promote awareness of new competition law compliance materials to their small business clients. The materials aim to help SMEs recognise anti-competitive practices, comply with competition law and report illegal anti-competitive activity.
Published Date: 25th January 2017
Business Laws
Government Activity: Employers that enforce sexist dress codes could face stricter punishment and fines if the government accepts the recommendations set out in a new report published by the Women and Equalities Commission and the Petitions Commission.
Published Date: 25th January 2017
26th
Business Laws
Regulator Activity: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is planning to consult on new rules requiring law firms to publish their fees for services such as divorce, wills or conveyancing, according to the executive director for policy at the SRA.
Published Date: 26th January 2017
EU Laws
Sector Regulation: The European Parliament’s environment, public health and food safety committee has rejected proposals to allow EU member states to implement bans or other discriminatory restrictions on single use packaging.
Published Date: 26th January 2017
Business Laws
Government Activity: The government will take steps to ensure that pregnant employees and new mothers are sufficiently protected from redundancy, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has announced. The government will also consider further guidance for courts and claimants about existing flexibilities in the employment tribunal system.
Published Date: 26th January 2017
27th
Legal Statistics
Sector Statistics: Demand for in-house lawyers has surged over the past two years as companies fear the threat of greater financial penalties arising from the EU General Data Protection Regulation, according to a new report from VacancySoft and Laurence Simons.
Published Date: 27th January 2017
30th
Legal Statistics - Risks
Enforcement Statistics: Lawyers are warning construction companies to broaden their awareness of the new HSE health and safety sentencing guidelines as firms have incurred more than £12.6 million in fines since February 2016. In addition, lawyers warn that penalties could increase further as judges become more confident in imposing the new guidelines.
Published Date: 30th January 2017
31st
Legal Statistics
Tribunal Statistics: According to the Ministry of Justice, more than 92,000 people bought forward workplace disputes in 2016 – the highest number since employment tribunal fees were introduced. In addition, tribunal users are contributing up to £9 million a year in fee income.
Published Date: 31st January 2017
Regulation Consultations
Employment Law Consultation: The Ministry of Justice is inviting views from all interested stakeholders on a proposal to extend the Help with Fees scheme to people on lower incomes. The Help with Fees scheme provides financial support to those looking to bring an employment dispute to tribunal.
Response Deadline: 14th March 2017
Regulator Services
Export Services: The Export Control Organisation has updated 13 open general export licences, two open general transhipment licences and an open general trade control licence. The amended licences will come into force on 31 January 2017.
Start Date: 31st January 2017
Regulatory Deadlines
Filing Deadline: Operators with an environmental permit submitting a return to the Environment Agency to report waste received or removed from their site for Q4 2016 must do so by 31 January 2017.
Submission Deadline: 31st January 2017
