The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) has officially changed its name to the Immigration Advice Authority.

The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) has updated a number of guidance webpages in relation to updated fee information, and applications for new and continued registration with the OISC.

Official Journal of the EU: All procurement in the public sector is subject to EC Treaty principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment and transparency. The EC Public Procurement Directives require contracting authorities, such as NDA, to provide details of procurements in a prescribed format, which are then published in the OJEU.

Organisational Learning

Oikiluoto 3 (See Oikiluoto).

The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) has announced its consultation on the draft 2025/26 business plan and budget for the Legal Ombudsman (LeO). The consultation commenced on the 31st of October 2024 and will run for six weeks until 12pm on 13 December 2024.

The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) has published its draft 2026/27 Business Plan and Budget for the Legal Ombudsman (LeO), proposing a 12.1% budget increase and launching a Scheme Transformation Review. LeO complaints rose 26% year-on-year in the first half of 2025/26, with demand expected to more than double since 2019/20. The consultation proposes resolving over 10,000 complaints in 2026/27 while holding case fees at £400. Data shows 70% of investigated complaints had evidence of poor service.

The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) Scheme Rules, case fees and the publication of ombudsman decisions in response to rising demand and pressures on the complaints system. The proposed rule changes would focus LeO's resources on complaints involving clear impact or detriment, introduce a 12-year long-stop for historic complaints, require complaints to be submitted through a standard online form where appropriate and clarify the grounds on which complaints may be dismissed, including where detriment is trivial or a complainant's behaviour is unacceptable. The consultation also proposes resolving more cases through investigator findings rather than ombudsman decisions and simplifying procedures to support earlier, less formal resolution and faster outcomes. The consultation closes on 2 September 2026.

The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO) case fee structure, marking the first adjustment since 2010. The consultation proposes an inflationary increase from £400 to £600 per case, alongside a regular five-year review cycle mechanism to support long-term sustainability of the scheme while maintaining fairness for both consumers and legal service providers. The OLC has opted against more complex models such as tiered fees or a polluter pays approach, following stakeholder feedback during the 2025/26 Budget and Business Plan consultation. Subject to consultation feedback and approval by the Legal Services Board and the Lord Chancellor, the new fee would apply from 1 April 2026. The consultation closes on 10 September 2025 at 12.00pm.

The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) has published its 2024-27 strategy for the Legal Ombudsman (LeO)  alongside its business plan and budget for 2024/25. The strategy sets out the OLC’s aims to make the LeO the best ombudsman service available and looks at ways in which legal service can prevent complaints arising, improve handling of complaints and improve the experience of receiving legal services.

The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) has published the 2026–27 business plan and budget for the Legal Ombudsman (LeO), forecasting 17,675 new complaints, a 174% increase since 2019–20. The Legal Services Board (LSB) has approved an operational budget of £21.3 million, representing a 6.5% increase from 2025–26 and below, the £22.2 million requested by the OLC. The plan is structured around three key priorities: (1) continuous improvement; (2) demand reduction, including potential changes to scheme rules and the introduction of a tiered, ‘polluter pays’ case fee structure and (3) service transformation through an externally led Scheme Transformation Review (STR). The LSB has approved funding of £300,000 for the discovery phase of the STR, with conditional approval of £679,121 for the design phase. LeO will continue developing its Model Complaints Resolution Procedure and expanding insight sharing programmes to strengthen first-tier complaint handling across the legal services sector. The plan also indicates that customer wait times are expected to increase to between 330 and 390 days by the end of 2026–27, with unallocated investigations projected to reach 4,939 cases by the end of 2026 and 7,602 in 2027–28.

The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) has published its annual ‘Life sciences competitiveness indicators 2024’ (LSCI) collection of reports that includes charts on the UK life science sector, and how it compares to other countries. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has responded to the reports by sounding the alarm at a downward trend for the UK research & development (R&D) life sciences sector but suggests that there is a path forward to u-turn the sector through steps to foster innovation. Areas and factors analysed in the OLS summary report include: research environment, domestic market, production environment, international collaboration, investment environment, and access to skilled labour.