Services
The Act establishes two UK market access principles to protect the flow of services in the UK: the principle of mutual recognition, and the principle of non-discrimination.
	A service provider for the purposes of the Act is a person that provides, or intends to provide, a service in the course of their business and who has a permanent establishment in the UK, through which the business is wholly or partly carried on.
	The mutual recognition principle provides that a person authorised to provide services in one part of the UK is not required to meet additional authorisation requirements to provide those services in another part of the UK. An authorisation requirement is a legislative requirement (a requirement imposed by, or by virtue of, legislation) that a service provider must have the permission of a regulator to provide services.
	This mutual recognition principle ensures that a service provider who has been authorised to access or exercise a service activity by a regulator whose functions relate only to a part of the UK, is able to exercise that service activity throughout the whole of the UK. The principle of mutual recognition will not apply to the extent that can reasonably be justified in response to a public health emergency. It also does not apply to authorisations that are only issued in relation to a particular premises, place, or piece of infrastructure.
	The principle of non-discrimination provides that a regulatory requirement will be of no effect in relation to an incoming service provider where it discriminates against that provider directly or indirectly. The non-discrimination principle applies to regulatory requirements. A regulatory requirement is a legislative requirement (made by, or by virtue of, legislation) that would, if not satisfied prevent a service provider from providing services.
	The non-discrimination principle applies to both direct and indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination is only permitted to the extent it is a reasonably justified response to a public health emergency and indirect discrimination is only justified if can be reasonably considered a necessary means of achieving a "legitimate aim".
	Both the mutual recognition principle and non-discrimination principle do not apply to relevant requirements for the purposes of the mutual recognition principle for goods in Part 1 of the Act (section 3) or to provisions of the sort described in section 24(1) and 28(1) in Part 3 of the Act in relation to Professional Qualifications. They do not apply to requirements that apply to both service providers and non-service providers. Notwithstanding the principles, regulators may also still require that service providers notify or register with them.
	Existing requirements are excluded from the scope of the principles of mutual recognition and non-discrimination for services. This means that any requirements in force (or otherwise having effect) before the entry into force of the relevant provisions of the Act are not within scope of the principles, provided they are not later substantively changed. Similarly, provisions that come into force after the Act but simply re-enact or replicate pre-existing requirements without substantive change, will not be brought within scope of the Act.
	The principles will apply to all new or substantively changed requirements.
	For mutual recognition, if a corresponding authorisation requirement in another part of the UK is substantively changed, that will also bring an existing provision into scope of the Act.
	Some services sectors and requirements will, by virtue of being listed in Schedule 2 to the Act, be outside either or both of the principles in the Act. The Secretary of State may, by regulations subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, amend Schedule 2 of the Act.