Forthcoming Change—reform of the UK AIFM regime On 14 July 2026, HM Treasury and the FCA published a co-ordinated package of proposals to reform the UK AIFM regime, including draft regulations to replace the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations 2013 and FCA proposals in CP26/28 for a proportionate three-tier regime for small, medium and large AIFMs; related consultations cover fund reporting and remuneration. Subject to consultation responses, HM Treasury expects to lay the legislation and the FCA aims to publish final Handbook rules in 2027, with implementation of the reformed AIFM and asset management reporting regimes planned for 2028. For more information, see Practice Note: Developments in the regulation of UK investment funds and asset management—Reform of the UK AIFM regime. The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (Directive 2011/61/EU) (AIFMD) was transposed into national law in the UK on 22 July 2013, introducing requirements concerning transparency and the information that must be disclosed to potential investors before they make an investment

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Department for International Trade have published the statement of the UK's Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Simon Manley, at the WTO Trade Policy Review of China, which took place on 20 October 2021. Manley discusses, among other things, the lack of reciprocity with regards to market access—with Chinese firms continuing to enjoy much higher levels of access in overseas markets than their foreign counterparts enjoy within China—the centrality of state-owned enterprises to China’s industrial strategies, increased transparency from the Chinese Government, the belief that China’s trade actions are being used to deliberately target the goods of specific countries for political reasons, and the apparent use of forced labour.

The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has published the anti-corruption agenda for the 2024 government. This follows the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition's polling report which found that 66% of voters believe UK politics is becoming increasingly corrupt and 80% believe political parties are corrupt and untrustworthy. The agenda calls for cross-party working and prioritisation for the delivery of anti-corruption commitments.

The UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition has published a letter calling on the government to support amendments to the Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) Bill. The letter has been addressed to Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, and signatories include editors, journalists, writers, publishers, academics and experts. The signatories have called on the government to refine the definition of 'public interest' to strengthen the legislation and address a flaw in the Bill's early dismissal mechanism which requires a court to make a subjective judgement in respect of a claimants intent to determine whether legal action can be identified as SLAPP. Additionally, signatories have highlighted concerns that deficiencies in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 have been replicated in the Anti-SLAPP Bill.

MLex: The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is aiming to commercialise intellectual property (IP) developed as part of the country’s development of fusion power. The UKAEA strategy says it plans to develop spin-off companies and licensing arrangements to build out the sector’s supply chain.

This Practice Note explains the key features of Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 (the UK Benchmarks Regulation). Objectives and scope of the UK Benchmarks Regulation The stated objectives of the UK Benchmark Regulation are to ensure governance and controls are in place at all stages of the benchmark process and for all functions operating therein. The UK Benchmarks Regulation applies in respect of the administrators of the benchmark and the methodology they use as well as the contributors to the benchmark in relation to the conflicts of interest they may face and the details they submit. The UK Benchmarks Regulation also seeks to ensure that adequate protection is afforded to all users of the benchmark from institutional investors to retail consumers through enhancing transparency, ensuring rights of redress and ensuring suitability is assessed where necessary. One of the key aims is for benchmarks to reflect the economic reality they are intended to track. A specific benchmark can be used either directly as a reference for financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment

This Practice Note provides high-level guidance on Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 (the UK Benchmarks Regulation). For more detailed information, see Practice Note: UK Benchmarks Regulation—essentials. Proposed Specified Authorised Benchmarks Regime On 17 December 2025, HMT published Future regulatory regime for benchmarks and benchmark administrators Consultation, in which HMT consults on the replacement of the UK Benchmarks Regulation by the Specified Authorised Benchmarks Regime (SABR). Under the SABR, only benchmarks and administrators posing systemic risks to UK financial markets would be regulated. For information, see Practice Note: UK Benchmarks Regulation—essentials—Proposed Specified Authorised Benchmarks Regime. Background to the UK Benchmarks Regulation Benchmarks are vital to the pricing of numerous financial instruments and commercial and non-commercial contracts. Following reports of the manipulation of various benchmarks, such as LIBOR, there were widespread concerns as to the integrity of benchmarks generally. This resulted in subsequent investigations and enforcement action by regulators into various benchmarks. The EU Benchmarks Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 29 June 2016 and came into force on 30 June 2016. The

This timeline shows key developments relating to Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 (the UK Benchmarks Regulation) from January 2024 onwards. For earlier developments, see Benchmarks Regulation—timeline [Archived] 2026 Date Source Document Description 27 May 2026 FCA Quality controls in benchmarks sector—review: 27 May 2026 update, Benchmark calculations review The FCA has updated its webpage on its review of quality controls in the benchmarks sector, noting that it has completed a multi-firm project looking at the quality of calculation controls. The review looked at error-handling arrangements, including error identification, classification, prioritisation and notification. The FCA says it found that both of the distinct approaches being taken by firms in how they captured and handled errors—quantitative (data-led) and qualitative (judgement-led)—had strengths and weaknesses.See: FCA reviews error-handling arrangements in the benchmarks sector. 2025 Date Source Document Description 17 December 2025 HMTFCA Open consultation: Future regulatory regime for benchmarks and benchmark administratorsFuture regulatory regime for benchmarks and benchmark administrators Consultation [PDF]FCA welcomes reform to the UK Benchmarks Regulation HM Treasury (HMT) has launched a consultation

Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 setting out regulatory technical standards for the conditions applicable to buy-back programmes and stabilisation measures, as it forms part of retained EU law as defined in the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published Part 3 of its Airspace Modernisation Strategy 2023–2040 deployment plan, which aims to modernise the UK airspace by 2040. The plan includes projects that look at how new airspace users (such as drones) can fly safely alongside other aircrafts and work that examines services that support airspace users and the technology that needs development to enable aircrafts to detect and avoid each other. The plan also highlights the UK CAA’s role in the main industry activities for next seven years, among other things.

This Practice Note is an introduction to carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) in the UK. It covers what CCUS is conceptually and the key types of technologies it encompasses; the key drivers and obstacles for CCUS uptake in the UK; the development of CCUS clusters and government policy to support CCUS deployment; and key government funding support for CCUS projects. For more information on: • the planning framework applicable to CCUS projects, see Practice Note: Carbon capture usage and storage—planning and policy • permitting requirements for CCUS projects, see Practice Note: Carbon capture usage and storage—permitting requirements As explained in more detail below, the UK government has developed a number of business models to address market barriers and facilitate private investment into early-stage UK CCUS projects. For more information on: • the business model developed to support deployment of CCUS transport and storage (T&S) projects in the UK, see Practice Note: Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) projects—UK business model for transport and storage (T&S) • the

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care between 9 July 2018 and 26 June 2021, Matt Hancock, gave evidence to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry on 21 November 2024. Module 3 looks into the governmental and societal response to coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as dissecting the impact that the pandemic had on healthcare systems, patients and health care workers. This includes healthcare governance, primary care, NHS backlogs, the effects on healthcare provision by vaccination programmes and long diagnosis and support.