Legislation / Legal

LC: The Welsh Government has announced a dedicated Bill on tenancy reform, based on the Law Commission's 2006 report, Renting Homes. The announcement, in the White Paper, Homes for Wales, makes a commitment to a Bill in this Assembly.
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: Minister for Community Safety & Legal Affairs, Roseanna Cunningham, has announced she is amending fire safety regulations to clarify the law for childminders

Following a public consultation on the definition of ‘relevant premises’ contained in the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, it was clear businesses within the childminding sector preferred that it was made clearer that their premises needed to comply with the fire safety aspects of the Act. 

Ms Cunningham will now amend the regulations in the Act to confirm that fire safety obligations apply to childminders’ premises.
Press release & Links
 
CLG: New measures have been put in place to help protect people from cowboy buildersTradesmen who operate under self check schemes, which allow them to check their own work, will be required to meet higher standards and prove they meet the right levels of quality, giving householders the peace of mind that work on their homes is up to scratch.
 
The measures will also ensure that householders have a financial safety net in place such as a guarantee or insurance, to catch them if self-check installers fail to finish work properly or if they can't be chased through the courts.
Press release & links
 
DCMS: A White Paper will be published in early 2013 with a Communications Bill introduced by the final session of this Parliament to ensure the UK continues to have a world-beating communications sector that delivers innovative & high-quality content along with safe & efficient services.

Over the coming months 5 seminars will inform the communications review (see press release for details & dates).  The policy papers & seminars will replace a planned green paper.
 
Several other strands of work to help the UK’s creative & digital sectors are on-going. The Government is working to implement the recommendations from the Hargreaves Review of the UK’s intellectual property framework and work on content regulation will resume following the recommendations of The Leveson Inquiry on the future of press regulation. 
Press release & links
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