Agenda item

Bills

Environment Act 2021

This wide-ranging Act provides for targets, plans and policies for improving the natural environment and includes several provisions on local authorities’ powers and responsibilities. Local authorities, including the Common Council acting in that capacity, are required by the Act to produce a ‘biodiversity report’ every five years describing actions taken to conserve biodiversity and the impact of those actions. They must also describe in ‘action plans’ how they will exercise their functions to achieve and maintain air quality standards and objectives, and may identify ‘air quality partners’ to assist them in carrying out those functions.

Date in force

9 November 2021

Statutory Instruments

The Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) and Independent School Standards (Amendment) Regulations 2021 No. 1124

The Independent School Standards require the Secretary of State to check and confirm the identity and right to work in the United Kingdom of individual proprietors of independent schools and of chairs of proprietor bodies. This applies to the three independent schools for which the Corporation is responsible. These Regulations ensure that these checks may be carried out by a third party at the behest of the Secretary of State.

1 November 2021

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (Prescribed Form and Content of Notices and Validation Applications) Regulations 2021 No. 1272

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 provides for persons to notify the Secretary of State about acquisitions that constitute ‘trigger events’ (i.e. that might raise national security concerns) and to apply for retrospective validation of a notifiable acquisition. These Regulations set out the information that must be provided to Secretary of State when submitting a mandatory notice, a validation application or a voluntary notice.

4 January 2022