Expanded marine accident investigation powers and reporting duties to cover watercraft and their users.

This Order extends marine accident investigation and reporting requirements to watercraft, such as jet skis, by amending the Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023.

It grants authorities the power to investigate watercraft accidents under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and requires persons using watercraft to comply with accident reporting regulations previously applicable only to ships.

The Order applies to the entire United Kingdom and affects any individual or organisation operating watercraft eligible for UK registration.

The 2026 Regulations updated and consolidated mandatory registration requirements for EPIRBs and PLBs on UK vessels, repealed prior legislation, and established enforcement mechanisms including ship detention.

These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State on March 18, 2026, update and consolidate the requirements for registering Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) carried on UK ships and hovercraft, coming into force on April 15, 2026.

The legislation revokes the previous EPIRB registration regulations, specifies that registration particulars must align with Merchant Shipping Notice 1924 (M+F), establishes penalties including fines and imprisonment for non-compliance by owners and masters, and grants powers to detain ships found in contravention.

Furthermore, the instrument makes consequential amendments to other regulations, including applying these new registration rules to watercraft.

Section 49 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, concerning the installation of electric vehicle charge points, was brought into force on March 13, 2026, substituting the previous street works licensing regime with a permit system.

These Regulations officially bring into force section 49 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 on March 13, 2026, which amends the procedures for installing electric vehicle charge points on public highways by granting Electric Vehicle Charge Point Operators the legal right to use a permit-based system instead of the existing Section 50 licensing structure under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

The Order increased the statutory borrowing limit for General Lighthouse Authorities under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to £166 million, effective March 31, 2026.

This Statutory Instrument, made by the Secretary of State for Transport with Treasury approval under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, increases the maximum aggregate amount General Lighthouse Authorities can borrow from £133 million to £166 million, effective from 12:01 a.m. on 31st March 2026, and extends this provision across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The Regulations revoked and restated previous marine equipment legislation, established new UK conformity assessment procedures utilizing approved and nominated bodies, defined economic operator obligations, and introduced enforcement measures.

These Regulations establish the framework for ensuring marine equipment placed on board UK ships complies with relevant international safety and pollution prevention standards, replacing the 2016 regulations and associated EU exit amendments; they define the roles and responsibilities of manufacturers, importers, distributors, approved bodies (for UK conformity approval), and nominated bodies (for type approval), and lay out detailed conformity assessment procedures, enforcement powers including ship detention, and consequential amendments to related maritime legislation.

The Regulations formally brought into force on January 1st, 2026, key enforcement provisions (tampering and parts suitability) and preliminary regulatory powers (term restriction, information management) from the Automated Vehicles Act 2024.

These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State under the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, specify the first set of provisions from that Act that will come into force on 1st January 2026.

Specifically, they activate sections strengthening laws against tampering with vehicle equipment (including software) and fitting unsuitable parts, and they also activate sections that grant the Secretary of State power to regulate the restriction of certain terms, the collection and protection of information, and other administrative procedures, though these latter powers are currently only active for the purpose of making subsequent regulations.

The Regulations formally prescribed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as the market surveillance authority for Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 concerning unmanned aircraft systems.

These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State using powers under Article 3B(1) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945, formally designate the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as the market surveillance authority responsible for overseeing compliance within the UK relating to unmanned aircraft systems and third-country operators under that specific retained EU framework, applying across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The Order corrected specific textual errors found in the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island Interchange Development Consent Order 2025 related to defined works and terminology.

This Order formally enacts corrections to the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island Interchange Development Consent Order 2025 following a request from the applicant and statutory procedures under the Planning Act 2008.

The corrections, detailed in the Schedule, involve substituting or inserting specific text related to the authorised development works and public rights of way terminology within the original consent documentation, and the Order commences on 16th December 2025.