The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) has marked 30 years since Lord Nolan's seminal report by evaluating the current standards landscape in UK public life. While codes of conduct and independent regulators are now well-established, the CSPL notes that public perception of standards remains low. The Committee's 2021 review called for stronger rules and greater independence in central government standards regulation. With the Labour government's commitment to establish an independent Ethics and Integrity Commission, the CSPL awaits further details on its remit and scope. The Committee emphasises the enduring relevance of the Nolan principles, the importance of independent scrutiny and the need for ongoing ethics education across the public sector, whilst acknowledging that maintaining high standards requires constant vigilance and adaptation to new challenges.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) has published its response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government consultation on strengthening local authority standards. In a letter dated 18 March 2025, CSPL Chair Doug Chalmers revised several positions from the Committee's 2019 report, now supporting a mandatory minimum code of conduct and required standards committees for principal authorities. The Committee also endorsed suspension powers for serious breaches and disqualification in extreme cases. CSPL recommended extending the proposed appeals window from 5 to 10 working days. The response follows a consultation seminar that was held on 20 February 2025 with local government experts and practitioners.

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (CSPRP) has called for urgent action to protect vulnerable unborn babies and infants, through its national review, following the death of baby Victoria Marten after her parents concealed her birth and avoided statutory services. The review identifies recurring systemic safeguarding issues including concealed pregnancies, repeated child removals, domestic abuse, parental disengagement, serious offending and frequent moves and warns that agencies often fail to assess and manage cumulative risks. It recommends earlier pre‑birth safeguarding, trauma‑informed practice, stronger multi‑agency working, improved information sharing and clearer national guidance to ensure vulnerable unborn babies and infants are consistently protected.

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (CSPRP) has published a report on a thematic review examining how race, ethnicity and culture impact safeguarding practice. The review analysed 54 cases involving Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children who suffered serious harm or death. It found widespread failure to address racism and racial bias in both practice reviews and safeguarding work. The report makes recommendations for safeguarding partnerships to improve consideration of race in case reviews and develop anti-racist practices.

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (CSPRP) has published a thematic analysis examining how child neglect is defined, identified and addressed in England, based on analysis of 100 rapid reviews and 34 Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews. The report found that neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment and is present in more than half of serious safeguarding incidents, but responses are frequently delayed because statutory concepts such as ‘persistence’ and ‘serious impairment’ are interpreted inconsistently across agencies, contributing to high intervention thresholds and fragmented practice. The analysis found that practitioners often struggle to identify cumulative harm, are reluctant to explicitly label neglect, particularly where poverty or parental vulnerability are involved, and do not consistently centre children’s lived experiences within assessments. The report concluded that neglect can have significant long-term effects across all stages of childhood, including developmental delay, poor mental health, behavioural difficulties and social exclusion, while evidence-based assessment tools and multi-agency chronologies remain inconsistently used. The CSPRP stated that poverty can intensify neglect but is not itself neglect, and identified wider systemic pressures, including reduced early intervention services and high caseloads, as barriers to effective safeguarding. The report proposes a national action plan focused on clarifying statutory definitions of neglect, improving the use of evidence-based assessment tools, strengthening guidance on consent and early intervention, and promoting more child-centred and coordinated safeguarding responses.

See Corporate social responsibility.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the main UK legislative, regulatory and voluntary best practice resources in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social and governance (ESG) and human rights reporting and initiatives for companies. It also summarises key EU reporting regimes requiring companies to report on sustainability and ESG matters. ESG and sustainability collection We have produced an ESG and sustainability collection, which aims to help practitioners advising businesses on ESG and sustainability issues, by bringing together content from a number of Lexis+® UK Practice Areas (subject to subscription). For further details, see: ESG and sustainability collection. Board briefing notes We have also produced the following briefing notes to be provided to the board of a quoted company and the board of an unquoted company (including an AIM company) summarising the key environmental reporting obligations to which the company is subject: • Board briefing note—environmental reporting—quoted companies • Board briefing note—environmental reporting—unquoted companies Defining CSR and ESG Corporate social responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate responsibility or corporate

The Council for Science and Technology (CST) has published its letter to the Prime Minister, lending advice towards mobilising private investment in climate adaptation and resilience. The letter outlines five key recommendations including: Cabinet Office leadership on adaptation strategy, Treasury investment signalling, regulatory framework updates, public-private funding mechanisms, and improved data accessibility. The CST notes a global adaptation financing gap of US$194bn-US$366bn annually, emphasising the need to leverage private sector investment. The recommendations build on the government's third National Adaptation Programme and align with forthcoming OECD Climate Adaptation Investment Framework. The advice follows CST consultations with academics, investors and asset managers on economic and social benefits of climate adaptation.

The Cordless Telephony Standard. A digital system using frequency shift keying in the 864 to 868 MHZ band using time division duplex.

Company Technical Advisor

The Home Office has made changes to the Common Travel Area (CTA) caseworker guidance to recognise that the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have each implemented separate, legally distinct electronic travel authorisation (ETA) schemes. These schemes opened for applications on 9 April 2026, with an ETA being required for travel from 23 April 2026.

The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary (CTJ) has added a 19th chapter to its Chief Coroner’s Guidance for Coroners on the Bench with guidance on cases in the coroner’s court that involve trans people. The guidance outlines the legal obligations under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, including the criminal offence of disclosing protected information about Gender Recognition Certificate holders as well as emphasising the need for sensitivity in post-mortem examinations and avoiding unnecessary disclosure of a deceased person’s trans status.