Legislation / Legal

NE: Farmers & growers are being urgently advised to comply with the law & register with Natural England, if they are using imported non-native bumblebees for commercial pollination

The move follows the announcement in December 2012, which saw licensing regulations tightened from 1 January 2013, as part of plans to help safeguard the health of our native bumble bees & honey bees.  However, many growers have not yet registered with Natural England.
Press release & links
 
MoJVulnerable people will be protected from aggressive bailiffs, but businesses will still be able to collect debts fairly under new laws just announced.  Bailiffs will be banned from entering homes at night or when only children are present and new safeguards will prevent them from using force against people who owe money.  They will also no longer have free reign to fix their own fees, as new set costs are brought in.

Until now there has been insufficient legal protection against aggressive bailiffs but that will change with the new laws and a mandatory training & certification scheme which they must pass before going into business.  Bailiffs who do not follow the rules will be barred from the industry. 

The changes will be made by enacting parts of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and creating new laws through the Crime & Courts Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament.
Press release & links
 
BIS: Groups of consumers & companies will find it easier to take collective legal action against businesses acting in an anti-competitive way under new proposals announced by Competition Minister Jo Swinson last week.  Included in the measures is a new fast-track regime that will help small businesses fight anti-competitive practices that stifle growth.
Press release & links ~ CBI comments on Government proposals on private actions in competition law ~ CAB: Government should extend collective consumer action powers
 
EHRC: The Equality and Human Rights Commission have intervened in a human rights case at the Court of Appeal involving an 87-year-old protestor who says his ‘right to privacy was breached by the police retaining information about him on a national extremism database’.
 
In its submission the Commission said the national database is not subject to democratic oversight and contains reports about people who protest peacefully and without ever being suspected of a criminal offence. The retention by the state of sensitive personal information of the sort stored on this database interferes with the right to privacy & potentially stigmatises innocent people in the eyes of employers & other organisations.
Press release & links
 
FRC: The Financial Reporting Council has announced the outcome of its investigation into the conduct of Members of the ICAEW and Ernst & Young LLP (“E&Y”), Member Firm of the ICAEW, as auditors to Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (“LBIE”).  

Following the conclusion of the investigation, the FRC’s Executive Counsel, Gareth Rees QC, has decided that no action should be taken against E&Y or any individuals in connection with their conduct in this matter.
Press release & links
 
DCMS: A Government commitment to open up marriage to same-sex couples took a step forward recently with the publication of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill.
Press release & links
 
LGAResidents & councils would be left powerless to decide where new warehouses, factories & industrial premises are built in their communities, under Government planning reforms which town hall leaders say ‘will undermine the work councils are doing to deliver economic growth’.
 
Developers of warehouses, factories, offices & conference centres larger than 40,000 square metres – roughly the size of a big supermarket site – could choose to bypass local communities in favour of having their planning applications assessed in private by a quango & ministers, as part of the Government's Growth and Infrastructure Bill.
Press release & links
 
Defra: The sale of 5 invasive non-native aquatic plant species is to be banned in order to protect wildlife Environment Minister Richard Benyon announced last week. The banned plants are Water Fern, Parrot’s Feather, Floating Pennywort, Australian Swamp Stone-crop (New Zealand Pygmyweed), and Water Primrose

Invasive non-native species can have a devastating cost to the economy, costing £1.7bn to control.  Floating pennywort, which can grow up to 8 inches a day, costs the British economy £23.5m per year.
Press release & links
 
WAG: A major piece of legislation that is set to transform the way people in Wales receive care & support has been introduced. The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill was presented to the National Assembly where it will now undergo the process of scrutiny before being voted on. It's anticipated that, if passed, it will gain Royal Assent later in 2013.

The White Paper Sustainable Social Services for Wales: A Framework for Action highlighted a number of key challenges faced by public services in Wales now & in the future.  These included demographic changes, increased expectations of those who access care & support, and continuing hard economic realities. 

The Bill aims to address these issues and in doing so will give people greater freedom to decide which services they need while offering consistent, high-quality services across the country.
Press release & links
 
OFTRises in pump prices for petrol & diesel over the last 10 years have been caused largely by higher crude oil prices and increases in tax & duty and not a lack of competition, an OFT report has found. 

The evidence gathered by the OFT suggests that at national level competition is working well in the UK road fuel sector, although it has identified an absence of pricing information on motorways as a concern and does not rule out taking action in some local markets if there is persuasive evidence of anti-competitive behaviour.
Press release & links
 
BCE: As a result of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 receiving Royal Assent on 31 January 2013, the date of the next boundary review has been postponed until 2018.   The Boundary Commission for England has therefore ceased working on the 2013 Review and will no longer be reporting to the Secretary of State in autumn 2013.
Press release & links
 
LC: The Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2013 has received Royal Assent.  The Act gives effect to the repeals put forward (817 whole Acts & parts of 50 other Acts) by the Law Commission for England & Wales and the Scottish Law Commission in their 2012 Statute Law Repeals Report.
Press release & links
 
LC: The Trusts (Capital and Income) Act 2013 has received Royal Assent. The Act derives from the Law Commission report, ‘Capital and Income in Trusts: Classification and Apportionment’ and it enacts 3 principal reforms.
Press release & links
 
HO: A new law which will open up more opportunities for social enterprises to deliver public services came into force last week.  The Public Services (Social Value) Act requires local authorities & other commissioners of public services to consider how their services can benefit people living in the local community – See ‘Charities / Voluntary Organisations / Third Sector’ section for more information.
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