Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015

22 Sections 21 and 23 to 25: “qualifying regulatory provisions” etc

(1) This section applies for the purposes of sections 21 and 23 to 25.

(2) “Qualifying regulatory provisions” means regulatory provisions which the Secretary of State determines are to be qualifying regulatory provisions for the purposes of section 21(1)(a).

(3) A “regulatory provision”, in relation to a business activity, means a statutory provision which—

(a) imposes or amends requirements, restrictions or conditions, or sets or amends standards or gives or amends guidance, in relation to the activity, or

(b) relates to the securing of compliance with, or the enforcement of, requirements, restrictions, conditions, standards or guidance which relate to the activity.

(4) But a “regulatory provision” does not include a statutory provision if or to the extent that—

(a) it makes or amends—

(i) provision imposing, abolishing or varying any tax, duty, levy or other charge, or

(ii) provision in connection with provision falling within sub-paragraph (i);

(b) it makes or amends provision in connection with procurement;

(c) it makes or amends provision in connection with the giving of grants or other financial assistance by or on behalf of a public authority;

(d) it makes or amends provision which is to have effect for a period of less than 12 months.

(5) Where a statutory provision comes into force or ceases to be in force for some but not all purposes, references to regulatory provisions or qualifying regulatory provisions coming into force or ceasing to be in force are to be read as referring to those provisions in so far as they have come into force or ceased to be in force for those purposes.

(6) Subject to subsection (7) a “statutory provision” is—

(a) a provision of an Act,

(b) a provision of subordinate legislation made by a Minister of the Crown, or

(c) any other provision which has effect by virtue of the exercise of a function conferred on a Minister of the Crown by an Act.

(7) A “statutory provision” does not include—

(a) a provision which would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament if it were contained in an Act of that Parliament (see section 29 of the Scotland Act 1998),

(b) a provision which could be included in an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly made without the consent of the Secretary of State (see sections 6 to 8 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998), or

(c) a provision falling within the legislative competence of the National Assembly for Wales (see section 108 of the Government of Wales Act 2006).

(8) In this section—

• “Minister of the Crown” has the same meaning as in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975;

• “public authority” has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (see section 3 of that Act); and

• “subordinate legislation” has the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act 1978.