In the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, the Government is seeking to ensure unfettered access to the UK internal market for “qualifying Northern Ireland goods”. On 30 November 2020, the House of Lords is due to debate the draft Definition of Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. They contain the definition of “qualifying Northern Ireland goods” that will apply to the bill. This article explains the background to the regulations, and why the Government also intends to introduce further legislation in this area.
Documents to download
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Fire Safety Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (277 KB, PDF)
On 14 June 2017, a fire broke out at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey residential housing block in North Kensington, London. The subsequent blaze led to the deaths of 72 people. The Fire Safety Bill 2019-21 forms part of the Government’s response to the Grenfell tragedy. It is among a range of measures intended to reform building and fire safety to ensure such a tragedy does not happen again.
Specifically, the Fire Safety Bill will amend the Fire Safety Order 2005 to clarify that the responsible person or duty-holder for multi-occupied, residential buildings must manage and reduce the risk of fire for:
- the structure and external walls of the building, including cladding, balconies and windows
- entrance doors to individual flats that open into common parts
The Government contends such measures will empower fire and rescue services to take enforcement action and hold building owners to account if they are not compliant. The Government is also currently undertaking a consultation on the Fire Safety Order 2005, due to conclude in October 2020. The results of that exercise will be taken forward via a process separate to the Fire Safety Bill 2019-21. These are likely to include provisions in the Building Safety Bill (currently published in draft); amendments to the Fire Safety Order; amendments to Building Regulations; and through updated guidance.
The Fire Safety Bill is short, containing only two substantive clauses (though it does include regulation-making powers). It has completed its passage through the House of Commons, where opposition parties were broadly supportive of the legislation. However, opposition amendments were proposed at both committee and report stages aimed at encouraging the Government to move further and faster with the implementation of the Grenfell Public Inquiry Phase 1 report recommendations; on the issue of the availability of qualified fire risk assessors; the prioritisation of inspections; and on liability for interim and remedial fire safety measures such as waking watches patrolling at-risk premises. No amendments were made to the bill at either stage.
Related Links
Documents to download
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Fire Safety Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (277 KB, PDF)
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The Legislative Reform (Renewal of Radio Licences) Order 2020 is a specific kind of statutory instrument called a legislative reform order (LRO). Such orders are designed to reduce certain burdens caused by legislation. These particular orders would extend analogue radio licences due to expire from 2022 for a further ten-year period on the condition that they also provide a service on an appropriate digital radio multiplex.
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The regulation of product safety, and weights and measures, is based on EU law. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 brings this EU law into UK statute, so that it will continue to have effect after the end of the transition period. Amendments since have made to enable this framework to operate smoothly in the UK, and added provisions such as a UK conformity mark. This article looks at a further statutory instrument that amends retained EU law in the area, particularly in light of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
