Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills meaning

Oil & Gas—Onshore licensing regime Regulatory body Historically, oversight of the UK’s oil and gas resources rested mainly with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), acting for the Secretary of State (SoS). Acting on Sir Ian Wood’s recommendations in his review of oil and gas recovery on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) (the Wood Review), the Government created a new independent regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) (formerly the Oil and Gas Authority), to assume DECC’s regulatory and licensing roles for all oil and gas exploration and production across the United Kingdom and the UKCS, covering applicable exploration and production operations throughout those areas, as announced by Government. On 14 July 2016, it was confirmed that DECC would be amalgamated with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, forming the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Subsequently, on 7 February 2023, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was set up and assumed the energy brief previously held by the now-defunct BEIS,...

This Practice Note includes citations and references to case law decisions from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). For guidance on whether EU judgments bind UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law — Assimilated case law. What is objective justification? As set out below, objective justification can operate as a potential defence to allegations of either direct or indirect discrimination, though it is available only in very limited and exceptional circumstances in claims of direct discrimination. Under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010), there is prima facie indirect discrimination where A subjects B to the application of a provision, criterion or practice (often termed a ‘PCP’) that is discriminatory in relation to a relevant protected characteristic of B’s. A PCP is discriminatory if: A applies, or would apply, it to persons who do not share B’s characteristic it places, or would place, those who share B’s characteristic at a particular disadvantage when compared with persons who do not share it,...

This Practice Note reviews several leading cases on the notion of objective justification, with references to judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In broad terms, EU judgments issued on or before IP completion day continue to bind UK courts and tribunals (even if the EU courts later reach a different view) unless and until the UK courts exercise their powers to depart. As a rule, EU case law created after that date is not binding in the UK, though UK courts and tribunals may still have regard to later EU judgments where relevant. For fuller guidance on the approach to EU case law, see Practice Note: Assimilated law—Assimilated case law... Objective justification Objective justification is a commonly used shorthand for establishing that a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) which disadvantages an individual or group compared with others is nevertheless a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Under the Equality Act 2010, s 19(1)–(3), objective justification operates as a defence to a claim...