Culture and Sport Legislation

Legislative framework governing cultural institutions, media broadcasting, sports regulation, arts funding, and heritage protection.

This Order, made by HM Treasury under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, revises the list of designated central government bodies for the purpose of calculating supply estimates and resource accounts for the financial year ending March 31, 2026.

Specifically, it substitutes the entire Schedule of the principal Order (The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Estimates and Accounts) Order 2025) with an updated list organized by government department, adding, renaming, or removing various public sector bodies.

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

Published: Fri 12th Dec 25

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.

The Public Record Office (Fees) Regulations 2025

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.

The Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Regulations 2025

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.

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

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.

The Football Governance Act 2025 (Specified Competitions) Regulations 2025

Published: Mon 24th Nov 25

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.

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

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.

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

Published: Fri 31st Oct 25

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.