On Thursday 17 December, the UK Internal Market Act received Royal Assent.
The UK Internal Market Act establishes 2 principles (the Market Access Principles) that apply to goods and services. The act is designed to ensure that our shared internal market continues to operate effectively:
- the principle of mutual recognition (MR) ensures regulations from one part of the UK are recognised across each of the others
- the principle of non-discrimination (ND) supports companies trading in the UK, regardless of where in the UK they are based, by preventing unreasonably discriminatory regulation
The Office for the Internal Market (OIM) will monitor the running of the UK Internal Market. It will provide independent, technical advice to all four administrations and their legislatures and sit within the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The OIM will begin operation later in 2021 following the necessary appointments process that the Business Secretary will be able to begin from the New Year.