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Here Are Some Of 2017's Big New Laws

Here Are Some Of 2017's Big New Laws

Interesting.

James Dawson

James Dawson

They'll be plenty of new laws coming the British people's way in 2017, with wages, smoking and motoring all seeing changes in the coming months.

So, because you might have missed it, here's the low-down on the laws that have recently changed and others that will likely change over the next year.

Minimum wage going up

In April, the minimum wage for workers over 25 will increase to £7.50 an hour - a rise of 30p. Eighteen to 20-year-olds and 21 to 24-year-olds will be given smaller increases - to £5.60 and £7.05 an hour respectively.

According to the Tories the national minimum wage will be £9 an hour for over 25s by the year 2020 - but I wouldn't be holding my breath on that one until I saw it on my payslip.

Ban on letting agent fees

Good news for all of us rammed into a shared house with a dodgy landlord and a letting agency that love ripping us off.

In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that letting agents would soon be banned from charging fees to tenants. Chancellor Philip Hammond has said that he wants to bring in the law "as soon as possible".

An exact time has yet to be given for the law's introduction.

Branded cigarette and tobacco packets are gone

Back in 2015, retailers were banned from openly displaying cigarettes and May 2016 introduced reforms to EU laws on selling tobacco - we might have gotten out of there now, but sadly we Brexited too late to save our precious tobacco branding.

Merchants were given 12 months to phase out the bright colours on packets and all packaging will need to be coloured dark green.

Taxing your car will be more pricey

The cost of driving is due to become even higher this year and from April 2017 only 100 percent electric cars will be exempt from road tax.

Every other automobile will be charged at a tiered fee for the first-year, based on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions and at £140 flat rate for every year going forwards.

This is bad news for those wanting to buy a low emission car, as they are not currently road taxed as long as they have CO2 emissions of fewer than 130 g/km.

However, if you already own a car, or yours will be registered before April 2017, there won't be any changes to how much you pay.

Ban on booster seats for smaller children

From March, 'backless' booster seats will be banned for children smaller than 125cm and weighing less than 22kg, in the hope that these new measures will improve safety.

Don't worry if you're currently using one as the ban will only apply to shops selling the seats, meaning that you can continue using any you already own.

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So a mixed bag then, it's probably worth bearing in mind that not all these laws have received assent to become an act of parliament yet.

Featured image credit: BBC

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Topics: 2017

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