Is there an LCE in the house ??
We have people saying that restrictions still apply even if a new clearance is given....
WRONG. In the UK if the restriction is still required it
must be restated. This has been the case for a couple of years, maybe old habits die hard.
We have some ambiguity on restriction phraseology. The UK standard phraseology is
Climb/descend to (level) by (reporting point/time).
We also have some confusion as to when the pilot is on the published STAR and when he is not. I would argue that vectoring off the STAR means that pilot is no longer following it, until recleared to a waypoint further down the published route. In any case, the level restrictions on the STARs (in the UK) are NOT an ATC clearance and we cannot expect pilots to automatically comply with them unless we tell them to. They are merely there for the pilots to plan their flight profiles and their fuel. As the STAR charts in the AIP clearly state, the levels are for planning purposes and actual levels required will be stated by ATC. So if we want a level restriction, we have to tell you. If we don't, then there is no need to meet any published level.
Finally we have some stating that common sense should form part of the clearance. It cannot be thus, positive control must be applied and the pilot told exactly what is required at all times. Everyones interpretation of common sense is different, in ATC we need to have standards which everyone knows and can relate to.