Instruments of interest
DRAFT EARLY REMOVAL OF FIXED-TERM PRISONERS (AMENDMENT
OF ELIGIBILITY PERIOD) ORDER 2008
DRAFT EARLY REMOVAL OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM PRISONERS
(AMENDMENT OF REQUISITE PERIOD) ORDER 2008
1. These two Orders, laid by the Ministry of
Justice, reduce the portion of his sentence which a foreign national
prisoner must serve in the United Kingdom before he becomes eligible
for deportation. Since 2004 the Secretary of State has been empowered
under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) to return a prisoner to his
country of origin. Once returned to their own countries the individuals
are at liberty. Their details are placed on the Home Office's
Warnings Index and, should they seek to return to the UK during
their sentence period, they can be detected at the UK border and
returned to prison custody to complete their sentence. The instrument
may be of interest in the light of clause 33 of the Criminal Justice
and Immigration Bill which seeks to amend the ERS by removing
the statutory exemptions to the ERS, and to extend the scheme
to prisoners who are not liable to deportation or administrative
removal but who have demonstrated an intention to reside permanently
outside the UK. The instruments will be debated on 27 March.
DRAFT IMMIGRATION (BIOMETRIC REGISTRATION) (PILOT)
REGULATIONS 2008
2. The draft Immigration (Biometric Registration)
(Pilot) Regulations 2008 will enable the Home Secretary to operate
a pilot for issuing "biometric immigration documents"
for certain foreign nationals who are subject to immigration control.
Regulation 4 describes the groups who will be required to provide
biometric information, fingerprints and a photograph of their
face, when they make an application for leave to remain in the
United Kingdom. The Regulations make safeguards for the use and
retention of the biometric information and set out the consequences
of a failure to comply. For the purposes of this limited pilot,
the Border and Immigration Agency will issue successful applicants
with a biometric immigration document in the form of a vignette
rather than an identity card. The pilot will not involve
any additional charge to collect biometrics. Initially the pilot
will be run by the Croydon office and only apply to those resident
in certain London postcodes (set out in the Schedule to the Regulations).
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (MAYOR OF LONDON) ORDER
2008 (SI 2008/580)
GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY (MAYOR OF LONDON APPOINTMENTS)
ORDER 2008 (SI 2008/701)
3. The Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London)
Order 2008 (SI 2008/580) gives effect to the Mayor's additional
powers (under sections 2A-F of the Town and Country Planning Act
1990) to determine certain applications in respect of new categories
and thresholds of application set out in the Schedule to the Order,
as well as the power to direct refusal in certain cases. Most
of the categories remain unchanged from the predecessor Order
(from 2000) in relation to the Mayor's new power to decide applications,
although there are changes in the thresholds which trigger referral.
In particular, thresholds for applications which include the provision
of new housing are lowered from 500 housing units to 150. The
House took a close interest in the Government's proposals to increase
the Mayor's powers over planning when the bill for the Greater
London Authority Act 2007 was being considered (notably at Report
Stage on 26 June 2007). DCLG carried out final consultation on
the Regulations between November 2007 and February 2008. While
a majority of consultation respondents disagreed with the changes,
DCLG have told the Committee that they consider that the extensive
earlier consultation on the proposals and Parliament's decision
on the bill nonetheless provide a sound basis on which to proceed.
Advice received from DCLG is printed at Appendix 1.
4. Another Order that reflects the commencement
of the Greater London Authority Act 2007 comes from the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport: the Greater London Authority (Mayor
of London Appointments) Order 2008 (SI 2008/701) prescribes certain
appointments that the Mayor of London may make within that Department's
remit. The Mayor may appoint the chairmen and a number of trustees
to the London regional councils of the Arts Council, the English
Sports Council and the body for Museums, Libraries and Archives.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (PARISHES AND PARISH COUNCILS) (ENGLAND)
REGULATIONS 2008 (SI 2008/625)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE (NEW PARISHES) (ENGLAND)
REGULATIONS 2008 (SI 2008/626)
5. The Department for Communities and Local Government
(DCLG) have laid the Local Government (Parishes and Parish Councils)
(England) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/625) and the Local Government
Finance (New Parishes) (England) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/626).
The Explanatory Memorandum to the Regulations sets them in the
context of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health
Act 2007 ("the 2007 Act"), which the Government have
already used to bring forward seven Orders to establish unitary
local councils in different parts of England. Part 4 of the 2007
Act authorises principal councils to undertake community governance
reviews in their areas and make recommendations for matters such
as the creation of new parishes and parish councils. SI 2008/625
deals with incidental and transitional matters such as the distribution
of property, rights and liabilities of parish councils affected
by a reorganisation order. SI 2008/626 enables the principal council
to calculate the first anticipated precept for a newly constituted
parish council and for the amount of that precept to be included
in the reorganisation order.
CHARITIES (ACCOUNTS AND REPORTS) REGULATIONS (SI
2008/629)
6. The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations
(SI 2008/629) make a number of changes to the accounting, reporting
and scrutiny requirements for charities that are necessary as
a consequence of changes made to Part 6 of the Charities Act 1993.
The most significant of these changes is the creation of a new
provision for the preparation and scrutiny of group accounts of
parent charities and their subsidiary undertakings.
7. The Regulations also include provisions relating
to the reporting of public benefit within the trustees' annual
report, and update the Regulations for common investment funds
and common deposit funds (investment fund charities). The requirement
in the Regulations simply places the reporting of the charity's
main activities and achievements in the context of furthering
the charity's purposes for the public benefit. It does not require
charities to explain how the charity's activities or purposes
are for the public benefit. We note that the significant question
of the definition of "public benefit" is yet to be resolved.
8. As Section 1175 of, and Schedule 9 to, the
Companies Act 2006 will remove the existing company law scrutiny
provisions for charitable companies below the company law audit
threshold, these Regulations will apply the charity law accounts
scrutiny provisions to charitable companies that are not required
to be audited as a matter of company law. These provisions are
due to come into force on 1 April 2008 for the financial years
of charities beginning on or after that date.
GANGMASTERS (LICENSING CONDITIONS) (NO. 2) (AMENDMENT)
RULES 2008 (SI 2008/638)
9. The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA)
have laid the Gangmasters (Licensing Conditions) (No. 2) (Amendment)
Rules 2008 (SI 2008/638) which change the fees and fee levels
payable to the GLA. The Explanatory Memorandum states that the
GLA carried out a consultation process on the fee changes in November/December
2007. We asked for further information from the GLA about responses
to that consultation and the information is printed at Appendix
2.
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (GENERAL PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT)
(AMENDMENT) (ENGLAND) ORDER 2008 (SI 2008/675)
10. The Department for Communities and Local
Government (DCLG) have laid the Town and Country Planning (General
Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2008 (SI 2008/675).
The Order extends the existing permitted development rights which
householders have to alter or extend their home, so as to include
the installation of certain micro-generation technologies. In
recognition of the greater sensitivity of certain areas, additional
restrictions will apply in conservation areas and World Heritage
Sites. DCLG's summary of the relevant consultation process showed
that 72% of respondents supported additional restrictions in these
areas; but also that 71% believed the proposed approach should
apply as well to other sensitive areas, such as Areas of Outstanding
Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Parks. We asked DCLG why the
Government had decided not to apply additional restrictions in
these other areas. They responded that National Parks and AONBs
have greater protection due to the beauty of the natural landscape,
and that development at a householder level is less likely to
be of a type that could impact at the landscape level. Conversely,
in conservation areas it is primarily the architectural merit
of the buildings and street-scene that is being protected and
additional controls need to be in place there to protect against
the potential for inappropriate householder development.
COMPANIES (MERGERS AND DIVISIONS OF PUBLIC COMPANIES)
(AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008 (SI 2008/690)
11. The Department for Business, Enterprise and
Regulatory Reform (DBERR) have laid the Companies (Mergers and
Divisions of Public Companies) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (SI
2008/690), to implement Directive 2007/63/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council. The Regulations relax the requirement for
an independent expert's report in the case of a merger of a public
limited liability company if all shareholders agree that one is
not necessary. DBERR have stated that the Government have supported
relaxation of this requirement as the first measure under the
EU programme to reduce administrative burdens.
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