This Order establishes the necessary consequential provisions and modifications to existing legislation following the enactment of the Education (Scotland) Act 2025, providing for the operational continuity of the newly formed Qualifications Scotland and His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland.

It details the commencement sequence for different parts of the Order, clarifies that Qualifications Scotland's functions can be exercised outside Scotland, ensures transitional provisions cover past actions of the former Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), confirms the Chief Inspector's status as part of the Scottish Administration, and systematically repeals or amends numerous UK-wide and devolved statutory instruments to substitute references from the SQA to Qualifications Scotland, ensuring all related legal frameworks, including those concerning welfare, student finance, and professional qualifications, accurately reflect the new institutional arrangements.

These Regulations amend the Procurement Act 2023 to incorporate the procurement obligations stemming from two international agreements: the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Kazakhstan and the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Iraq.

The amendments specify these treaties as 'specified international agreements' under Schedule 9 of the 2023 Act, granting treaty state suppliers reciprocal treatment under certain conditions, excluding procurements regulated by the Welsh Ministers.

Furthermore, the instrument modifies the 2024 Commencement and Saving Provisions Regulations to ensure consistency, allowing the procurement chapters of these new agreements to apply to procurements still governed by the retained 2015 and 2016 procurement legislation, with transitional rules protecting procurements already underway.

This Order, presented to His Majesty in Council on December 10, 2025, exercises powers under the Government of Wales Act 2006 to amend Schedule 9A, which lists devolved Welsh authorities.

It officially removes the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales and the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales from the list, inserting the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru in their place, reflecting prior legislative changes concerning electoral bodies and remuneration functions in Wales, and takes effect on January 8, 2026.

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 Secretary of State, exercising powers under the Government of Wales Act 2006, enacted this Order to introduce necessary consequential amendments to existing legislation following the passing of the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024.

This Order modifies the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to include infrastructure consent when considering site licences, amends the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 regarding consultation requirements related to government authorisation, and updates the Finance Act 2013 to incorporate infrastructure consent into rules governing the conversion of dwellings for non-residential use, ensuring legal alignment with the new infrastructure consenting process in Wales.

These Regulations, made by the Minister for the Cabinet Office with the consent of the Welsh Ministers, exercise powers under the Procurement Act 2023 to bring specified provisions of that Act into force across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland on set dates in 2026.

Specifically, sections concerning payments compliance notices (Section 69) and contract performance assessment (Section 71) come into force for most procurements on January 1st, 2026, while Section 69 (for Welsh-regulated procurements) and Section 70 (information about payments) commence on April 1st, 2026, with mechanisms defined to differentiate between procurements regulated by the UK government and those regulated by the Welsh Ministers.

This Order, issued by the King in Council on December 10th, 2025, under the authority of the Education Act 2005, officially appoints Owen Evans as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales for a five-year term beginning on January 1st, 2027, while simultaneously revoking the Education (Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales) (No. 2) Order 2021 on the same date.

The Secretary of State made The Control of Mercury (Amendment) Regulations 2025, obtaining consent from the Welsh and Scottish Ministers, to amend Part A of Annex 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/852 on mercury.

These Regulations, which extend to England, Wales, and Scotland, introduce specific amendments to phase-out dates for mercury content in various products, including certain lighting types, sensing devices, and electronic components, aligning UK law with recent decisions made by the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.