The UK government published a draft statutory instrument to replace the Short Selling Regulation, a piece of retained EU law. This draft statutory instrument (SI) is part of HM Treasury’s program to deliver a “Smarter Regulatory Framework” for financial services, tailored to the UK.
On 9 December 2022 as part of the Edinburgh Reforms, the government published a Call for Evidence on the Short Selling Regulation, with the aim of putting in place a regulatory regime for short selling that is tailored to the UK, which supports market integrity and bolsters the competitiveness of UK financial markets. On 11 July 2023, the government published its response to the Call for Evidence, setting out its approach for a UK-tailored regime, including key changes to short selling disclosure requirements.
This draft SI, alongside an accompanying explanatory policy note, sets out how the government plans to implement the announced reforms to the UK short selling regime. The government welcomes any technical comments on the draft SI by 10 January 2024.