The Deregulation Act 2015 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order makes amendments consequential to the commencement of various provisions in the Deregulation Act 2015 (“the Act”).

Schedule 1 makes consequential amendments in relation to section 3 (apprenticeships: simplification) of and Schedule 1 (approved English apprenticeships) to the Act, which, among other things, inserts Chapter A1 (Apprenticeships: England) into Part 1 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. In particular, this Order inserts references to an approved English apprenticeship agreement (within the meaning of section A1(3) of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009) into: the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, and the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015.

Part 1 of Schedule 2 makes consequential amendments in relation to section 51(f) (reduction of burdens relating to the use of roads and railways) and Part 6 (testing of vehicles) of Schedule 10 to the Act (regulation of the use of roads and railways), which amend the Road Traffic Act 1988 to place the use of private sector owned facilities for goods vehicle testing on a statutory footing by giving the Secretary of State an express statutory power to designate premises as vehicle testing stations. Those provisions of the Act also amend the Road Traffic Act 1988 to give the Secretary of State the option to charge for the provision of an examiner for goods vehicle testing and public service vehicle testing at designated premises on a time basis rather than a per test basis.

Part 2 of Schedule 2 makes consequential amendments in relation to paragraph 22 of Part 4 of Schedule 23 to the Act (legislation no longer of practical use), which amends the Road Traffic Act 1988 to repeal section 64A (failure to hold EC certificate of conformity for unregistered motor cycle or tractor) of that Act as that section is no longer of any practical use.

Part 3 of Schedule 2 makes consequential amendments in relation to section 9 (motor insurers) and schedule 3 (motor insurance industry: certificates of insurance) to the Act, which amend the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Risks) Regulations 1972 to remove reference to the requirement for holders of insurance policies or securities to return their insurance certificates to the issuer or make a statutory declaration stating the certificate has been lost or destroyed, where the policy has been cancelled mid-term.

Schedule 3 makes consequential amendments following the abolition of the office of the Chief Executive of Skills Funding as a result of section 64 (abolition of office of the Chief Executive of Skills Funding) of the Deregulation Act 2015 which amends Part 4 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

Schedule 4 makes consequential amendments in relation to section 93 (reduction in regulation of providers of social work services) of the Act, which provides for the removal of the requirement that providers of social work services register with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. Paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 revokes the Providers of Social Work Services (England) Regulations 2013, which make provision about the registration and regulation of providers of social work services. Paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 omits regulations 10 and 17 of the Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) (Children’s Homes etc.) Regulations 2015, which relate to the fees payable by providers of social work services to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills.

Schedule 5 provides for three amendments to be made in consequence of the repeal of sections 7 to 18 of and Schedules A and B to the Newspaper Libel and Registration Act 1881(1) by paragraph 2 of Part 2 of Schedule 23 (legislation no longer of practical use) to the Deregulation Act 2015.

An impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

(1)

1881 c. 60, sections 9,11,13, 14,15 and 18 were amended by S.I. 2009/1941, sections 10 and 12 were amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c.48), section 16 was amended by the Courts Act 1972 (c.23) and section 17 was omitted by the Statute Law Revision Act 1894 (c.56).