The UK government has published a review of the barriers faced when adapting historic homes for energy efficiency and low carbon heating. As part of the government’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, homes must be made as energy efficient as possible. The government has recognised that historic homes have a breadth of specific considerations when adapting them for energy efficiency and has put forward a package of current actions and future commitments to combat these barriers, as part of the ongoing development of new policies to support the retrofit of historic homes.

Law360: The Labour government said on 2 December 2024 that it has changed the personal injury discount rate in a move that experts predict will lower the cost of insurance premiums for drivers in England and Wales.

Law360: The government announced on 21 July 2025 that it was restoring the Tony Blair-era Pensions Commission to probe why future retirees are likely to be poorer than today's pensioners, amid growing fears that millions of UK savers will not have saved enough money for later life.

The UK government has announced that an artificial intelligence forecasting tool has been rolled out across 50 NHS organisations in England to help predict accident and emergency demand, support NHS staff with planning and capacity decisions, and reduce patient waiting times during winter pressures, as part of the Prime Minister’s AI Exemplars programme and the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan to modernise the NHS.

Law360, London: Big technology companies could be brought within the scope of UK financial regulation in 2026, a minister said, after the government came under pressure from parliament over its response to the October 2025 Amazon cloud outage.

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP, has raised concerns about declining public confidence in the rule of law, citing perceptions that the application of rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is out of step with public expectations. In a speech to European ambassadors and the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg, the Lord Chancellor stated that rights originally intended to protect individuals from arbitrary state power are now sometimes seen as enabling those who break the rules to avoid responsibility, rather than protecting those who follow them. This comes as the government commits to legislation to clarify the law around Article 8—the right to private and family life—which, according to the government, has been used by foreign national offenders to avoid deportation.

The Cabinet Office has opened a consultation on the terms of reference for a study being carried out by chair of Healthwatch England, Sir Robert Francis QC, into a framework for compensating victims of the infected blood scandal. A separate inquiry into the scandal has been launched, examining the circumstances in which NHS patients in the 1970s and 1980s were treated with infected blood, causing them to contract diseases such as hepatitis C or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of Francis’ study is to decide the parameters and principles on any compensation that may be recommended following the conclusion of the inquiry, and to minimise any delay in implementing such a framework. Those wishing to respond to the consultation, which will consider the basis and scope of compensation, the framework’s design and other administrative issues, must do so by 26 July 2021.

Law360: The government promised on 22 February 2024 to introduce 'unprecedented' legislation before the end of July 2024 to exonerate hundreds of innocent people wrongly convicted in the Post Office IT scandal.

Law360: HM Treasury set out plans on 17 October 2024 to protect millions of people using buy now, pay later (BNPL) products through legislation that will lead to a new regulatory regime run by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The government has published details of the ‘Register your rental property’ service, which forms part of the second phase of Renters’ Rights Act 2025 implementation. Landlords of assured or regulated tenancies will be required to register themselves and each let property, and pay an annual fee of £65 per property. The service will roll out regionally across England from 15 December 2026, beginning in the West Midlands. Each region will have a three-month registration window before local authorities may begin enforcement, with the deadline for London falling on 14 October 2027. Registration will require landlord, property, tenancy and rent information, together with health and safety information including gas safety, electrical safety and energy performance documentation where applicable.

HM Treasury (HMT) has published the government’s response to the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) Supervision Reform: Duties, Powers, and Accountability consultation, which ran from November to December 2025. It sought views on the government’s proposals to ensure the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is equipped to be an effective AML/CTF supervisor of professional services firms, following the government’s decision to transfer supervisory responsibility for these sectors to the FCA. The response includes the government’s final policy positions.

Law360: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has urged retirement fund managers to weigh social factors, such as labour rights and the safety of workers, as part of their investment considerations.