In Focus
The Government has announced that the England-wide Covid-19 restrictions commonly referred to as ‘lockdown 2’ will not be renewed past 2 December 2020. The restrictions are to be replaced with a revised tier structure for England similar to the one in place before the second lockdown. The revised tiers form part of the Government’s Winter Plan, which was announced on 23 November 2020.
In Focus
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered a spending review statement on 25 November 2020. The Government said the review’s priorities were “to support the Government’s response to Covid-19, invest in the UK’s recovery and deliver on promises to the British people”. Alongside the spending review, the Office for Budget Responsibility set out its latest forecasts for the economy and for the public finances.
In Focus
In 2021, the UK will no longer be subject to EU state aid policy. The UK will follow World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and the Government will consult on whether to go beyond them. The Government has laid draft regulations to disapply state aid provisions from retained EU law. This article looks at the background on state aid, including its relevance to the Northern Ireland Protocol and the future relationship negotiations with the EU.
In Focus
The Conflict Minerals (Compliance) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 would implement EU regulation 2017/821 in Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021. This regulation sets out the obligations placed on EU importers of certain minerals originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
In Focus
The draft Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (Democratic Consent Process) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 would implement the mechanism for obtaining democratic consent in Northern Ireland to the continued application of articles 5 to 10 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the withdrawal agreement.
In Focus
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.
In Focus
Members of the House of Commons may now vote by proxy in certain circumstances. In contrast, the practice has been prohibited in the House of Lords for over 150 years. What is the background to the rule against proxy voting in the second chamber?
In Focus
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.
In Focus
Medicinal and agrochemical products can be granted a Supplementary Protection Certificate, an intellectual property right associated with patents, to provide up to five years of additional rights and protections once their patents have expired. In order to apply for an SPC, a product must receive approval to be sold on the UK market. Under the Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol, products to be sold in Northern Ireland must obtain approval under EU law, whilst products to be sold in the rest of the UK will obtain approval under UK law. Currently, this marketing authorisation is only given on a UK-wide basis. This regulation amends the market authorisation process to enable authorisations to be granted for the Northern Ireland market only and for the Great Britain market only.
In Focus
The Audiovisual Media Services (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 govern how on-demand programming and video-sharing platforms will be regulated after the Brexit transition period ends.
In Focus
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.
In Focus
Rough sleepers have been identified as an at-risk group who are vulnerable to contracting and spreading Covid-19. The Government has launched several schemes to support local authorities and their partners to provide covid-secure accommodation to those sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough. In November 2020, the Government launched the Protect programme, which provides targeted funding throughout the winter to support areas with high numbers of rough sleepers.
In Focus
On 26 November 2020, the House of Lords is due to debate a trade deal, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UK and Japan. This article looks at the deal and the scrutiny it has received from the House of Commons International Trade Committee and the House of Lords International Agreements Sub-Committee.
In Focus
In recent years, there has been extensive international debate about lethal autonomous weapons, referred to by some as ‘killer robots’. With disagreements regarding how they should be defined and if they should be banned, this article explores these issues as well as the UK’s stance on them.
In Focus
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 provides the UK Supreme Court and the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland with the power to depart from retained EU case law after the end of the transition period. Draft regulations, introduced by the Government in October 2020, seek to extend this power to the Court of Appeal and other equivalent courts and tribunals. This article looks at the detail of the regulations and recent scrutiny that has taken place.
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