These Regulations amend the 2024 Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations, effective from January 1st, 2026, across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, primarily by introducing new definitions for fibre-based composite materials, refining producer responsibility during corporate mergers and acquisitions, and establishing specific rules and charges for reporting 'closed loop packaging waste' derived from food-grade plastic.

Furthermore, the amendments adjust the scope of exemptions for charities, update various financial charges outlined in Schedule 1, and empower the scheme administrator to appoint Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) to assist in regulatory functions, alongside detailed transitional provisions for reporting historical data related to the new closed-loop category.

These Regulations, made under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, establish a mandatory open data scheme requiring motor fuel traders in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to register their petrol filling stations and report the selling price of motor fuels to an appointed third-party 'aggregator'.

Motor fuel traders must provide this price information, including any subsequent changes within 30 minutes of occurrence, for public dissemination via an Application Programming Interface (API) and other means.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is responsible for enforcement, with powers to issue compliance notices, conduct investigations, impose financial penalties up to 1% of worldwide turnover, and pursue criminal sanctions for false information or obstruction.

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%.

This Order, made by the Treasury, amends the Consumer Composite Investments (Designated Activities) Regulations 2024, establishing temporary exemptions from the financial promotion and scheme promotion restrictions for communications related to Key Information Documents (KIDs) previously governed by the PRIIPs Regulation, effective from April 6, 2026, until December 8, 2027, within the context of the transition to the new Consumer Composite Investments regime.

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.

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, 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.

These Regulations, made by the Treasury using powers granted under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, introduce consequential amendments to primary and secondary UK financial legislation.

The regulations align existing laws, specifically mentioning the Banking Act 2009 and various 2014, 2019, and 2020 secondary legislation, with the broader changes stemming from the revocation of retained EU law concerning prudential regulation, taking effect on January 1st, 2026.