Department for Culture, Media and Sport Legislation

31 statutory instruments made by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, newest first. Each one is explained section by section in plain English.

The Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) (No. 2) Regulations 2025

Published: Thu 18th Dec 25 Came into force: Sat 31st Jan 26

The Regulations amended Schedule 6B of the Enterprise Act 2002 to impose notification and publication duties on state-owned investors acquiring stakes in newspaper owners, effective in stages from March 13, 2024, for amendment purposes and January 31, 2026, for key operational provisions.


These Regulations amend Part 1A of Schedule 6B to the Enterprise Act 2002, establishing specific conditions under which a foreign power that controls or influences a newspaper owner via a state-owned investor is exempt from merger control prohibitions.

The amendments replace previous conditions by requiring state-owned investors holding directly between 5% and 15% of shares or voting rights in a newspaper owner to issue a qualifying notification to the Secretary of State and publish specified information online within 14 days of acquisition to qualify for the exception, while also limiting the total aggregate holding by state-owned investors across all foreign powers to 15%.

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The Football Governance Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025

Published: Fri 12th Dec 25

The Regulations appointed 12th December 2025 as the commencement date for specified provisions in Parts 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the Football Governance Act 2025.


These Regulations officially bring into force the second set of provisions from the Football Governance Act 2025, appointing 12th December 2025 as the commencement date for many sections.

The commencement targets key areas including the suitability requirements for incumbent club owners and officers (Part 4), the investigatory powers granted to the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) (Part 7), the enforcement sanctions framework (Part 8), and the review and appeals processes (Part 9).

Certain aspects of these parts, particularly those relating to operating licences, are explicitly excluded from this commencement order.

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The Public Record Office (Fees) Regulations 2025

Published: Mon 1st Dec 25 Came into force: Mon 2nd Feb 26

The regulations prescribed new fees for Public Record Office services, revoked the 2018 Regulations, and introduced specific charges for accessing certain military service personnel records.


The Public Record Office (Fees) Regulations 2025 set out the new fees chargeable by the Keeper of Public Records for providing authenticated copies, extracts, and other services related to records held at The National Archives, effective from February 2nd, 2026.

These regulations supersede the 2018 Regulations, increasing many existing fees and introducing specific new charges related to accessing 'key military service personnel documents' transferred from the Ministry of Defence, while also granting the Keeper powers to remit fees in certain circumstances, such as when no relevant records are found.

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The Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Regulations 2025

Published: Thu 27th Nov 25 Came into force: Thu 1st Jan 26

The Secretary of State enacted the Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Regulations 2025, defining independent producers and productions, setting annual quota hours for public service broadcasters as specified in a Schedule, and revoking the Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Order 1991.


These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State under the Communications Act 2003, establish key definitions and quotas governing independent audiovisual productions for UK broadcasters, coming into force on January 1st, 2026.

The rules define what constitutes an 'independent producer' and 'independent productions,' specify the minimum annual quotas—detailed in a Schedule—for public service broadcasters like the BBC and Channel 3 services, and clarify rules regarding commissioned content, production costs, and repeat counting.

Furthermore, the instrument revokes the preceding Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Order 1991 and related amendments, updating the regulatory landscape following changes introduced by the Media Act 2024.

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The Broadcasting (Regional Programme-making and Original Productions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Published: Tue 25th Nov 25 Came into force: Thu 1st Jan 26

The Secretary of State enacted regulations conferring new functions on OFCOM regarding video content quotas and amended the Broadcasting (Original Productions) Order 2004.


The Broadcasting (Regional Programme-making and Original Productions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, laid before and approved by Parliament, exercise powers granted under the Communications Act 2003 to implement provisions from the Media Act 2024 concerning programme-making quotas.

These regulations primarily confer new functions upon OFCOM to determine whether previously broadcast content ("repeats") can count towards meeting the regional programme-making quotas for licensed public service channels and to regulate original production quotas for these providers, including S4C, by amending the Broadcasting (Original Productions) Order 2004 to update definitions and align regulatory requirements.

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The Football Governance Act 2025 (Specified Competitions) Regulations 2025

Published: Mon 24th Nov 25 Came into force: Mon 24th Nov 25

The Regulations prescribed the top five tiers of the men’s English football pyramid as 'specified competitions' for the Football Governance Act 2025.


These Regulations, made under the Football Governance Act 2025, officially designate the top five tiers of the men's English football pyramid—the Premier League, the Championship, League One, League Two, and the Premier Division of the National League—as 'specified competitions' to which the Act's provisions apply, effective from November 24, 2025, and extending to England and Wales.

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The Charities Act 2022 (Commencement No. 4 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2025

The Regulations brought into force provisions of the Charities Act 2022 regarding small ex gratia payments and consequential amendments on 27th November 2025, while protecting ongoing applications and museum property assets.


The Secretary of State makes these Regulations under the Charities Act 2022 to bring specific provisions of the Act into force across England and Wales on 27th November 2025.

This commencement primarily enacts technical improvements to charity law concerning the power of charity trustees to make small ex gratia payments without seeking prior authorization if conditions are met, and codifies the existing authorization powers held by the Charity Commission and the courts.

The Regulations also list specific property belonging to designated national museums and galleries that remains subject to existing prohibitions, preventing immediate commencement of the new rules for those assets, and include provisions to save the prior procedures for applications already submitted before the new rules take effect.

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The Football Governance Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2025

Published: Fri 31st Oct 25

The first commencement regulations brought specified sections (65, 66, and 73) of the Football Governance Act 2025 into force on 1st November 2025.


These Regulations, made pursuant to the Football Governance Act 2025, enact the first set of commencement provisions, bringing specific sections of the primary Act into force on 1st November 2025.

Specifically, regulation 2 activates sections 65 (power for the Regulator to require information), 66 (provisions for expert reports on clubs), and 73 (rules on privileged communications), establishing foundational regulatory powers for the Independent Football Regulator.

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