Business Diary: UK Regulations - May 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
Business Laws
Government Activity: The UK government has published its final policy on apprenticeships funding from May 2017. Under the new policy, employers that pay the apprenticeship levy will have 24 months to spend their apprenticeship funds, up from 18 months proposed previously.
Start Date: 1st May 2017
Regulation Consultations
Following consultation, the Ministry of Justice has decided to increase probate fees for estates worth over £2 million to £20,000, with effect from May 2017. The threshold below which no fee is payable will increase from £5,000 to £50,000.
Start Date: 1st May 2017
4th
Business Laws
The Gambling Commission has issued a £300,000 fine to an online gaming company after it was found that the company in question was responsible for adverts that were misleading. This is the first time the Gambling Commission has issued a fine over advertising failings.
Published Date: 4th May 2017
8th
Court Rulings
The UK High Court has ruled that a mining business under criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) cannot claim litigation privilege, which would have allowed it to withhold certain categories of internal documentation from the SFO.
Ruling Date: 8th May 2017
9th
Regulation Consultations
The UK government is inviting views from all interested parties on a draft plan to improve air quality by reducing nitrogen dioxide levels. Under the plan, local authorities will be mandated to introduce clean air zones and additional funding will be provided to accelerate the use of hydrogen and electric vehicles.
Published Date: 9th May 2017
10th
Legal Statistics
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has imposed a £400,000 penalty on a business responsible for nearly 100 million nuisance calls over an 18 month period. This is the highest ever fine issued by the ICO for nuisance calls.
Published Date: 10th May 2017
Court Rulings
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a company seeking to trademark two colours could not use pictures alone to explain how their mark should apply. The verbal description of such a mark must be taken into consideration with the pictorial representation in order to satisfy the requirements of EU trademark law.
Ruling Date: 10th May 2017
15th
Regulatory Deadlines
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has launched an online portal for farmers in Northern Ireland to submit their Single Application Forms (SAFs). The SAF is required to claim payments under the Single Farm Payment Scheme and must be submitted by 15 May 2017.
Submission Deadline: 15th May 2017
22nd
Crackdowns & Amnesty
A government-commissioned inquiry into the use of zero-hours contracts is set to call for employees to be given the right to request to be moved onto guaranteed hours. Employers would have to respond "seriously" to the request and give reasons for their decision.
Published Date: 22nd May 2017
23rd
Regulator Services
The Land Registry is planning to trial a ‘Digital Street’ scheme which will enable the almost instantaneous transfer of property ownership. Digital Street will also allow Land Registry to hold more granular data than is currently possible.
Published Date: 23rd May 2017
Legal Statistics
The number of cases brought by SMEs at the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has increased by 68% in the past year, according to official figures. The rise indicates that SMEs are becoming better at spotting, and quicker at reacting to, instances where their IP has come under threat.
Published Date: 23rd May 2017
24th
EU Laws
The European Commission has launched a review into the Database Directive to determine whether it still fulfils its policy goals of providing protection of databases, including those not protected under copyright.
Published Date: 24th May 2017
Regulator Services
The Environment Agency has extended its environmental permitting regime to onshore oil and gas facilities which existed prior to 1 October 2013, when the regime began. Activities which require a permit include water discharge, management of radioactive waste or the management of extractive waste.
Published Date: 24th May 2017
25th
Legal Statistics - Risks
According to a new survey from Varonis Systems, 75% of companies from the UK, France, Germany and the US will struggle to be ready for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The "Right to be forgotten" was rated as the top challenge to complying with GDPR by the 25 May 2018 deadline.
Published Date: 25th May 2017
Business Laws
The Information Commissioner has warned businesses that they must demonstrate that "good data protection is a cornerstone" of their "business policy and practices" under the General Data Protection Regulation. Failure to do so will leave businesses open to enforcement action and reputation loss.
Published Date: 25th May 2017
Court Rulings
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Gambling Commission can refuse to issue operating licences to pubs for providing gambling services even if those pubs satisfy the criteria necessary for obtaining a licence.
Ruling Date: 25th May 2017
26th
Business Laws
The Committees of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice have announced new rules prohibiting the sexual portrayal or sexual representation of under-18s, and those who appear to be under 18, in advertising. The new rules will take effect from 2 January 2018.
Published Date: 26th May 2017
