Health and Social Care Legislation
Regulations governing the NHS, healthcare provision, social care services, public health measures, and medical standards.
The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Estimates and Accounts) (Amendment) Order 2025
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- Department: HM Treasury
- Made under: Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000
The Treasury substituted the Schedule of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Estimates and Accounts) Order 2025 with a revised list of designated bodies affecting supply estimates for the financial year ending March 31, 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 Health and Care Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025
- Department: Department of Health and Social Care
- Made under: Health and Care Act 2022
The Regulations amended the Down Syndrome Act 2022 to update references to NHS bodies, replacing 'National Health Service Commissioning Board' with 'NHS England' and 'clinical commissioning group' with 'integrated care board'.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care made these Regulations under the powers granted by the Health and Care Act 2022 to make consequential amendments to the Down Syndrome Act 2022, which apply to England and Wales.
Specifically, the Regulations update the Schedule of the Down Syndrome Act 2022 by substituting references to the former National Health Service Commissioning Board with 'NHS England' and references to a 'clinical commissioning group' with 'an integrated care board', reflecting structural reforms enacted in the 2022 Act.
The Human Medicines (Authorisation by Pharmacists and Supervision by Pharmacy Technicians) Order 2025
- Made under: Health Act 1999
The Order expanded the scope of practice for registered pharmacy technicians by legally enabling pharmacists to authorize them to conduct and supervise medicine-related tasks, introducing consequential amendments to medicine control regulations, and differentiating commencement timelines for various provisions.
This Order in Council amends several UK laws, including the Medicines Act 1968 and the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, to expand the roles of registered pharmacy technicians by enabling pharmacists to authorize them to perform and supervise tasks related to the preparation, assembly, dispensing, and final supply of medicinal products.
The changes primarily apply to Great Britain initially and establish a framework of authorization, supervision, and professional accountability, including specific provisions for hospital aseptic facilities and controlled drug handling, while also introducing provisions for the delegation of final supply of checked and bagged medicines across the entire UK.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (Counselling Services) Regulations 2025
- Department: Home Office
- Made under: Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
* The Secretary of State exercised powers under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 to define 'counselling services' relevant to information requests by law enforcement, establishing commencement and extent provisions.
These Regulations, enacted by the Secretary of State under powers granted by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, formally define what constitutes a 'counselling service' for the purposes of restricting when authorised persons, including police bodies, can request confidential information related to those services, specifying that these services offer psychological or emotional support to improve a service user's mental health, and setting a commencement date of January 12, 2026, primarily for England and Wales.
The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
- Department: Home Office
- Made under: Police Act 1997
The Regulations amended the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002 and 2009 to add pedicab licensing suitability and healthcare roles within the DWP as prescribed purposes for enhanced criminal record certificates.
These Regulations, made under powers in the Police Act 1997, amend existing criminal records regulations from 2002 and 2009 to introduce two new purposes for obtaining enhanced criminal record certificates.
First, they include assessing an applicant's suitability to hold a licence under the Pedicabs (London) Act 2024.
Second, they allow for enhanced checks, including barring list checks, when assessing a registered health care professional’s suitability to work with children or vulnerable adults if they are employed or contracted by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
The National Health Service (Procurement, Slavery and Human Trafficking) Regulations 2025
- Department: Department of Health and Social Care
- Made under: National Health Service Act 2006
The Regulations mandated risk assessments, required public bodies to implement reasonable steps to address identified modern slavery risks in NHS procurements, and delegated guidance creation to NHS England.
These Regulations mandate that public bodies must assess the modern slavery risk associated with procuring goods or services for the health service in England, requiring them to take reasonable, proportionate steps to address or eliminate those risks during procurement design, contract management, and throughout the lifecycle of framework agreements and dynamic markets, with guidance to be issued by NHS England.
The National Health Service (Help with Health Costs) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025
- Department: Department of Health and Social Care
- Made under: National Health Service Act 2006
The Regulations amended rules governing NHS health costs, eligibility for travel expense remission, optical voucher entitlements, introduced free tuberculosis drug prescriptions, corrected cancer exemption issues for prepayment certificates, and updated prepayment certificate refund amounts.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care enacts these Regulations under the National Health Service Act 2006 to amend existing NHS charging and remission rules, specifically granting eligibility for full NHS charge remission and travel expense reimbursement to individuals medically evacuated from conflict zones.
Furthermore, the Regulations introduce free prescription charges for drugs supplying treatment for tuberculosis and its effects, correct previous amendments concerning automatic prepayment certificate cancellations for cancer patients gaining exemptions, and update the monetary values for prescription prepayment certificate refunds to align with current pricing structures.
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 8) Regulations 2025
- Department: Home Office
- Made under: Victims and Prisoners Act 2024
These Regulations partially enacted Section 20 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 on November 7, 2025, and fully enacted Sections 28, 29, and 30 on January 12, 2026.
These Regulations exercise powers under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 to specify dates for bringing certain provisions of that Act into force, representing the eighth commencement instrument.
Specifically, Regulation 2 brings into force part of Section 20 concerning child victims of domestic abuse, requiring notification to schools starting November 7, 2025, while Regulation 3 brings into force Sections 28, 29, and 30 on January 12, 2026, relating to information requests for victims, service police information protocols, and the review of counselling information requests.