Consultation on reform of ‘Provision of Services Regulations 2009’

A public consultation launched on Wednesday 13 September, on proposals to reform the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 (Retained EU Law). The consultation will be open for 8 weeks and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) would welcome your views to inform the Government’s policy development by Tuesday 7 November. DBT will be hosting webinars on the legislation and the proposed reforms from w/c 2 October onwards.

Who DBT want to hear from: The Regulations apply to competent authorities e.g., local authorities and regulators) and service providers UK-wide and across the economy, with the exception of 11 specified types of service activity. Services covered by the Regulations are wide-ranging, including professional services and other commercial services, and may apply to businesses or to individuals. We therefore want to hear from a range of competent authorities and service providers. Examples of services/activities covered by authorisation schemes include, serving alcohol, managing waste disposal, or practising as a solicitor.

Aims for the consultation: DBT are seeking the following information:

• Your views on the proposals set out in the consultation document, as well as the practicalities, impacts, potential costs, and benefits of the proposed new provisions.

• Information about general awareness of the Regulations within the UK services sector.

Background: The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 (“the Regulations”) transposed the EU Services Directive into UK law, and so are Retained EU Law. The Regulations provide a framework of rules for how services are regulated in the UK. In particular, they ensure that authorisation schemes (e.g., schemes concerning licences that businesses or individuals must secure before providing a service) which are administered by competent authorities are proportionate, justified in the public interest, and conducted in a fair, accessible and transparent way for businesses.

DBT intends to take advantage of the powers provided in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 to improve these Regulations. Our aim is to deliver a package of reforms which ensure that the Regulations better meet the needs of UK businesses, by reducing regulatory burdens and supporting the UK’s ambitious trade agenda.   The proposed reforms also support the Government’s wider Smarter Regulation programme and efforts to grow the economy by creating a more streamlined, innovative, and agile regulatory regime for services.

Evidence from an independent Evaluation of the Regulations, conducted in 2022, indicated that there is an appetite for amending the Regulations among both service providers and competent authorities.

Next steps: Please do consider and respond to this DBT consultation. DBT recommend working with legal colleagues on your response to the consultation. DBT also welcome you sharing our consultation with any other interested parties.

DBT’s preference is for responses to come through the Qualtrics survey. Alternatively, you can email the response form found on the consultation page to servicesregulations@businessandtrade.gov.uk. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 11.59pm on 7 November.

If you would like to find out more about the Regulations and the consultation before responding, DBT will be holding webinars on the legislation and the proposed reforms from w/c 2 October. Please email services.regulations@businessandtrade.gov.uk ASAP if you are interested in attending a webinar.