Consultations
OFT: The Office of Fair Trading has issued for consultation (closes 10 August 2007) revised guidance on the so-called 'markets of insufficient importance' or 'de minimis' exception in merger cases with the intention reducing the system's cost to business and the taxpayer.
Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the OFT has a duty to refer certain mergers to the Competition Commission, unless the markets involved are not of sufficient importance to justify a reference.
Existing guidance suggests that the OFT may consider a merger in a market worth as little as £400,000 per year to be of sufficient importance to justify a reference to the Competition Commission. The revised guidance raises the market size threshold to £10m.
Press release ~ Consultation paper ~ 'Mergers: substantive assessment guidance' ~ 'Interim arrangements for informal advice and pre-notification contacts' ~ Competition Commission
DTI: The Government has launched a review of its three-year old arms export control legislation with a consultation (closes 30 September 2007) that will look at a wide range of proposals, including whether more needs to be done to control the trading in a wider range of arms or equipment and whether a pre-licensing registration system for UK based arms traders should be introduced.
This Review is intended to enable the government to revisit the controls in the light of experience to establish whether they are having the intended effect, without imposing unnecessary or disproportionate business burdens, and to consider the case for further change.
Press release ~ Consultation documents ~ Campaign Against Arms Trade ~ FCO: EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports ~ Government breached own guidelines on arms exports, says report - Guardian Unlimited ~ Saferworld: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – a decade of Labour’s arms exports
DTI: Plans to improve payment practices throughout the construction industry have been unveiled for consultation (17 September 2007). Developed with broad industry support & involvement, they seek to:
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Introduce greater clarity & transparency into the statutory payment framework to enable construction companies to better manage cash flow
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Encourage parties to resolve disputes by adjudication, and
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Identify how the costs & benefits of the package can be evaluated
These proposals are intended to be proportionate amendments to the existing framework to address specific issues that have arisen during the nine years the Construction Act has been in operation.
DTI: Small Business Minister Margaret Hodge has claimed that a simplification of the number of business support schemes from 3,000-plus to under 100 is at the centre of new proposals to help small business (consultation closes 14 September 2007).
Under the proposals, the Government's small business information & advice service Business Link would be the first port of call for all of Government's business support. Last year Business Link handled over 800,000 face-to-face enquiries and its website received more than seven million online visitors.
Press release ~ Consultation documents ~ Business Link ~ General Business Support, Schemes and Initiatives - DTI
HM Treasury: Economic Secretary, Ed Balls has published a consultation document (12 September 2007) that aims to ensure the mutual sector has the best toolset to operate in the modern economy. It will take a 2-stage approach and it will impact on over 8,000 industrial & provident societies and over 500 credit unions.
This first stage, seeks views on the issues raised by stakeholders about the current legal framework, addressing issues identified by co-operative & credit union sectors as impeding development and in need of review.
The second stage will involve consulting on firm proposals for legislative reform should a case for reform emerge. It will identify the alternatives for implementation, possible advantages & limitations and provide clear options based on results of the first stage of the consultation.
Press release ~ Review of the GB cooperative and credit union legislation: a consultation ~ Co-operatives UK ~ Association of British Credit Unions Limited ~ Building Societies Association ~ FSA: Industrial & Provident Societies
DfT: Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander has launched a consultation (closes 13 September) on an environmental reporting system for Biofuels and a package of measures to complement the reporting requirement. The consultation is a key part of work on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which means that by 2010, 5% of all the fuel sold on UK forecourts should come from biofuels.
In addition to the consultation, the Secretary of State made several other announcements including that from:
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April 2010 the Government aims to reward biofuels under the RTFO according to the amount of carbon they save
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April 2011 the Government aims to reward biofuels under the RTFO only if they meet appropriate sustainability standards.
Press release ~ Carbon and sustainability reporting within the renewable transport fuel obligation ~ Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) ~ Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership ~ Linking Environment and Farming ~ Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil ~ Rainforest Alliance ~ Basel Criteria for Soy ~ Forest Stewardship Council ~ Social Accountability 8000 ~ Biofuelwatch
DfES: The Government is consulting (closes 14 September 2007) on the processes for barring people who should not work with children & vulnerable adults as part of the next stage to introduce the toughest ever vetting & barring scheme. The system was legislated for in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and will be introduced from autumn of 2008.
In the consultation respondents are asked to consider points including:
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whether they agree with the list of offences which would result in being automatically barred from working with children & vulnerable people
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how long adults & young people who are barred should have to wait before they can ask for their bar to be reviewed - the "minimum no-review period"
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whether this "minimum no-review period" should be the same length for both adults & young people and whether the age boundary for a younger person - which determines how long they have to wait before they can apply for a review - should be 18 or 25
Press release ~ Barring Consultation: Implementing the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the Northern Ireland Order 2007~ Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 ~ Home Office - Protection of Vulnerable Persons ~ POVA ~ DH – Dignity in Care ~ The Dignity Challenge ~ Dignity in Care Practice Guide ~ DH - Vulnerable Adults ~ Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education
DfES: The Department of Health has launched a consultation paper (close 17 October 2007) on a new approach to dealing with complaints in health & social care which will make it easier for people to complain when things go wrong - See ‘In the News’ above for more details.
Defra: Plans to open up the whole of England's coastline to the public have been set out in a consultation paper (closes 11 September 2007). At present parts of the English coastline are out of bounds to walkers who find their routes blocked and are forced to make detours inland - See ‘In the News’ above for more details.
MoJ: Plans to promote a culture of openness in family courts, while protecting the best interests of children, have been unveiled for consultation (closes 1 October 2007) – See ‘Legislation / Legal Section’ below.
MoJ: Introducing greater choice on how young people give evidence in court is among government proposals published for consultation (closes 19 October 2007) that are intended to place victims & witnesses at the heart of the Criminal Justice System – See ‘Legislation / Legal Section’ below.
DfES: The Government is publishing a consultation on its revised version of Volume One of the Children's Act 1989 guidance and regulations ‘Court Orders’ (closes 28 September 2007) – See ‘In the News’ above.
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