Consultations
ScotGov: Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing has recently launched a consultation to deliver better support for businesses operating across Scotland. The consultation on Primary Authority seeks views on how regulation could be made simpler for Scottish businesses. The consultation closes on 23 August 2013.
Monitor: Monitor is to examine the commissioning & provision of GP services in England to ‘see if there are barriers preventing patients from securing access to the best possible care’. The health sector regulator wants to hear from patients, GPs, commissioners & other providers of primary and secondary care. Monitor will publish an update and set out any next steps in the autumn 2013. Submissions should be sent by 1 August 2013 .
Ofgem: Ofgem has put forward proposals for new rules requiring suppliers to clamp down on electricity theft. The industry detects up to 25,000 cases of electricity theft each year and estimates that the annual cost to consumers is at least £200m or around £7 per electricity customer. Up to one third of the volume of electricity stolen each year is used to power cannabis farms. The consultation closes on 28 August 2013.
HO: A consultation on how police use stop & search powers has been launched by Home Secretary Theresa May. In the last year in London alone, stop & searches resulted in 45,000 criminals being arrested, including more than 3,000 who were carrying weapons & guns, and more than 7,000 in possession of suspected stolen goods.
But when it is over-used, or when people are targeted when they do not need to be, it is a waste of police time and erodes community confidence in the police. Consultation closes on 13 August 2013.
HO: Private landlords will be required to check the immigration status of new tenants under government proposals launched in a consultation last week. The government also plans to introduce proportionate penalties for those who make a single honest mistake, and much heavier penalties, up to £3,000 per tenant, for rogue landlords who repeatedly & deliberately break the law. The consultation closes on 21 August 2013.
OFT: The OFT has launched a call for information into the supply of information & communication technology (ICT) goods and services to the public sector and is calling for suppliers & purchasers to get in touch about their experiences.
ICT plays a crucial role in the delivery of all public services, including schools, hospitals and the police. It is also an important part of the UK economy, with the top 20 software & IT services providers earning about £10.4bn a year in revenue from the public sector. Call closes on 18 August 2013.
LC: The Law Commission are consulting on their 12th Programme of law reform. They expect to submit their proposals to the Lord Chancellor in summer 2014. If approved, they will make up the main part of our law reform work in the following 3 years. Consultation closes 31 October 2013.
HMT: The government has outlined proposals for one of the biggest reforms of Gift Aid rules in recent years. These reforms will make it easier for charities to claim tax relief on donations made online or by text message, ensuring that more money goes to good causes.
The consultation explains that, because Gift Aid is a tax relief, it will always involve a certain amount of information passing between the donor, the charity & HMRC, through what is known as the Gift Aid declaration.
The government is suggesting ways in which this process can be adapted for spontaneous digital giving, for example by shortening the declaration, or by allowing the organisations that process digital donations to collect & pass on the Gift Aid or the declarations to charities. The consultation closes on 20 September 2013.
EU News: The European Commission is inviting comments on its review of EU state aid rules on the public financing of airports and start-up aid to airlines. The Commission proposal provides guidance on how Member States can support airports & airlines in line with EU state aid rules. In light of the submissions received, the Commission will adopt revised guidelines in the beginning of 2014. Comments should be sent by 25 September 2013.
TfL: The Mayor of London, Transport for London (TfL) and 3 local councils are consulting on plans to regenerate Old Oak in West London, which the Government has earmarked as the main interchange between HS2 & Crossrail. The new HS2 station will also provide the opportunity for a new London Overground station, creating links to jobs across the Capital. A new generation of trains running at speeds of up to 250mph will stop at the new hub station, just north of Wormwood Scrubs, from 2026.
Given the regeneration potential HS2 provides, a 30-year vision to transform the Old Oak area has been written. It outlines how thousands of new jobs & homes, in addition to schools, open spaces, shops and leisure facilities, could improve the area. A public consultation on the plans will run until 6 September 2013.
Ofcom: Ofcom has proposed new measures to promote competition among superfast broadband providers, as part of a major review of wholesale telecoms services. Under proposals for consultation, the wholesale cost of switching a customer from one superfast broadband supplier to another would fall by up to 80%. In addition, the minimum length of the wholesale contract between BT and the switched customer’s new supplier would be reduced from a year to just one month.
Ofcom is also consulting on ways to ensure that the performance of BT’s network access division, Openreach, is maintained at acceptable levels. Openreach installs and & connections to BT’s network on behalf of competing telecoms providers. Consultation closes on 25 September 2013.
WAG: People from across Wales, of all ages & abilities in Welsh have recently been giving their views on the future of the Welsh language. The First Minister, Carwyn Jones, led a national conversation on the Welsh language, with people attending a conference in Aberystwyth and taking part live online. People still have the opportunity to have their say in the online survey which is open until the 18 July 2013.
Defra: A plan to rid England of bovine TB within 25 years has been set out recently by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson. The strategy sets out action in areas such as disease surveillance, pre- and post-movement cattle testing, removal of cattle exposed to bTB, tracing the potential source of infection and wildlife controls including culling & vaccination trials.
It also focuses on the development of new techniques such as badger & cattle vaccines and new diagnostic tests that could one day offer new ways of tackling the disease. The consultation closes on 26 September 2013.
ScotGov: Action to create cleaner communities & coastlines by tackling land & marine litter will help end Scotland’s litter blight and protect our environment. The 2 consultations - Towards a Litter Free Scotland and Draft Marine Litter strategy - both close on 27 September 2013 and the Scottish Government intends to bring forward a final National Litter Strategy – the first since devolution - early in 2014.
BIS: Energy intensive businesses will get help to offset the cost of energy policy on their electricity bills under plans published last week by Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon. Proposals to exempt the most electricity intensive industries from a proportion of the costs of Contracts for Difference will be subject to consultation. The move will ’level the playing field’ so that British businesses are not made uncompetitive due to the costs of this policy.
Contracts for Difference have been introduced to support investment in low carbon electricity generation. They are a significant element of Electricity Market Reform (EMR) and aim to stimulate investment by providing a stable long-term price for low carbon electricity. The consultation closes on 30 August 2013.
DWP: With up to 11m people being enrolled into a workplace pension scheme – many for the first time – the Minister for Pensions has published a call for evidence on how work-based schemes are managed, with a view to setting out standards to protect members.
The publication of ‘Quality Standards in Workbased Defined Contribution Pensions Schemes’ is part of wider plans to reinvigorate workplace pensions. The proposal to set standards follows the recent announcement on movement of small pension pots when people move jobs. Automatic transfers will help people keep track of their pension savings and build up a larger retirement fund. The consultation closes on 9 September 2013.
BIS: The government is committed to supporting the employee ownership business model and has launched a consultation on providing 2 new tax reliefs to encourage employee ownership. Consultation closes on 28 September 2013 – See ‘Guidance Notes & Best Practice Guides’ section for more information.
Additional Consultations: Readers should be aware that many consultations are never publicised with a press release, so do not appear in either the email alerts or Wired - GOV Plus. Many of these consultations can be found at the following links:
