The UK government has agreed the full text of a US‑UK pharmaceutical partnership, covering medicines and innovative medical devices and setting out changes to trade, pricing and access arrangements. The partnership provides that UK pharmaceutical exports to the US—worth at least £5 billion a year—will enter the US tariff free for at least three years, making the UK the only country to secure 0% tariffs on pharmaceutical exports to the US, and introduces stronger incentives for pharmaceutical companies to launch new treatments in the UK. The agreement extends preferential terms to medical technology exports, with no additional new tariffs on medtech for at least three years and includes cooperation towards mutual recognition of medical device approvals. Alongside this, the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) payment percentage payable by pharmaceutical companies on branded medicines sold to the NHS will be capped at a maximum of 15% until the scheme expires on 31 December 2028, a Joint Taskforce involving government, the UK life sciences industry, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and patient and charity groups has been launched to accelerate commercial medicine innovation with pilot schemes expected as early as September 2026, and the government has committed to increasing spending on innovative medicines as a proportion of GDP from 0.3% to 0.6% over the next ten years.

The UK government has announced new climate change goals at the 29th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, including a commitment to reduce emissions by 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. This target, which aligns with the Climate Change Committee's recommendations and the UK’s sixth carbon budget, will form the UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It excludes emissions from international aviation and shipping. The government intends to submit detailed NDC information to the UNFCCC by February 2025.

The UK government has announced that it will be introducing legislation to overturn wrongful convictions of hundreds of postmasters and aims to have wrongful convictions overturned later in 2024. The government has said that the legislation aims to exonerate innocent individuals, which will allow them to claim any compensation they are owed. The government has also said, it will consider whether the legislation should apply to the small number of convictions upheld by the courts on appeal. At present, the legislation is intended to apply to England and Wales only.

Law360, London: The government is committed to investing in legal technology as part of its growth agenda and to help ensure that dispute resolution 'evolves with the times', a minister told a legal conference in London on 3 June 2025.

CASE HUB ARCHIVED—this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 21 February 2025; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline, and related cases Case facts Outline CMA Chapter I CA98 investigation into whether 5 banks breached UK competition law by exchanging sensitive information regarding UK government bonds in one-to-one online chats. Latest development On 22 February 2025, the CMA issued five separate infringement decisions after four companies settled with the CMA and acknowledged their involvement in the anti-competitive behavior. One further company received immunity for alerting the CMA to its participation in the unlawful conduct. Fines totalling over £100m were imposed.Total fines imposed on each company were:• Deutsche Bank—no fine (as a result of being awarded immunity)• Citi—£17,160,000 (including a reduction of 35% for leniency and a reduction of 20% for settling)• HSBC—£23,400,000 (including a reduction of 10% for settling)• Morgan Stanley—£29,700,000 (including a reduction of 10% for settling)• Royal Bank of Canada—£34,200,000 (including a reduction of 10% for settling) Parties • Citigroup Global Markets Limited and its ultimate parent

The UK government has announced its commitment aid in tackling the rising global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) with an £85m funding package. Approximately £50m will be provided to partner with countries in Africa to enhance accessibility of vital antimicrobial drugs, and an additional £25m will help improve surveillance systems for AMR in Caribbean countries and territories and up to £10m over the next five years will help create a global independent scientific panel for AMR. Alongside these projects, £1.8m has been allocated to establish a dedicated team in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority to help create novel antimicrobials and diagnostics.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Department for Business and Trade, HM Treasury, and HMRC have launched a consultation on the transparency of land ownership when trusts are involved in the ownership structure. Specific views are sought on options to widen access to trust information held on the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE). General views are also sought on how land ownership involving trusts can be made more transparent. To strike a balance between privacy and transparency, the government also seeks views on what data would be most useful and why. The consultation closes on 21 February 2024.

Law360: The Insolvency Service leaked private details of an investigation into Lex Greensill, the founder of collapsed finance company Greensill Capital, to the national press, the government has admitted in court filings—but denied it caused him any harm.

This Practice Note summarises key support provided by the UK government from 2022–25, for both domestic and non-domestic customers (including businesses, charities and public sector organisations) to assist them in managing exceptionally high energy bills following the 2022 energy price crisis. It also covers the extension of time-limited powers in primary legislation made in early 2026, in light of a further potential energy price crisis following the US-Israel conflict and consequential energy market volatility, and the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS), a non-time limited form of electricity cost support provided to certain industrial customers. Why did the UK government need to provide exceptional energy bills support? The global energy price crisis, compounded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, resulted in a significant increase to wholesale energy prices in the second half of 2022. There was widespread concern about how this would affect domestic and non-domestic energy consumers, many of whom felt that energy bills would become unaffordable, and the significant impact this would have on the economy. In response to this, then-Prime

The UK government deposited a declaration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on 11 May 2026, extending its ratification of the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks to the territory of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The declaration was made in accordance with Article 13 of the Nice Agreement and will come into force on 11 August 2026.

Law360, London: Controversial plans to overhaul criminal law to bar some defendants from electing to be tried by a jury won't succeed in reducing the backlog of cases without long-term funding, and it suggests that the government is no longer able to deliver justice, experts said on 21 November 2025.

MLex: UK companies are still awaiting the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, as lawmakers this week renewed pressure on the government to introduce the legislation as soon as possible. The Bill is expected to align with Directive (EU) 2022/2555 (NIS 2 Directive) and to expand regulatory duties across critical sectors. But following a cabinet reshuffle, the government refused to give a timeline when questioned on 10 September 2025, saying only that it would be introduced ‘when parliamentary time allows’.