Whitehall Yesterday

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill has received Royal Assent, marking the government's latest push to devolve power away from Westminster. The legislation, which follows the English Devolution White Paper, grants mayors and local authorities an expanded toolkit to address persistent high street and housing problems. Most significantly, councils gain new powers to prevent gambling shops proliferating on struggling retail strips through mandatory Gambling Impact Assessments, while a Community Right to Buy gives residents first refusal on valued local assets such as shops and community centres when they come to market. The Act also tackles commercial property market distortions by banning upwards-only rent review clauses in new leases—a reform that should ease pressure on small retailers already squeezed by high occupancy costs. On transport and public safety, local authorities receive enhanced enforcement powers against dangerous pavement parking and new licensing authority for rental e-bikes, alongside national standards for taxi drivers that allow suspension of licences issued elsewhere when operators work outside their permitted area.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has received Royal Assassent, enacting what the Department of Health and Social Care describes as the most significant public health reform in generations. The law makes it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, meaning today's children will never legally be sold cigarettes. Health Secretary Wes Streeting framed the measure as a turning point in the nation's health, arguing it breaks the cycle of addiction and disadvantage that has blighted public health for decades. The legislation arrives alongside record government funding to help millions of adults quit smoking, positioning the UK as an international leader in tobacco control policy.

The Pension Schemes Act has become law following Royal Assent on 29 April, delivering what the Department for Work and Pensions calls major reform to the UK's £2 trillion pensions landscape. The legislation benefits an estimated 22 million people by introducing a Value for Money framework that requires pension schemes to justify their charges and returns. Critically, the Act enables automatic consolidation of the small pension pots that workers accumulate as they move between employers—a chronic problem that leaves savers confused about their retirement savings. The government estimates the reforms will deliver an average benefit of up to £29,000 per worker by retirement, and the legislation paves the way for the upcoming Pensions Commission to oversee further improvements.

The Housing Minister has delivered a speech advancing the government's vision for overhauling the English leasehold system, which affects approximately five million properties. The minister illustrated leaseholders' financial distress through constituency cases: one constituent saw service charges balloon from £1,230 to over £4,400 annually in just four years. The Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, which the speech previewed, aims to dismantle arrangements the government characterises as feudal, addressing ground rents, service charges, and the structural issues that leave millions in what the minister termed "acute financial hardship and misery." While the speech did not detail the Bill's specific provisions, it signals serious intent to overhaul property law that has remained largely unchanged for decades.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 has received Royal Assent, representing the government's response to what it identifies as fourteen years of community policing decline and eroded public trust. The legislation equips police with strengthened powers to combat antisocial behaviour, serious violence, and violence against women and girls—three areas the government argues have been weakened by previous policy. According to the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, the Act supports the government's Safer Streets Mission to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls within a decade whilst rebuilding confidence in policing and the criminal justice system. The Act addresses both operational police powers and institutional trust, reflecting concern that neighbourhood officers have been pulled from beats to fill shortages elsewhere.

Regulatory agencies have reported significant enforcement wins on separate fronts. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency's Criminal Enforcement Unit has secured sentences totalling over 21 years against seven men involved in a £1.8 million illegal steroids and prescription-only medicines network operating from Bolton. The investigation, which began after UK Anti-Doping identified suspicious websites, resulted in the seizure of more than 130,000 doses of unauthorised medicines. Separately, the Environment Agency and Natural England have launched a criminal investigation into approximately 30,000 tonnes of shredded household waste illegally dumped at Cave's Inn Pits, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Leicestershire, marking what the Environment Agency frames as a test case for its new ten-point plan to combat waste crime.

The Home Office has submitted post-legislative scrutiny of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to parliamentary committees five years after the legislation received Royal Assent. The memorandum assesses implementation and impact, though the government has not yet released detailed findings publicly.