Legislation / Legal
ScotGov: Changes introduced by the Scottish Government mean vulnerable species of sharks, skates & rays now have greater protection, over and above EU legislation. ScotGov is the first government in Europe to introduce legislation protecting such a wide range of species.
The Sharks Skates and Rays (Prohibition of Fishing) Order came into force recently and covers 26 species – including angel sharks, tope sharks, common skate and undulate rays.
The Sharks Skates and Rays (Prohibition of Fishing) Order came into force recently and covers 26 species – including angel sharks, tope sharks, common skate and undulate rays.
BIS: Employment tribunal changes came into effect last Friday that will make it easier for businesses to take on staff and improve the process when staff have to be let go. The Government has streamlined employment tribunals to cut unnecessary demands on employers, and encourage growth, while safeguarding workers’ rights.
PC&PE: The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) calls for statutory clarification of law on disclosure of national security-sensitive material, but finds no case for more extensive change.
There is a case for the legal framework to be made clearer in the way in which it applies to national security-sensitive material and the Committee suggests how that could be done by legislation and changes to the Coroners Rules & guidance.
The Committee considers that proposals for reform which are intended to provide the US with a cast-iron guarantee that any intelligence they share can never be disclosed in a UK court cannot be justified. Such an aim is incompatible with the Government's commitment to the rule of law.
WWF: Despite the upcoming introduction of legislation to halt the import of illegally sourced wood products, more than half of local authorities still don't have a legal & sustainable timber procurement policy and only 16 are implementing the policy effectively, a report by WWF-UK has found.
For the report - ‘Barking up the right tree?’ - WWF contacted all 433 UK authorities to find out their policies & actions on the environmentally responsible purchasing of timber & paper products.
Based on their responses, a 5-tier system rated them from red to green. In total, 336 red ratings were given to authorities that did not have a policy, did not know if they had a policy, or did not respond.
OFT: The OFT has referred the market for privately funded healthcare services in the UK to the Competition Commission for further investigation. This follows the OFT's provisional decision to make a market investigation reference when it published its private healthcare market study in December 2011. The OFT then undertook a public consultation on its findings which closed in January 2012.
OFT: The OFT has secured voluntary agreements from the major liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) suppliers to make changes to their domestic bulk customer contracts and improve transparency around switching & cancellation rights.
