Finance Legislation
Laws governing financial services, banking regulation, insurance, investment, and securities trading.
The Nuclear Installations (Compensation for Nuclear Damage) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
The Nuclear Installations (Compensation for Nuclear Damage) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 amend the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to implement the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).
The amendments remove a lower liability cap for claims under the CSC, unifying the liability limit with the one applied under the Paris Convention.
This increase in potential compensation is aimed at better protecting victims of nuclear incidents while aligning UK law with international standards.
Consequential changes across several sections of the 1965 Act ensure consistency and functionality in managing compensation claims.
The Contracts for Difference (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Regulations 2025 amend the 2014 Contracts for Difference (Allocation) and (Electricity Supplier Obligations) Regulations.
Key changes include introducing price, pot, and estimated budget notices for greater transparency; expanding auditing requirements to include estimated budgets; revising contract budget notice and revision timing; and amending allocation reporting to allow for anonymized bid data.
The changes aim to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability within the contracts-for-difference scheme for low-carbon electricity generation.
The Local Audit (Major Local Audit) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
The Local Audit (Major Local Audit) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, effective August 17, 2025, amend the 2014 Local Audit Regulations.
The key change increases the financial threshold for designating a local authority audit as 'major'.
For financial years starting after April 1st, 2025, this threshold rises to £875 million (from £500 million).
This adjustment applies to England and Wales only, impacting local governance and financial accountability.
The OTC Derivatives Risk Mitigation and Central Counterparties (Equivalence) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025
The OTC Derivatives Risk Mitigation and Central Counterparties (Equivalence) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025, effective January 1, 2026, establish equivalence between the UK and Swiss regulatory frameworks for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and central counterparties (CCPs).
These regulations determine that under specified conditions, Switzerland's legal, supervisory, and enforcement systems are equivalent to the UK's under EMIR, specifically concerning risk mitigation techniques for uncleared OTC derivatives and the oversight of Swiss-authorized CCPs.
These equivalencies are subject to conditions detailed within the regulations, ensuring compliance with UK standards for initial and variation margin requirements, among other stipulations.
The Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 6) Regulations 2025
These regulations amend the 2001 Social Security (Contributions) Regulations to exclude compensation payments made under the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme from National Insurance Contribution calculations.
This applies to individuals whose Horizon System-related convictions have been quashed, those cautioned, or those who received alternatives to prosecution in Scotland, even if the alternative to prosecution was purported rather than formal.
The amendment ensures that such compensation payments do not impact the individuals' National Insurance liability.
The Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (Amendment) and Grenfell Support (Restorative Justice) Programme (Income Tax Exemption) Regulations 2025
These regulations amend the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme to expand its eligibility criteria for compensation, encompassing convictions quashed by courts or legislation, cautions, and alternative-to-prosecution outcomes related to the Horizon system.
The amendments also provide income tax exemptions for payments made under the Grenfell Support (Restorative Justice) programme to victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. Both changes have retrospective application.
The Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) (Threshold Amount) (Amendment) Order 2025
This order amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, increasing the money laundering threshold from £1,000 to £3,000 for transactions under section 339A(2) and (6A).
This affects banks and firms handling accounts, and businesses in the regulated sector returning property to customers.
The increase aims to reduce administrative burdens on businesses while preserving the focus on significant money laundering activities.
The amendment followed parliamentary review and approval.
The A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme) (Variation) Order 2025
This order, effective September 1, 2025, increases charges at the Dartford Crossing.
It amends the 2013 charging scheme by raising the charges by 40% across all categories.
The legal basis for the variation is cited, and an explanatory note clarifies that a full impact assessment wasn't conducted due to the nature of the amendment.