Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides
OFT: The OFT has set out new decision-making processes & procedural enhancements to boost the speed and robustness of Competition Act 1998 (CA98) investigations and increase engagement with parties involved. The updated guidance on CA98 procedures follows a consultation process launched in March 2012. It updates the OFT's guidance originally published in March 2011.
NICE: A new interactive tool developed by NICE and Brunel University will help local authorities count the cost of tobacco-related harm in their communities. The tool also models the longer-term cash savings that authorities can expect by putting tobacco control strategies in place.
Local authorities have a responsibility to address health inequalities, and smoking is the primary reason for the gap in healthy life-expectancy between rich & poor. Tobacco use is also the single greatest cause of preventable deaths in England - killing over 80,000 people per year.
CLG: A Government review of planning practice guidance is being undertaken by former MP Lord Taylor, Planning Minister Nick Boles has announced. Lord Taylor of Goss Moor will lead an external group that will look to streamline some 6,000 pages of practice guidance that explains statutory provisions, planning and the planning system.
The review follows the National Planning Policy Framework which distilled around 1,000 pages of planning policy into a streamlined, easy to understand 47 page document. This guidance review will not involve any changes to national policy set out in the Framework.
NE: The 4th edition of the Environmental Stewardship (ES) handbooks are now available on the Natural England website containing details of a suite of new options & updates aimed at increasing the environmental benefits and value for money of the schemes. The new handbooks are effective from 1 January 2013 .
FSA: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published the Journey to the FCA a paper that sets out how the UK’s new financial conduct regulator will operate. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will start work next year with a remit to make financial markets work well so consumers get a fair deal.
EU News: The Commission is issuing new guidelines on inland navigation & nature protection to assist this important sector in applying EU environmental legislation. The guidelines – ‘Inland waterway transport and Natura 2000 – sustainable inland waterway development and management in the context of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives’ – explain how best to ensure that activities related to inland navigation are compatible with EU environmental policy in general and nature legislation in particular.
The document also emphasizes the significance of the inland navigation for securing long-term sustainability of EU transport network and highlights the achievements of this sector in integrating nature protection into its activities to date.
