Civil Liberties Legislation
Laws and regulations protecting individual rights, freedoms, and civil liberties, including privacy rights, freedom of expression, and anti-discrimination measures.
The Victim Support (Specified Roles) Regulations 2025
The Victim Support (Specified Roles) Regulations 2025, enacted under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, specify the roles of independent domestic violence advisors, independent sexual violence advisors, and independent stalking advocates.
These regulations mandate the Secretary of State to provide guidance on these roles, aiming to enhance support services for victims of crime. The regulations have a staggered implementation, with most provisions coming into force on May 9th, 2025, and one specific regulation effective February 2nd, 2026.
The legislation clarifies the responsibilities of these support roles, drawing existing legal definitions from the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 5) Regulations 2025
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 5) Regulations 2025 bring into force several provisions of the 2024 Act.
These include amendments to the power to alter release on license criteria for specific prisoners, changes to offences relevant to public protection decisions, and the introduction of mandatory guidance for defined victim support roles.
The regulations stipulate different commencement dates for these provisions, ranging from the day after their making to May and June 2025.
The regulations apply to England and Wales, and the Explanatory Note confirms no significant impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.
The Online Safety (CSEA Content Reporting by Regulated User-to-User Service Providers) Regulations 2025
These regulations mandate that UK online service providers of regulated user-to-user services report child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSEA) content to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Providers must register with the NCA, designating an organisation administrator and potentially an authorised person for reporting.
The regulations specify the information to be included in reports, their formatting, submission methods (API or manual), and urgency levels based upon risk assessment.
Data retention requirements for both CSEA content and associated user data are also outlined.
The Online Safety Act 2023 (Commencement No. 5) Regulations 2025
These regulations, effective November 3rd, 2025, implement parts of the Online Safety Act 2023 in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
They mandate that providers of regulated user-to-user services report Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA) content to the National Crime Agency (NCA), establishing related offenses and outlining reporting processes.
The regulations also specify the commencement date for several other Act provisions related to CSEA reporting, information offences, and transparency reports, all within the context of regulated user-to-user services.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Amendment) (Provision of Information) Order 2025
This Order amends the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 to allow the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to share barred list information with several non-territorial police forces within the UK and those in the Crown Dependencies.
The amendment adds these forces to the list of recipients in section 50A(3) of the Act, improving information sharing to better safeguard vulnerable groups and enhance national security.
The Order received parliamentary approval and extends to England and Wales, coming into force the day after its enactment.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (Commencement No. 8 and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2025
These regulations implement a pilot program for Part 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 in specified areas of England and Wales.
This part establishes domestic abuse protection notices and orders.
The pilot runs from March 11th to November 26th, 2025, in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.
Provisions are made to ensure ongoing legal effect for cases initiated before the pilot's end, and the program is assessed with an impact assessment not considered necessary at this staged rollout.
The Football Spectators (2025 FIFA Club World Cup Control Period) Order 2025
The Football Spectators (2025 FIFA Club World Cup Control Period) Order 2025 establishes a control period from June 9th to July 13th, 2025, under the Football Spectators Act 1989, for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the USA. This enables the use of summary measures to detain and refer individuals to court for banning orders, passport surrender requirements, and specific bail conditions.
The order applies to England and Wales.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (Commencement No. 7 and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2025
These regulations, effective March 5th, 2025, extend a pilot program for the Domestic Abuse Act 2021's Part 3 (domestic abuse protection orders and notices) to the non-metropolitan county of Cleveland in England and Wales.
The pilot runs until November 26th, 2025, with provisions ensuring ongoing legal effect for cases initiated before the end of specified period.
The regulations explicitly define terms like ‘domestic abuse protection notice’ (DAPN) and ‘domestic abuse protection order’ (DAPO), clarifying their application within the program's framework.
The Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025
These regulations, made under the Online Safety Act 2023, define threshold conditions for categorizing online services as Category 1, 2A, or 2B. Category 1 applies to user-to-user services exceeding certain user numbers and using content recommender systems or offering content sharing functionalities.
Category 2A applies to search engines exceeding user number thresholds except those focusing exclusively on specified topics.
Category 2B covers user-to-user services with high user numbers supporting direct messaging functionalities.
The regulations stipulate how to calculate average monthly active UK users to determine category fit and came into force the day after enactment.
The Proscribed Organisations (Name Change) Order 2025
The Proscribed Organisations (Name Change) Order 2025, made under the Terrorism Act 2000, officially recognizes ‘Majeed Brigade’ as an alternative name for the proscribed organization ‘Baluchistan Liberation Army.’ This action aims to improve counter-terrorism efforts by closing legal loopholes and facilitating effective prosecution and monitoring of the group’s activities, regardless of the name used.
The order extends to the entire United Kingdom and took effect the day after parliamentary review.
The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Download Festival, Leicestershire) Regulations 2025
These regulations temporarily restrict unmanned aircraft flights within a one nautical mile radius of Donnington Park, Leicestershire, from 0500 UTC on June 10th to 2200 UTC on June 16th, 2025, during the Download Festival.
The restrictions, implemented at the request of Leicestershire Police for public safety reasons, allow exceptions for flights permitted by the police. The regulations are supported by the Air Navigation Order 2016.
The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Stonehenge) Regulations 2025
These regulations temporarily restrict flying within a three-nautical-mile radius of Stonehenge from 16:00 UTC on June 20th to 10:00 UTC on June 21st, 2025.
The restriction, made under Article 239 of the Air Navigation Order 2016, is in response to the anticipated large gathering for the Summer Solstice and aims to ensure public safety.
Exemptions exist for certain emergency services and aircraft operating with specific permissions.