Laws of the Land

The Bill aims to strengthen the UK procedures for agreeing to or ratifying certain EU decisions and Treaty changes. The Bill has been drafted in the context of new EU methods of approving Treaty changes and calls for more public and/or parliamentary involvement in such decisions. Key areas Provides for a referendum throughout the United Kingdom on any pro…

The flagship policy in the Bill is the 'Green Deal', a scheme whereby householders, private landlords and businesses would be given finance upfront to make energy efficiency improvements, which would then be paid for by energy bill savings. It also introduces a range of other provisions. Key areas establishes a new obligation on energy companies to help c…

The Bill would amend the Coinage Act 1971 to enable the Royal Mint to strike commemorative coins of one kilogram or more for the 2012 London Olympics.

The Bill provides the authority for a payments scheme for eligible former and current Equitable Life policyholders in respect of the consequences of maladministration by regulatory bodies as identified by the Ombudsman and accepted by government. Although the precise shape of the payments scheme is as yet unknown, the Bill provides the authority for money…

The Bill makes provisions relating to street trading and consumer protection in the city, in particular by: allowing the Council to regulate services offered on the street altering the exemption enjoyed by holders of a pedlar’s certificate from the street trading regime in the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 empowering council o…

The Bill makes provisions relating to street trading and consumer protection in the area, in particular by: allowing the Council to regulate services offered on the street as well as the sale of goods altering the exemption enjoyed by holders of a pedlar’s certificate from the street trading regime in the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions)…

The Nairobi International Convention for the Removal of Wrecks (ICRW) was adopted by the International Maritime Organisation in May 2007. The Bill provides measures to enable the United Kingdom to ratify and implement the ICRW in the United Kingdom’s domestic law by the insertion of new sections and a Schedule into the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

The United Kingdom is required by the UN to freeze the assets of persons who commit terrorist acts. The UK legislation that allowed the Treasury to freeze the assets of those suspected of involvement in terrorism was quashed by the UK Supreme Court in January 2010 but reinstated by temporary legislation immediately afterwards. The Terrorist Asset-Freezing…

The Bill provides Parliamentary authority for funds requested by the Government. It is part of 'supply procedure', which is how Parliament grants the Government’s requests for resources. Proceedings on the Bill are formal; there is no debate and the Bill goes through 'on the nod'. This type of Bill was previously known as the Consolidated Fund (Appr…

Clause 1 of this Bill would cap compensation payable under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme at a maximum of 12 months’ pay for compulsory redundancy and 15 months’ for voluntary exits. Clause 2 provides for clause 1 to expire after 12 months, unless repealed, extended or revived using order-making powers. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat…

The Football Licensing Authority (FLA) is responsible for licensing league and international football grounds in England and Wales and for overseeing the control of safety at these grounds by local authorities. The Bill would rename the FLA as the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and would enable it to provide advice about safety at sports grounds generall…

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) sets out the length of time that a suspect can be detained in police custody after arrest before being charged or released (with or without bail). A suspect can be detained for an initial period of up to 24 hours starting from the 'relevant time' - usually the time of arrival at a police station following a…

The Bill makes provision for two measures: an increase in the rates of National Insurance contributions paid by employees, employers and the self-employed, from 6 April 2011, by 1 percentage point a regional employer National Insurance contributions holiday for new businesses, which was launched on 6 September 2010.

The main purpose of this Bill is to abolish identity cards and the National Identity Register; it repeals the Identity Cards Act 2006. There are no provisions for refunding existing cardholders. A small number of provisions in the 2006 Act, unrelated to ID cards, reappear in the Bill. These cover offences relating to the possession and manufacture of fals…

The Bill would give general effect, with modifications, to the recommendations of the Law Commission in its 2005 report, 'The Forfeiture Rule and the Law of Succession', which were accepted by the Labour Government in 2006. Similar provisions to those contained in the Bill were included in the Draft Civil Law Reform Bill which the Labour Government publis…

The annual Finance Bill encompasses all of the changes to be made to tax law for the year. Its formal description is ‘a Bill to grant certain duties, to alter other duties, and to amend the law relating to the National Debt and the Public Revenue, and to make further provision in connection with finance.’ The Bill will enact many of the measur…

The Bill implements aspects of Government policy on digital media set out in the ‘Digital Britain’ White Paper published in June 2009. Key areas requires Ofcom to report on communications infrastructure and media content imposes obligations on internet service providers to reduce online copyright infringement allows the Secretary of State to i…

The Bill (as originally introduced) confers powers on Kent County Council relating to filming on highways. It would: give Kent County Council the power to prohibit or restrict traffic on roads to enable the making of a film to take place. It would also enable the council to close roads to allow members of the public to watch the making of the film, withou…

The Bill would provide a statutory basis to the commitment made by the Government in 1999 to eradicate child poverty by 2020. Its stated purpose is to give new impetus to the Government’s commitment, and to drive action across departments. It also aims to define success in eradicating child poverty and create a framework to monitor progress at a nat…

The Bill provides parliamentary authority for funds requested by the Government. It is part of the supply procedure, which is how Parliament grants the Government’s requests for resources. Two Consolidated Fund (Appropriation) Bills are passed each year, in March and July. They are sometimes referred to simply as Appropriation Bills. These, together…