The Secretary of State issued the South East Water Limited (River Ouse and Shell Brook) Drought Order 2025, effective from December 3, 2025, until June 2, 2026, to address a threatened serious water supply deficiency in the Sussex region caused by an exceptional shortage of rain.

This Order temporarily modifies South East Water Limited's existing abstraction licence (No. 21/128) by reducing required compensation release volumes to the Shell Brook, altering the natural flow conditions under which water can be abstracted from the River Ouse at Barcombe, and enabling abstraction at Ardingly during the Order's duration.

The Order mandates adherence to an environmental monitoring plan and specific mitigation measures detailed in a supporting Environmental Assessment Report.

These Regulations enact the first commencement provisions for the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025, bringing Section 98 into force immediately to grant designated officers of the Secretary of State rights of audience for debt recovery proceedings, and scheduling the delayed commencement of key provisions related to eligibility verification (Sections 78, 79, and Schedule 3) for two months after the Act's passing, which establishes powers to compel financial institutions to supply data to verify benefit entitlement.

The Treasury enacted this Order using powers under the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 to amend specific cash equivalent figures relating to the taxation of employee benefits for company cars and vans.

The Order increases the benchmark monetary amounts used to calculate the taxable benefit for car fuel, the cash equivalent of a van benefit, and the cash equivalent for van fuel.

These changes are effective from the 2026-27 tax year and subsequent tax years, affecting how private use of company vehicles is taxed as earnings.

These Regulations, enacted by HM Treasury, amend Part 8C of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, which imposes a 45% corporation tax rate on restitution interest paid by HMRC. The amendments primarily serve to exclude simple interest awarded at a rate equivalent to or lower than a statutory rate from this special tax charge and modify the time limit for assessing this tax, allowing assessments to be made later if payments are accounted for before a final determination has been reached.

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.

This Order officially updates the financial value of specific State Pension debits and credits by revaluing them based on changes in the general level of prices reviewed by the Secretary of State, applying specified percentage increases found in the accompanying schedule to tax years spanning from 2016-2017 up to 2025-2026, and sets staggered commencement dates for its provisions.

These Regulations, enacted by the Secretary of State under powers from the Greater London Authority Act 1999, modify the procedure for determining the Greater London Authority's consolidated council tax requirement specifically for the financial year beginning 1st April 2026.

The key change legally extends the deadline by which the Mayor must present the draft consolidated budget to the London Assembly from February 1st to February 15th, postponing the date specified in paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 6 of the 1999 Act.

The Occupational Pensions (Revaluation) Order 2025, made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, establishes the specific higher and lower revaluation percentages applicable to occupational pension schemes that revalue accrued benefits using the final salary method, covering revaluation periods from 1st January 1986 up to and including 31st December 2025, and applies to England, Wales, and Scotland starting 1st January 2026.