This Order provides that the rules applying to the special annual allowance charge in the Finance Act 2009 also protect a person who leaves a pension scheme and joins a new scheme on exactly the same terms. The Order also provides protection for those who had set up arrangements on or before 22 April 2009. The Order can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Order amends the rate of the tax charge on short service lump sum refunds and benefits received under employer-financed retirement benefits schemes (EFRBS) when the recipient of the benefit is not an individual, to reflect the introduction of the 50% additional tax rate from 6 April 2010. The Order can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations provide for the assessment of performance and attendance of members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and full-time members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve and establish the procedures that take place when performance or attendance is unsatisfactory. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations amend the rules relating to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The changes are made as a result of the dissolution of the Learning and Skills Council for England, which requires the transfer of over 700 of its staff primarily to local authorities, and the merger of local probation boards to form probation trusts, which requires the transfer of staff to the new probation trust and, in certain circumstances, their accrued pension entitlements to move from one LGPS fund to another. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Order provides that the levy ceiling in Northern Ireland for the financial year beginning 1 April 2010 is £871,183,684. The board of the Pension Protection Fund is required to charge a levy to defined benefit occupational pension schemes, to fund the compensation it will pay to scheme members if their employer becomes insolvent and the scheme is underfunded by a certain amount. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Order prescribes that the levy ceiling for the financial year beginning 1 April 2010, is £871,183,684. The board of the Pension Protection Fund is required to charge a levy to defined benefit occupational pension schemes, to fund the compensation it will pay to scheme members if their employer becomes insolvent and the scheme is underfunded by a certain amount. The levy ceiling increases in line with any increase in the general level of earnings for the 12 month period ending with 31 July 2009. The Order can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Order increases the compensation cap used by the board of the Pension Protection Fund, to determine the amount of compensation payable to members of certain occupational pension schemes which are underfunded at a particular level and whose sponsoring employer has become insolvent. The Order can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The draft Order gives legislative effect to seven extra-statutory concessions made by HM Revenue and Customs. The extra-statutory concessions treat persons who were not entitled to a reduction or any other concession to tax, as if they were so entitled. The draft Order can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Order provides for the abolition of the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, which was established by General and Specialist Medical Practice (Education, Training and Qualifications) Order 2003 (SI 2003/1250). It provides for the transfer of its functions relating to postgraduate medical education and training for specialist medical practice and general medical practice to the General Medical Council (GMC). The draft Order can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations prescribe that a police authority may disapply the provision which limits the size of lump sum for which a police officer with less than 30 years’ service can commute his or her pension, in the circumstance where the officer retires one day before reaching 30 years’ service, and below the age of 50. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations prescribe that the Northern Ireland Policing Board may accept an application from a senior officer who joined the police service before the age of 20 and who wishes to retire before the age of 50, to defer his or her pension payment until the age of 50. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations prescribe that pensioner members of the 1995 section of the NHS Pension Scheme may join the 2008 section of that scheme if they are re-employed in the NHS following retirement. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Order increases the multiplier used to calculate the cash equivalent of the benefit of car fuel received by an employee, from £16,900 to £18,000, and the figure used to calculate the cash equivalent of the benefit of van fuel received by an employee, from £500 to £550. The cash equivalent is treated as earnings under the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 and is subject to tax and national insurance contributions. The Order can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations increase the rates of payments made to people with mesothelioma. The new rates will apply to those diagnosed with mesothelioma on or after 1 April 2010. Where a claim is made on or after 1 April 2010, and the date of diagnosis can not be identified, the new rates will apply. Dependants' rates also increase and where the claim is made by a dependant the new rates will apply where the sufferer died on or after 1 April 2010. The draft Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Order increases the compensation cap used by the board of the Pension Protection Fund in Northern Ireland, to determine the amount of compensation payable to members of certain occupational pension schemes which are underfunded at a particular level and whose sponsoring employer has become insolvent. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations revoke and re-enact the Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (SI 2009/132). They consolidate amendments made to those Regulations and also update fees to be charged. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Order amends the scope of regulated activity under the vetting and barring scheme to include: the inspection functions of the Education and Training Inspectorate, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, and the Criminal Justice Inspectorate; individuals who take part in the management of an independent school; and adoption and fostering panel members. The Order also amends the qualifying period for activities to qualify as a regulated activity to more than three days in a 30-day period. The Order can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations amend the criteria that determine whether or not a person should be included automatically in the adults' barred list or the children's barred list, to include offences under the law of any of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man that would amount to an equivalent specified offence, and changes in relation to four groups of sexual offences. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations makes various amendments to existing primary and secondary legislation governing the pension compensation paid by the Board of the Pension Protection Fund. They also introduces provisions to require the Board of the Pension Protection Fund to charge interest when the pension protection levy is paid late and allow the Board to waive that interest if appropriate. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations amend the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 (SI 1987/257) to give senior police officers the right to retire on or after reaching the age of 50, if they give six months notice to the police authority and are not subject to any disciplinary proceedings. This amendment has retrospective effect, covering the period from 1 April 2004 until 30 September 2006. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations increase the lump sum amounts payable to certain persons disabled by a disease to which the Regulations apply, including pneumoconiosis, or to dependants of persons who were so disabled before they died. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations increase the amount of compensation paid to people who suffer from certain dust-related diseases, and who are unable to claim damages from their employer, by 1.5%. In addition, the Regulations increase dependants' rates to reduce the disparity between the higher awards made to sufferers and the lower awards made to dependants. The draft Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations extend the scope of the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2821), to enable certain classes of person to benefit from the provisions in part 12ZA of the Social Security and Contributions Act 1992 that relate to additional paternity pay. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations amend the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2821) to cater for overseas adoptions, by taking account of the fact that there is no “matching” in the case of adoptions from overseas. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Regulations provide for the application of the provisions of part 12ZA of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, which concern additional statutory paternity pay, to adoptions from overseas. Adoptions from overseas are adoptions of children who enter the UK from abroad and are not placed for adoption under UK law. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.