Planning analysis: The government has legislated to change existing permitted development (PD) rights in England, to make it easier for commercial, business and service uses to be changed to dwellinghouses. It has also launched a consultation on further changes to PD rights, to allow householders to build larger home extensions and outbuildings, extend the scope of buildings benefitting from the right to build upwards and extend the PD rights for demolition and rebuild.

The government and Crown Prosecution Service have responded to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) report that examined the collapsed prosecution of two individuals accused of spying on Members of Parliament for China. The government acknowledges misaligned expectations between the Crown Prosecution Service and government contributed to the case failure and accepts recommendations to improve communications protocols.

Leigh Day has reported that TV presenter and naturalist, Chris Packham, has settled a legal case with the government over its decision to cancel several environmental policies. Packham challenged the UK Government's move to drop key policies from the UK's Carbon Budget Delivery Plan (CBDP), including the transition to petrol and diesel-free cars and vans by 2030 and the phasing out of new and replacement gas boilers by 2035. Packham was granted permission to bring a judicial review in March 2024, and further grounds were added to the claim in June 2024. The government conceded that its plan, which included a 10% shortfall in quantified emissions savings, was insufficient to meet the UK's carbon budgets. As a result of the confirmation from the government that it would stop the abandonment of green policies and concede on the Section 13 grounds, Packham has agreed to withdraw his judicial review, which was set to be heard in November 2024.

Law360: A group of transgender and intersex individuals launched a legal challenge against the equalities watchdog and a government minister on 16 May 2025, arguing that guidance issued following the UK Supreme Court's watershed ruling on the legal definition of a woman violates human rights law.

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy has published the UK government's and the Electoral Commission's responses to its report on political finance and foreign influence. The government accepts the need to strengthen safeguards against foreign interference in UK political finance and confirms that it will introduce a moratorium on political donations made through cryptoassets, introduce a £100,000 annual cap on donations from overseas electors, strengthen donor declaration and due diligence requirements, enhance the Electoral Commission's information-gathering and information-sharing powers, and commence section 54A of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It also states that proposals to establish a dedicated Political Finance Enforcement Unit, increase custodial sentences for the most serious political finance offences and expand investigatory powers require further analysis and consultation.

Planning analysis: On 23 October 2025, the government and the Mayor of London published 'Homes for London: A package of support for housebuilding in the capital'. The deal introduces temporary 50% cuts to borough-level community infrastructure levy (CIL), a new fast-track route for schemes providing 20% affordable housing, and relaxed London Plan design standards—all aimed at jump-starting stalled housing delivery in the capital.

The Department of Health and Social Care has announced two changes to in vitro fertilisation (IVF) rules in the UK. Currently, female same-sex couples hoping to conceive via reciprocal IVF must first go through screening for infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or rubella at a cost of up to £1,000. Heterosexual couples do not need to undergo this screening. The government is scrapping this rule. The law will also change to cover same-sex couples so that where one or both partners have HIV but have an undetectable viral load (meaning the level of HIV virus in the body is low enough to not be detected by a test), they can now access IVF treatment. This will also include known sperm or egg cell donation to friends or relatives.

The government, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, Department for Education, and the Home Office has announced a comprehensive review of the National Protocol guidelines aimed at preventing the undue criminalisation of children in care and care leavers. The initiative seeks to strengthen multi-agency cooperation to more effectively identify and support vulnerable children through targeted interventions, including trauma counselling and peer mentoring. These measures are designed to address the disproportionate risk of criminal justice involvement faced by young people in care. The revised protocol is scheduled for publication in Spring 2026.

Planning analysis: On 25 August 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published initial funding allocations under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026–2036, together with national guidance on engagement in the delivery of section 106 affordable housing. MHCLG also launched a consultation on four standard section 106 templates for medium-sized housing sites. The package combines increased investment in social and affordable housing with measures intended to improve collaboration, reduce delays in negotiating planning obligations and address difficulties in securing providers for on-site affordable housing.

The UK Government has announced significant planned reforms to its asylum and human rights system. Settlement for refugees will no longer be automatic after five years and the changes intend to impose stricter limits on asylum support and family reunion rights, modify how Article 8 impacts privacy and family life cases, and significantly reform appeals processes.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced that from the31 March 2022, the outdoor use of metaldehyde will be banned in Great Britain. The use of metaldehyde, a pesticide used to control slugs on farms and in gardens, will be phased out to give growers and gardeners time to switch to alternative slug control measures. Despite the damage to crops and plants caused by slugs, Farming Minister Victoria Prentis said ‘the risks metaldehyde poses to the environment and to wildlife are too great’.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has issued a press release on the UK government’s commitment to reduce plastic waste, improve air quality, and reverse biodiversity loss ahead of the government’s National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan. The commitments to protect marine habitats and halt global biodiversity loss were signed at the conclusion of the G7 Ministerial meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment. Environment Secretary, Steve Barclay, reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, and emphasised the importance of ratifying the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement. The UK also pledged an increase in nature finance investment, aligning with the objectives of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.