The Cabinet Office has published the Windsor Framework Independent Monitoring Panel’s first report, covering the UK Internal Market Guarantee for 1 January to 30 June 2025. The panel, established under the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, confirmed that the guarantee was met, with 96% of freight movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland classified as ‘not at risk’ and remaining within the UK internal market, exceeding the 80% threshold. Based on HMRC data and stakeholder engagement, the report notes concerns over inadequate guidance, poor communication of regulatory changes, administrative burdens in tariff mitigation schemes, and uncertainty about future EU-related regulations, which disproportionately affect micro and small businesses. Recommendations include improving the clarity and accessibility of official guidance, enhancing promotion of support services, and ensuring timely communication on regulatory developments to maintain smooth trade flows and support business competitiveness.

The Cabinet Office has published guidance on the Anti-slavery Risk Tiering Tool (ARTT). The tool replaces the Home Office Modern Slavery Risk Assessment Tool and has been developed by a cross-departmental team including representatives from UK Parliament, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Department for Transport and Integrated Corporate Services. The ARTT is aligned with Procurement Policy Note 009 on tackling modern slavery in government supply chains and incorporates requirements introduced by the Procurement Act 2023. The tool rates procurement contracts as high, medium or low risk based on responses to six risk-characteristic questions covering factors including industry, commodity and supply chain geography. It incorporates Global Slavery Index 2023 data and the US Department of Labor List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor 2024. The tool includes automated risk-rating functionality and provides guidance on due diligence questions, country risk data and recommended next steps for compliance with modern slavery requirements in government procurement.

The Cabinet Office has published an implementation update detailing progress across ten civil emergency preparedness recommendations from the coronavirus (COVID-19) Inquiry's Module 1 report. The update confirms that two recommendations have been closed. Key developments include the publication of the updated Central Government Concept of Operations for Emergency Response and Recovery (the Amber Book) in April 2025, and a revised National Risk Register released in January 2025, which aligns with the Cabinet Office's new dynamic assessment model. The update also highlights the planned Exercise PEGASUS, a UK-wide pandemic response exercise scheduled to take place between September and November 2025, and the launch of the UK Resilience Academy (UKRA) in April 2025 to strengthen emergency preparedness capabilities. From April 2026, the Cabinet Office will establish expert panels through the UKRA to scrutinise whole-system civil emergency planning.

The Cabinet Office published guidance titled 'The Contract Management Playbook' on 25 March 2026. The document outlines established contract management principles and best practices designed to improve delivery outcomes for the public.

The Cabinet Office has updated Procurement Policy Note 006: Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts (PPN 006). PPN 006 sets out the requirements for UK government departments and in-scope organisations to take account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major contracts (with an estimated contract value above £5m per year). It has been updated to include a set of FAQs on the scope and applicability of PPN 006.

The Cabinet Office has published 'Generative AI framework for HM government' containing guidance for civil servants and people working in government organisations on how to safely and securely use generative AI. The framework supersedes the 'guidance to civil servants on use of generative AI' which was published in June 2023.

The Cabinet Office has published a strategy for the Government Commercial Function (GCF) to 2029, aimed at improving the coordination, capability and delivery of public sector commercial activity across central government and the wider public sector. The strategy highlights the Government Commercial Agency (GCA), launched on 1 April 2026, as a key player in the strategy. The strategy sets out priorities to 2029, focussing on workforce capability, collaborative delivery and economic growth—including strengthening skills, harnessing digital, data and innovation, increasing digital procurement, and improving cross-government coordination. The strategy aims to enhance efficiency, reduce duplication and support the delivery of government priorities, including economic growth and improved public services.

The Cabinet Office and Government Legal Department have published a Model Grant Funding Agreement (MGFA) template for the award of government general grants. The 63-page template has been developed for basic, complex and high-risk awards and is intended for use by grant specialists and lawyers in central government departments and their arm's length bodies, though use is not mandatory. The template aims to aid assurance and reduce administration, legal costs and negotiation time across the range of policy areas that government supports through grant funding. This version is published as an interim measure for transparency, with an update scheduled for 2026 that will include additional versions of the template and guidance notes for users. The publication follows the Civil Society Covenant published on 17 July 2025, and the government has established a feedback mechanism for Civil Society organisations to comment on grant awards they consider inconsistent with the guidance requirements.

The Cabinet Office's Investment Security Unit has published its fourth annual report on the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (Notifiable Acquisition) (Specification of Qualifying Entities) Regulations 2021 (NSIA 2021), SI 2021/1264 for the period of April 2024–March 2025. The report reveals a 25% increase in notifications, totalling 1,143, alongside 56 acquisitions that were called in for review and 17 final orders. Notably, the report identified 60 instances where notifiable acquisitions were completed without approval, although no penalties were imposed.

The Cabinet Office has published the ‘National Security and Investment Act 2021: Annual Report 2023-24’, providing an overview of the operation of the National Security and Investment system. The report is a statutory requirement, laid before Parliament under section 61 of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA 2021). It covers the reporting period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, including all the information that is required by the NSIA 2021 and additional information to enhance understanding and transparency.

The Cabinet Office has published the government response to the Business and Trade Committee’s submission to the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA 2021) call for evidence 2023. The response includes the feedback received and work that the government will be taking forward. The call for evidence ran from 13 November 2023 to 15 January 2024, and sought views on how the NSI regime could be more business friendly while maintaining its essential protections. Overall, the feedback on system operation and business understanding was positive. As a result, the government has identified five areas for next steps; publishing an updated NSI Section 3 Statement, publishing updated market guidance, consulting on updating the mandatory areas, consideration of technical exemptions to the mandatory notification requirement, and improving the operation of the NSI system.

The Cabinet Office has updated its National Security Unit for Procurement (NSUP) guidance by adding the new 'National Security Debarment Protocol Summary' which sets out the decision-making process for ministerial debarment investigations under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023), alongside an update to the 'Exclusions Annex 2: National Security Grounds' guidance.