The Cabinet Office has published the UK government's response to the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 report, which examined core political and administrative governance during the pandemic. The government accepts all 19 formal recommendations from Baroness Hallett's report, published on 20 November 2025 and commits to specific actions to implement these measures. Among the key actions, the government will enhance representation by inviting devolved government representatives to Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) meetings from the outset of emergencies. Additionally, it will initiate the socio-economic duty under section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) in England and review the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA 2004) by March 2027.

The Cabinet Office has published the second set of guidance documents in relation to the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023). This technical guidance is aimed at helping stakeholders, procurement practitioners and commercial policy leads in contracting authorities to interpret and understand the new regime. The Cabinet Office has stated that the guidance will be published in batches and aims to conclude by June 2024. These documents should be read in conjunction with the PA 2023 and its associated (currently draft) regulations. Each document will typically include the legal framework, what has changed, key points and policy intent, linked notices or guidance and where to find further information.

The Cabinet Office has published a joint statement on the Windsor Framework implementation committee meeting, which was co-chaired by representatives from the UK government and the European Commission. The Committee reviewed developments since March 2025—including the previous session on 6 March 2025—and reaffirmed the commitment to a full, timely, and faithful implementation of the Framework, as reiterated at recent EU-UK meetings. Notable advancements were reported in the customs area with the deployment of new facilitation measures for freight and parcel movements that commenced on 1 May 2025 and the planned provision of full IT system access to Union representatives within six months. Progress was noted in the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) area, particularly in the pet movement scheme but significant work remains to finalise safeguards for the movement of agri-foods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland (with particular attention to certificate issuance and appropriate labelling). Additionally, the committee discussed the role of the Joint Consultative Working Group and its sub-groups, emphasising ongoing engagement with Northern Ireland stakeholders, and examined the implications of the Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Resilience Acts for the Framework’s effective functioning, in accordance with Article 13(4) of the Framework.

The Cabinet Office has published the terms of reference for a review of the National Security Vetting system, commissioned by the Prime Minister to identify lessons from the Lord Mandelson case and assess existing vetting policies, processes and exemptions. The review will examine the vetting process applied in Lord Mandelson’s Developed Vetting case, including the information considered and the decision-making arrangements, and will assess whether current developed vetting procedures effectively manage security risks. It will also consider the arrangements for Direct Ministerial Appointments, the exemption for Privy Counsellors and the provision of access to classified information for members of the Opposition and other individuals who are not routinely vetted when such access is required. The review will involve a document review and interviews with relevant government stakeholders and will report its findings, together with any recommendations, to the Cabinet Secretary and the Security Minister. The review is expected to be completed within four to six weeks. The terms of reference were published alongside the government's latest response to the House of Commons Humble Address motion concerning Lord Mandelson.

The Cabinet Office has released updated versions of two key documents relating to Civil Service settlement agreements: the Data Capture Proforma for Special Severance Payments and Confidentiality Clauses, and the application form for ministerial approval of confidentiality clauses. These documents form part of the guidance framework for settlement agreements, special severance payments and confidentiality clauses across Civil Service organisations and their arm's length bodies. The updates replace previous versions from July 2019.

The Cabinet Office has published updated scope and remit documents for the Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS) and the Procurement Compliance Service (PCS). The updated scope and remit documents have been issued following the reorganisation of Procurement Compliance & Oversight (PCO) which took effect on 1 April 2026. PCO has responsibility for oversight of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023).

The Cabinet Office has updated its guidance on the Procurement Review Unit (PRU), which has oversight of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) regime. The update includes the addition of a new scope and remit document for the Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS). The PPRS was introduced in 2011, but has been part of the PRU since PA 2023 went live in February 2025, alongside the Procurement Compliance Service (PCS) and Debarment Review Service (DBS). The previous PPRS scope and remit document was withdrawn for revision in March 2025. Submission of a referral to a PRU service is taken as acknowledgement and acceptance of its scope and remit. Users are therefore ‘highly’ encouraged to review the relevant scope and remit documents before engaging these services.

The Cabinet Office has published a new suite of guidance documents in relation to the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023), updated the guidance document navigation page and confirmed the passage of the PA 2023 commencement regulations. The new guidance is primarily focused on contracts and is aimed at helping stakeholders, procurement practitioners and commercial policy leads in contracting authorities to interpret and understand the new regime. The navigation page for PA 2023 has been redesigned and is now arranged to display guidance documents under the four stages of the commercial pathway: Plan, Define, Procure and Manage. The Cabinet Office has now provided the full list of guidance documents for PA 2023, both published and unpublished. Prior to the dissolution of Parliament, the Cabinet Office has also confirmed that the Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No 3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024 have been signed by Cabinet Office Minister, Alex Burghart. These regulations legislatively set out the go-live date of 28 October 2024, bring into force the revocation of the existing procurement regulations other than in respect of devolved Scottish procurements and include the transitional provisions which determine the relationship between the current and new procurement regime.

The Cabinet Office has published one new guidance document in relation to the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023). It has published one document in relation to the Plan phase, ‘Guidance: Covered Procurement Objectives’. This document should be read in conjunction with PA 2023 and its associated regulations. Each guidance document will typically include the legal framework, what has changed, key points and policy intent, linked notices or guidance and where to find further information.

The Cabinet Office has published a joint statement following the sixth meeting of the UK-European Economic Area European Free Trade Association (EEA EFTA) Separation Agreement Joint Committee. The meeting, chaired by Iceland, included updates on the implementation of citizens' rights provisions from both UK and EEA EFTA representatives. During the meeting the Committee adopted a decision amending Part I of Annex I to incorporate recent changes to social security systems coordination. The Independent Monitoring Authority and EFTA Surveillance Authority presented on their monitoring of the agreement's implementation, which covers residence rights, social security entitlements and professional qualification recognition for nationals living in respective territories.

The Cabinet Office has reported on Deputy Prime Minister, Olivier Dowden's, intention to launch a consultation on measures to protect universities in the UK from national security threats posed by foreign states. The measures will focus on research with potential dual uses in civilian and military life. The announcement was made at a security briefing with vice chancellors from 24 UK universities and follows the internal government review of national security threats facing the higher education sector. The internal review concluded that sensitive research has been targeted by foreign states. The threats were discussed by Director General of MI5 and Chief Executive Officer of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) during a joint threat assessment. The consultation will consider proposals to protect technology under development in sensitive sectors and measures to prevent institutions becoming dependent on foreign investment. The scope of options under consideration includes exploring the feasibility of extending security clearance to key personnel, funding options to develop research security capability, the establishment of a working group to develop proposals for a new professional standard, further responsibilities for the Research Collaboration Advice Team, strengthened reporting processes and evaluating the long-term impact of existing security measures. Additionally, the NCSC and the National Protective Security Agency launched the Trusted Research Evaluation Framework as part of the campaign to assist universities in making decisions on international research collaborations.

The Cabinet Office and Public Sector Fraud Authority have reported that government anti-fraud measures prevented £480m in losses between April 2024 and April 2025. The initiative recovered £186m from coronavirus (COVID-19) related fraud and implemented a new artificial intelligence (AI) system to detect policy vulnerabilities. The measures included blocking companies with fraudulent Bounce Back Loans from dissolving, removing 2,600 people from housing waiting lists, and preventing 37,000 fraudulent council tax discount claims. Plans to deploy a new government-developed AI system designed to scan draft policies for fraud risk was also announced, with the intention for it to be used across all departments and internationally.