Policy background
In January 2020 the UK left the EU. Following the end of the Transition Period this year, the way we regulate labour, capital, goods and services in the UK will no longer be decided by the EU. Instead, we in the UK will be able to regulate our trade in goods and services in a tailored manner, specifically designed to benefit our businesses, workers and consumers, while maintaining our high regulatory standards.
	To ensure businesses can continue to trade freely across the UK as they do now, the Government set out on 16 July 2020, in the UK Internal Market White Paper (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-internal-market ), its intention to establish a market access commitment in legislation - to preserve the UK internal market.
	As outlined within the White Paper, proposals for the UK internal market are driven by three overarching policy objectives:
to continue to secure economic opportunities across the UK;
to continue to increase competitiveness and enable citizens across the UK to be in an environment that is the best place in the world to do business; and
to continue to provide for the general welfare, prosperity, and economic security of all UK citizens.
	The Government ran a consultation on the proposals between 16 July and 13 August, inviting views on key questions related to the non-discrimination principle and independent monitoring and advice functions. Businesses showed support for the measures in order to avoid trade barriers and provide certainty for firms.
	Additionally, respondents raised concerns on the need to: protect regulatory autonomy; protect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market; and provide an independent insight into the UK internal market’s functioning.
	The measures in this Act are therefore designed to create a coherent approach to market access and support for the UK internal market.
The principles of mutual recognition and non-discrimination of goods and services form the market access principles. These allow people and businesses to trade as they do now, without additional barriers based on which nation they are in.
The market access principles will give effect to providing unfettered access of qualifying goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.
The measures on the recognition of professional qualifications allow professionals qualified in one of the four parts of the UK to access the same profession in a different part without needing to requalify if new qualification or experience requirements are introduced, or existing ones are changed, in any part of the UK.
The Office for the Internal Market (OIM) within the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will monitor the health of the internal market and advise and report on proposals and regulations and their potential or actual impact on the UK internal market.
The provisions ensure a uniform approach across the UK to the application of EU State aid law under Article 10 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The power to provide financial assistance allows the UK Government to provide financial assistance for a number of priority purposes across the whole of the UK.
The reservation of subsidy control allows the UK Government to regulate the effects of distortive or harmful subsidies, whether that is in relation to international trade or the UK internal market.
	As part of its vision for the UK internal market, the Government is also engaging in a process to agree a common approach to regulatory alignment with the devolved administrations. The Common Frameworks Programme aims to protect the UK internal market by providing high levels of regulatory coherence in specific policy areas through close collaboration with devolved administrations.
	The Act is a key part of the Government’s coronavirus recovery plan. It provides important regulatory stability for businesses and consumers as the UK responds to and recovers from the pandemic.