The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has released the Labour Market Enforcement Strategy for 2024 to 2025, as submitted by Director Margaret Beels in March 2024 and resubmitted to the new government in August 2024. The strategy, which focuses on four main themes including improving the radar picture and effectiveness, better joined-up thinking, and enhanced engagement with businesses and workers, outlines 12 recommendations. These are to be implemented by the director's office, the DBT, Home Office, and the three labour market enforcement bodies: the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and HMRC National Minimum Wage team.

Margaret Beels, Director of Labour Market Enforcement, has published her Labour Market Enforcement Strategy for 2025 to 2026. The Strategy report was submitted to government in May 2025. Her strategy includes the four themes presented in her previous strategies, with a new section focused on the Fair Work Agency (FWA). The FWA, which will be established under the Employment Rights Bill, will bring together the work of the three current labour market enforcement bodies: the HMRC National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage team (HMRC NMW), the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS).

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have published a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding international cooperation on competition and consumer law enforcement. This MoU, stemming from provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, delineates the expectations, roles and responsibilities between the two bodies. It specifically addresses matters such as the disclosure of relevant information for civil and criminal investigations and proceedings, the provision of investigative assistance to overseas regulators and the establishment of international cooperation arrangements. This development aims to enhance collaboration between UK competition and consumer authorities and their international counterparts.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and Companies House have published new statutory guidance following the implementation of a new regime for people with significant control (PSCs), which came into force on 18 November 2025 under the Economic Crime and Transparency Act 2023. The revised framework enhances transparency and accountability in corporate ownership by clarifying the meaning of ‘significant influence or control’ for eligible Scottish partnerships (ESPs) and related entities. The guidance explains how to identify individuals or legal persons who exercise significant influence or control over an ESP and sets out the corresponding reporting duties to Companies House. Failure to comply with these statutory obligations may constitute a criminal offence punishable by fines or imprisonment.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published the Retained EU Law (REUL) parliamentary report for June 2023 to December 2023. The report highlights the government’s progress on revoking and reforming REUL as well as future plans for revocations and reforms. The DBT has noted that this report is the first in a series of reports to be published every six months until June 2026. The report first sets out the three pillars of the Smarter Regulation programme and how REUL reform fits into this. These include minimising regulatory burden and future proofing the UK’s regulations, making regulation the last option and lastly, ensuring that there is an effective landscape of regulators. The report then summarises data on the updated REUL Dashboard, which shows that over 2,000 statutory instruments (SIs) have been revoked or reformed in total. The report also highlights progress made in revoking and reforming REUL between June 2023 and December 2023 as well as the government’s immediate plans which include revocation or reform of around 500 SIs. Lastly, the report contains a roadmap for proposals for future reform and revocation.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published the 2024 update on the implementation of the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) framework. Under the 2023 Green Finance Strategy, the government is committed to providing industries with clear information for each of the core SDR elements. In conjunction, the DBT has published a framework outlining the government’s assessment of the global baseline of International Financial Reporting Standards SDR, for developing Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) in the UK.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published a mission statement and a 14-point action plan for its Supply Chain Centre. The centre’s stated mission is to secure critical outputs for the UK economy and serve as a central hub for supply chain intelligence and policy within government. The mission statement sets out six objectives: (1) anticipating future risks; (2) identifying essential inputs; (3) building domestic capacity; (4) diversifying global partnerships; (5) managing disruptions and (6) supporting businesses. The 14-point action plan explains how the DBT intends to deliver on those objectives. As its first major output, the centre has identified 36 broad categories of growth-driving inputs for Industrial Strategy sectors. It is also working with public finance institutions—including UK Export Finance, the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank—to ensure its analysis informs their investment activities. The centre has also established a dedicated Middle East response team to address ongoing global supply chain disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published UK Sustainability Reporting Standard (SRS) S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and UK SRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures), together with its response to consultation on the exposure drafts. The standards form the UK-endorsed sustainability reporting framework and are based on the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and IFRS S2.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published a collection of materials outlining the government’s strategy for securing supplies of critical minerals for the UK industry and energy security. The Resilience for the Future policy paper states that the UK will accelerate the growth of the UK’s domestic capabilities, collaborate with international partners, and enhance international markets to make them more responsive, transparent, and responsible.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have published the government response to their call for evidence on Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs). The response found that respondents were generally supportive of CPPAs because they provide long-term electricity price certainty, support budgeting and investment planning, and help businesses meet sustainability objectives through direct links to low-carbon electricity generation. Respondents also considered CPPAs capable of supporting investment in new generation by providing developers with greater revenue certainty, although they noted that uptake is constrained by credit and collateral requirements, complex negotiations, non-commodity electricity costs, grid constraints and the interaction with existing market mechanisms, including Contracts for Difference.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published a code of practice for employers and workers in tipping industries on fair and transparent distribution of tips, gratuities and service charges. Under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, which makes it mandatory for tips to be passed on to workers without deductions, workers can enforce their rights via the employment tribunal system where judges have a duty, where relevant, to take the code into account. The code comes into force on 1 October 2024, with further non-statutory guidance to be issued in due course.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has announced that the UK and Switzerland have concluded negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which will replace and expand the existing goods-focused agreement once both countries complete their domestic ratification procedures. The agreement aims to strengthen bilateral trade by improving market access for services, investment and digital trade, simplifying customs and regulatory procedures, enhancing business mobility, protecting intellectual property, and expanding opportunities for UK businesses across sectors including financial, professional, life sciences, digital and creative services. It also includes provisions on government procurement, consumer protection, innovation, sustainable development and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. The DBT stated that the agreement is expected to increase UK services exports to Switzerland over the long term by providing greater certainty for businesses, maintaining the free flow of data, reducing administrative barriers and improving access for service suppliers and investors. The agreement is not yet in force and must undergo legal finalisation, parliamentary scrutiny and ratification in both countries before businesses can trade under its terms.