Instruments of interest
DRAFT CANCELLATION OF CONTRACTS MADE IN A CONSUMER'S
HOME OR PLACE OF WORK ETC. REGULATIONS 2008
1. The Department for Business, Enterprise and
Regulatory Reform (DBERR) have laid the draft Cancellation of
Contracts made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work etc. Regulations
2008. The Regulations implement Directive 85/577/EEC, which provides
cancellation rights within a cooling-off period of a minimum 7
days to a consumer who enters into an agreement with a trader
to buy goods and services during an unsolicited visit to the consumer's
home, etc. (The Directive was originally implemented by Regulations
made in 1987.) However, using powers in the Consumers Estate Agents
and Redress Act 2007, the Regulations also extend those requirements
to contracts made during solicited visits. DBERR consider that
aligning the requirements for unsolicited and solicited visits
will make the law simpler and clearer for consumers, businesses
and enforcement agencies. They have explained that Directive 85/577/EEC
is a "minimum harmonisation directive"; the Directive
may not prevent Member States from adopting or maintaining more
favourable provisions to protect consumers. The House may be interested
to see the way in which the Government have chosen to extend consumer
protection provisions in this area.
DRAFT HEALTH CARE AND ASSOCIATED PROFESSIONS (MISCELLANEOUS
AMENDMENTS) ORDER 2008
2. This Order follows the recommendations made
in the White Paper "Trust, Assurance and Safety - the
Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century".
It converts the governance arrangements of the General Medical
Council (GMC), General Optical Council, General Osteopathic Council
and the General Chiropractic Council to a fully appointed membership
from partly elected. The Order also makes a number of other miscellaneous
and consequential amendments, including a provision that would
allow the GMC to maintain a list of people who might be temporarily
registered as doctors during a major emergency such as a flu pandemic.
DRAFT HOUSING (SCOTLAND) ACT 2006 (CONSEQUENTIAL
PROVISIONS) ORDER 2008
3. The Scotland Office (SO) have laid the draft
Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2008.
In their Explanatory Memorandum, the SO state that, under Part
3 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 ("the 2006 Act"),
Scottish Ministers have the power to prescribe documents which
a seller must make available to prospective buyers, as part of
a "Home Report". One of the prescribed documents will
be a survey report. However, since the 2006 Act will not give
a right to rely on the terms of the survey, this Order provides
that buyers may do so. The SO state that the Order is necessary
because consumer protection is a matter reserved to Westminster
under the Scotland Act 1998.
DRAFT TRANSFER OF TRIBUNAL FUNCTIONS ORDER 2008
DRAFT APPEALS FROM THE UPPER TRIBUNAL TO THE COURT
OF APPEAL ORDER 2008
DRAFT FIRST-TIER TRIBUNAL AND UPPER TRIBUNAL (COMPOSITION
OF TRIBUNAL) ORDER 2008
4. A review conducted by Sir Andrew Leggatt[1]
recommended extensive reform of the tribunals system to separate
them from their various sponsoring Departments and to unify their
administration under a single Tribunals Service, overseen by the
Ministry of Justice. The Government responded with the Tribunals,
Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 which creates two new, generic
tribunals, the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal, into
which existing tribunal jurisdictions can be transferred. The
Upper Tribunal is primarily, but not exclusively, an appellate
tribunal from the First-tier Tribunal. These Orders set out certain
operational details for the new system and transfer the first
jurisdictions across to it: the Social Entitlement Chamber, the
Health, Education and Social Care Chamber and the Administrative
Appeals Chambers will come into effect from 3 November. Other
tribunal jurisdictions will move across in a rolling programme.
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (LOCAL DEVELOPMENT) (ENGLAND)
(AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008 (SI 2008/1371)
5. The Department for Communities and Local Government
(DCLG) have laid these Regulations, which serve two main purposes.
First, they simplify the procedures to be followed by local planning
authorities throughout England in preparing or revising development
plan documents. Second, and in line with changes foreshadowed
in the Greater London Authority Act 2007 ("the 2007 Act"),
they make provisions relating to new requirements for London borough
councils (LBCs) to submit their local development schemes to the
Mayor of London, and new direction-making powers provided to the
Mayor of London to require changes to such schemes. The new role
for the Mayor of London in relation to LBCs' local development
schemes is part of a wider series of changes that have been made
to the Mayor's powers by the 2007 Act. Earlier this year, DCLG
laid the Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008
(SI 2008/580), which (among other things) lowered the threshold
to trigger referral to the Mayor of applications which included
the provision of new housing, from 500 housing units to 150. The
Committee commented on that Order in the 16th Report of this session.
In laying these Regulations, DCLG have acknowledged that relevant
consultation processes conducted both before and after the 2007
Act showed considerable opposition to extending the Mayor's powers
in this way. However, they have re-affirmed that the principle
of mayoral involvement in local development schemes was subject
to full scrutiny during the Parliamentary passage of the Bill,
and they see no grounds to change their proposals in the light
of consultation processes.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (STRUCTURAL AND BOUNDARY CHANGES)
(STAFFING) REGULATIONS 2008 (SI 2008/1419)
6. DCLG have laid these Regulations, which make
provision in respect of the transfer of staff and other staffing
matters from one council to another, as a result of local government
structural change orders made under the Local Government and Public
Involvement in Health Act 2007 ("the 2007 Act"). DCLG
have made seven such Orders to date, in relation to Cornwall (SI
2008/491), Durham (SI 2008/493), Northumberland (SI 2008/494),
Shropshire (SI 2008/492), Wiltshire (SI 2008/490), Cheshire (SI
2008/634) and Bedfordshire (SI 2008/907); the Committee brought
all these Orders to the special attention of the House (in our
7th, 10th and 15th Reports of this session). DCLG have said that
the broad intention behind the Regulations is that employees of
predecessor councils will enjoy the protection afforded by the
Transfer of Functions (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006
("TUPE"). However, they also make provision in respect
of appointments to certain senior posts; DCLG say that, given
that the Government agree with the view generally expressed by
councils consulted that it would be appropriate for the chief
executive of the new single tier councils to be recruited by open
competition, this has been made a requirement in the Regulations.
The Committee has received additional information from DCLG which
explains that, beyond the statutory requirement for open competition
for the post of chief executive, the Government expect that, in
each of the new single tier councils, there will in due course
be a new or "refreshed" senior management team. However,
the achievement of these other changes is not specified in the
Regulations, since the Government recognise the importance of
local flexibility to enable each new council to adopt the management
structure it considers appropriate. The information from DCLG
is printed at the Appendix.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION RULES (HC 607)
7. Continuing the phased implementation of the
Points Based System of immigration, the Statement of Changes in
Immigration Rules (HC 607, laid on 9 June 2008) sets out the detail
of how the points are to be calculated for the second part of
Tier 1 (General Route), which is mainly for investors and entrepreneurs,[2]
from 30 June 2008.
8. This instrument also amends provisions made
in the previous Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC
321, laid on 6 February) in relation to General Grounds for Refusal.
That instrument set new grounds for the automatic refusal of any
immigration application if the applicant had sought to enter the
United Kingdom by deception or had previously breached immigration
rules. The length of automatic refusal of future applications
to enter the UK (1, 5, or 10 years) was to be determined by whether
or not the person left the country voluntarily and whether at
public or private expense. The issue caused concern in both Houses
and, as a result, a number of concessions have been made.[3]
These are set out in the Explanatory Memorandum, paragraphs 7.37-44;
in brief, they allow some discretion if the applicant was under
18 at the time, if they were seeking access to a close relative,
or if the person was trafficked. Guidance will explain how this
discretion is to be exercised, but the concessions will not apply
where the applicant has contrived to circumvent the rules, for
example by entering into a bogus marriage.
1 "Tribunals for Users - One System, One Service",
published August 2001 Back
2
See written statement HL Hansard, 9 June 2008, cols WS 37-8 Back
3
See HC Hansard 13 May 2008, cols 1350-1354, and HL Hansard 17
March 2008,cols 96-100 Back
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