These Regulations bring into force the second tranche of provisions from the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 starting on 1st April 2026, specifically activating sections establishing new powers for investigating and recovering losses from fraud against public authorities outside of tax and social security, introducing criminal offences and administrative penalties for non-benefit payment fraud, and extending relevant Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 powers to authorized investigators.

This Statutory Instrument, made on March 25th, 2026, amends the preceding Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022 by extending the overall period of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme by nine months, shifting the end date for the home-heating cost reduction target from March 31st, 2026, to December 31st, 2026.

The Order also adjusts several associated deadlines for remaining procedural steps, applications, and measure approvals under the ECO scheme across England, Wales, and Scotland, ensuring consistency with the newly defined final date.

These Regulations amend several existing statutory instruments governing UK public procurement, primarily focused on refining the operation of the central digital platform, enhancing transparency requirements for contract payments, and modifying rules for below-threshold tenders.

Key changes include detailing payment information disclosure, allowing alternative publication methods when the central platform is down, creating mechanisms to reserve contracts for SMEs and value-driven NGOs, streamlining supplier identification requirements for smaller contracts, and introducing ministerial notification requirements before terminating specific healthcare contracts on national security grounds.

These Regulations implement the necessary domestic legislative changes in the United Kingdom to give effect to the obligations arising from the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), modifying various areas of UK law including those related to goods, services, intellectual property, and customs procedures to align with the terms of international treaty.

This draft Bill proposes establishing a levy targeting the turnover of large digital service providers operating within the United Kingdom, specifically those with global revenues exceeding a defined threshold and UK revenues exceeding a lower threshold, imposing a percentage charge on revenue derived from online marketplaces, digital advertising, and certain user-related data services.

The legislation intends to capture revenue generated from UK economic activity that current corporate tax rules may not adequately cover while broader international tax reforms are pending.

The Crown Estate (Amendment) Act 2013 formally establishes the legal framework for the management and operational funding of the Crown Estate, transferring the income from the estate, which is currently surrendered to the Treasury by the Sovereign, to be legally controlled by Parliament through the Secretary of State.

The Act specifies that the net revenue generated by the Crown Estate must be paid to the Consolidated Fund, thereby consolidating its status as a national asset whose proceeds benefit the Exchequer, rather than being managed under an existing system of prerogative or convention.

These Regulations, made by HM Treasury, appoint 1st April 2026 as the commencement date for specific penalty provisions within Schedules 24, 25, 26, and 27 of the Finance Act 2021 concerning income tax and capital gains tax.

The appointed day applies these penalties—covering failures to make returns, deliberate withholding of information, and failure to pay tax—specifically to 'digitally obligated persons' concerning tax matters related to the 2026-27 tax year and beyond, excluding trustees and partnerships.

These Regulations, made by the Treasury under powers in the Finance Act 1989, amend the Taxes (Interest Rate) Regulations 1989 to establish the specific annual interest rates applicable to unpaid and overpaid amounts of Multinational Top-Up Tax and Domestic Top-Up Tax, commencing on 17th April 2026.