The Regulations removed five specified ambulance services in England and Northern Ireland from the list of public authorities authorized to obtain communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, amend Schedule 4 of that Act to remove specific ambulance service trusts in England and Northern Ireland from the list of relevant public authorities permitted to obtain communications data, thereby revoking their statutory power to access such data as of May 11, 2026.

Imposed immediate, time-specific emergency flight restrictions on unmanned aircraft below 1,250 feet over The Mall, Harrow area on April 20, 2026.

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (The Mall) (Emergency) Regulations 2026 enact immediate, temporary prohibitions on the operation of unmanned aircraft below 1,250 feet above mean sea level within a 1.25 nautical mile radius centred on The Mall in Harrow, valid for April 20, 2026, between 11:59 and 23:59 hours, unless specific permission is granted by the Metropolitan Police Service.

Transferred the harbour authority status and all associated assets, duties, and liabilities for the Ports of Fleetwood and Silloth from Associated British Ports to new dedicated port companies.

This Order transfers the statutory harbour authority responsibilities and physical undertakings of the Port of Fleetwood and the Port of Silloth from Associated British Ports to FJ Ports (Fleetwood) Ltd. and FJ Ports (Silloth) Ltd., respectively.

It directs the transfer of all statutory powers, duties, lands, assets, and liabilities associated with these ports to the new entities on a specific transfer date determined by the current owner.

The provisions apply to Associated British Ports, the two newly established FJ Ports companies, and any persons or entities holding contracts, licences, or legal proceedings related to these harbour undertakings.

Revoked regulatory exemptions and legal protections previously granted to EEA-based online service providers under retained EU law.

These Regulations repeal provisions related to the Country of Origin Principle (CoOP) previously established under the EU e-Commerce Directive. They remove exemptions that protected European Economic Area (EEA) based information society service providers from certain UK market access regulations and restricted the prosecution of such providers for specific criminal offences, including those under the Terrorism Act 2006 and laws regarding extreme pornography.

The instrument applies to the Secretary of State and affects EEA-based digital service providers active in the UK market.

Mandated that local planning authorities use standardized digital formats for publishing plan timetables and housing requirement data starting May 2026.

These Regulations establish mandatory digital data standards for local planning authorities in England regarding the publication of local plans, minerals and waste plans, and housing requirements.

The instrument designates specific documents, such as plan timetables and the minimum number of expected homes, as "planning data" under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

These authorities must ensure that such data complies with technical standards published by the Secretary of State whenever they publish or update their plans at specified stages of the planning process.

The Regulations amended the Customs (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 to correct errors, introduce 'interchangeable goods' provisions under Chapter 6 for repayment/remission claims, and link Chapter 5 relief to Chapter 6 claims, while inserting a 'fit and proper person' test for certain claims.

The Customs (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 modify the existing 2020 Regulations concerning customs duties in Northern Ireland post-EU exit by correcting minor errors across several chapters and introducing two key substantive changes: establishing a linkage for claims between the Chapter 5 relief scheme and the Chapter 6 repayment/remission scheme, and introducing a mechanism for 'interchangeable goods' claims where identifying specific goods is impracticable due to mixing.

The legislation restricted unmanned aircraft flights below 1,400 feet in the Firth of Forth area between April 19th and April 24th, 2026, due to Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier operations.

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Firth of Forth) Regulations 2026 enforce a temporary prohibition on unmanned aircraft flying below 1,400 feet above mean sea level within a precisely defined area of the Firth of Forth, commencing at 0100 hours UTC on April 19, 2026, and ending at 2300 hours UTC on April 24, 2026, specifically to accommodate the necessary operations of a Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier, with exemptions provided for authorized military, police, fire/rescue, or coastguard activities.

The regulations brought specified sections of the Sentencing Act 2026 into force across the UK on May 11, 2026, and June 1, 2026, affecting prison capacity reporting, community sentence completion, and licence termination for public protection sentences.

These Regulations officially activate specified parts of the Sentencing Act 2026 across the whole of the UK by setting two commencement dates: May 11, 2026, and June 1, 2026.

The provisions coming into force primarily concern establishing a duty for the Secretary of State to report annually on prison capacity, repealing outdated supervision rules, making community order and suspended sentence supervision termination simpler upon requirement completion, and enabling offenders serving IPP or DPP sentences to request early licence termination review by the Parole Board.