In relation to England, the small business non-domestic rating multiplier is calculated in accordance with paragraph 3 of Schedule 7 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (“the Act”) for each financial year when new rating lists are not being compiled. The financial year beginning on 1st April 2018 (“2018-19”) is a year when new lists are not being compiled.
Link: The Local Government Finance Act 1988 (Non-Domestic Rating Multipliers) (England) Order 2017
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
Section 9A(3)(a) of the Building Societies Act 1986 (c.53) prohibits a building society, or a subsidiary undertaking of a building society, from trading in currencies where the amount or value of the consideration given by the society or undertaking exceeds £100,000. This Order increases that amount or value to £3 million.
Link: The Building Societies (Restricted Transactions) (Amendment to the Limit on the Trade in Currencies) Order 2017
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has announced new measures to cut out unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system, including a ban on leaseholds for almost all new build houses.
This comes as part of government action to deliver a fairer, more transparent system for homeowners to help fix the broken housing market and build a Britain fit for the future.
Changes will also be made so that ground rents on new long leases – for both houses and flats – are set to zero.
The government will also make it cheaper and easier for existing leaseholders to buy-out their freehold and there will be better information available about redress for those consumers who face the most onerous terms.
These measures follow a recent consultation where there was an overwhelming response in favour of government plans to tackle the unfair practices in the leasehold sector.
With 1.4 million leasehold houses across England and the number of leasehold sales rapidly growing, the government is taking crucial action to make the leasehold market fairer.
Leasehold generally applies to flats with shared spaces, making multiple ownership more straightforward, but developers have been increasingly selling houses on these terms – adding further costs to over-stretched house buyers.
Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid said:
It’s unacceptable for home buyers to be exploited through unnecessary leaseholds, unjustifiable charges and onerous ground rent terms.
It’s clear from the overwhelming response from the public that real action is needed to end these feudal practices. That’s why the measures this Government is now putting in place will help create a system that actually works for consumers.
Measures to be introduced include:
These latest measures follow the government setting out plans in the Housing White Paper to fix the broken housing market, including making sure councils release more land for housing, building the right homes in the right places and improving affordability and protections for renters and home purchasers.
These measures relate to England only.
Over 6,000 responses were submitted to the recent government consultation on leasehold practices. The vast majority of responses expressed their concerns about the buying experience and living in a leasehold property. This highlights how the current system is clearly not working in the best interest of those living in or purchasing a leasehold home.
The proposed prohibiting of future houses being sold as leasehold will apply to all houses apart from a few exceptional circumstances where leasehold is still needed – such as houses that have shared services or built on land with specific restrictions.
We will also be continuing to discuss the case for limited exemptions with industry.
Communities Secretary will be writing to all developers to strongly discourage the use of Help to Buy Equity loans for the purchase of leasehold houses in advance of legislation and to ask those who have customers with onerous ground rent terms to provide necessary redress.
Department for Communities and Local Government statistics estimate there were 4.2 million residential leasehold dwellings in England in the private sector in 2015 to 2016 and of these 1.4 million were leasehold houses. This was a rise on the previous year when in 2014 to 2015, there were 1.2 million leasehold houses.
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Link: Press release: Crackdown on unfair leasehold practices
Source: Gov Press Releases
Energy Trends and Energy Prices publications are published today 21 December 2017 by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The publications cover new data for the third quarter of 2017.
Energy Trends covers statistics on energy production and consumption, in total and by fuel, and provides an analysis of the year on year changes. Energy Prices covers prices to domestic and industrial consumers, prices of oil products and comparisons of international fuel prices.
Link: Press release: UK energy statistics: statistical press release – December 2017
Source: Gov Press Releases
A Bill to make provision about immigration detention safeguards for victims of torture and other vulnerable people, including those that have suffered from severe physical, psychological or sexual violence; and for connected purposes.
Link: Immigration Detention of Victims of Torture and Other Vulnerable People (Safeguards)
Source: Public Bills
A pest control company and one of its directors have been sentenced for the unsafe storage of unauthorised biocidal products and phostoxin (aluminium phosphide).
Link: Company and one of its directors fined for the unsafe storage of unauthorised biocidal products
Source: Health and Safety
The Prime Minister will travel to Warsaw today for an annual summit designed to strengthen the relationship between the UK and Poland as Britain prepares to leave the EU.
The UK-Poland bilateral summit will bring together both Prime Ministers along with a number of senior Cabinet ministers, including the Chancellor, Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary, Home Secretary and Business Secretary.
As an integral part of the summit, the Prime Minister is expected to announce a new joint UK-Poland Treaty on Defence and Security Co-operation. The only other European Union country we have such a treaty with is France.
It will provide a framework for defence cooperation on areas such as training, exercises, information sharing, defence industry cooperation and capability development, building on the deployment of British troops to Poland under Enhanced Forward Presence following the last UK-Poland summit held in London in November 2016.
The Prime Minister is also set to agree improved UK-Poland cooperation to counter Russian disinformation in the region, including through new joint strategic communications projects. The UK will provide £5 million for the projects, with Poland expected to contribute a similar amount. The projects will aim to build both of our capacities to detect and counter Russian information operations, and deliver valuable support to Belsat, a Polish-funded TV channel providing unbiased, free and frank reporting for Belarussians.
And she will announce that we will enhance our cyber security cooperation with Poland, including by hosting a Polish cyber delegation at our National Cyber Security Centre in March next year to share the UK’s world-leading expertise and best practice in this area.
Speaking ahead of the summit, the Prime Minister said:
Poland matters greatly to the UK: our partnership is broad, vibrant and diverse and we both share a steadfast commitment to Europe’s security and defence.
I am determined that Brexit will not weaken our relationship with Poland. Rather, it will serve as a catalyst to strengthen it.
And that is why I am in Warsaw today, to ensure that we can work even more closely together to ensure the security and prosperity of our nations in the years ahead.
Although the UK is leaving the European Union, we are not leaving Europe. And I will reaffirm to Prime Minister Morawiecki that we want to work with Poland and the other member states in the future to protect our shared values, people and interests.
We are building a strategic partnership from a base of shared history and deep ties of friendship that will continue to flourish long after our departure from the EU.
The bilateral defence treaty we are signing today is a powerful symbol of our continued close cooperation.
Link: Press release: PM announces landmark new package of defence and security cooperation with Poland
Source: Gov Press Releases
These Regulations extend the powers of the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) so that, when it is determining an appeal on the matters set out in sections 51(2)(b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) of the Children and Families Act 2014 (“the Act”), it may make non-binding recommendations in respect of certain types of health and social care matters within an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, against which no appeal may be brought under the Act.
Link: The Special Educational Needs and Disability (First-tier Tribunal Recommendations Power) Regulations 2017
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
Better protecting communities from flooding continues to be a top priority for the government, the Environment Secretary Michael Gove will reaffirm today.
Flood defences continue to be built apace across England and 100,000 properties are now better protected thanks to the 350 new flood schemes that have been completed since April 2015.
The Environment Secretary is in Devon today to open a new £12 million flood defence scheme in Dawlish Warren, reducing flood risk to 2800 homes and businesses around the Exe Estuary, as well as the main rail line into South Devon and Cornwall.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:
Our £2.6 billion investment programme is well underway, with 100,000 more properties already better protected from flooding and that figure set to triple in under four years.
Dawlish Warren is only one of 350 new defences built since 2015 and work continues on schemes across the country – all of which are helping to bring peace of mind to communities, as well as investment and opportunities.
With elements including a new 100 metre long flood wall and over 200,000 cubic metres of sand, Dawlish Warren uses top engineering techniques and the natural landscape to reduce flood risk, while also conserving habitat for birds and wildlife.
As the Environment Secretary opens one flood scheme for Devon, he will simultaneously announce that work will begin next year on another £12 million scheme just across the estuary, in Exmouth. Both schemes are part of the government’s continued £115 million investment drive to reduce flood risk to 15,000 homes and businesses in Devon and Cornwall by 2021.
On top of this existing funding, the Environment Secretary will announce an extra £1.6 million for Devon from the recent Budget: this will go towards two schemes, one in Plymouth and one in Whimple.
Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency said:
We have made great progress in the last two years to reduce flood risk around the country and this milestone of 100,000 homes better protected shows how far we’ve come. These new schemes at Dawlish Warren and Exmouth are brilliant examples of how the Environment Agency’s teams continue to work hard to benefit local communities.
In addition to building new defences, this winter we are better prepared than ever before to respond if flooding occurs with new equipment, better technology and more than 6,500 trained staff ready to act.
Following his visit to Dawlish Warren, the Environment Secretary will visit the Devon Wildlife Trust’s trial reintroduction of beavers on the River Otter to see the visible impacts they have had on the landscape; creating new dams, pools and other dramatic changes.
The Environment Secretary’s interest in the project follows the recent announcement that he is supportive of a planned similar scheme in the Forest of Dean, which has been granted a licence to proceed.
Link: News story: Flood defence milestone: 100,000 more properties better protected
Source: Environment Agency
Wind-electric power stations
Information exchange
Power measurement (electric)
Control systems
Data transfer
Communication networks
Wind power
Wind turbines
Turbines
Electric generators
Data transmission
Link: BS EN 61400-25-1:2017 Wind energy generation systems Communications for monitoring and control of wind power plants. Overall description of principles and models
Source: BSI Standards
