Written Statements

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Written Statements

Wednesday 25 February 2026

Post Office Green Paper: Government Response

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Blair McDougall)]

The Post Office is a vital part of the UK’s social and economic fabric, supporting communities, small businesses and local high streets. Last year, the Government published a Green Paper to open a national conversation about how to secure a modern, trusted and financially resilient Post Office for the future.

Today, we are publishing the Government’s response to that consultation. More than 2,500 people contributed their views, including postmasters, businesses, community organisations and members of the public. Their responses provided invaluable insight and have shaped the Government’s decisions.

The message from the public was clear. People want a strong and convenient network, built around permanent, full-time, full-service branches offering a wide range of postal, banking and Government services. In response, the Government will retain the minimum network size of 11,500 branches and all six geographical access criteria. We will also introduce a new requirement that at least 50% of the network must be full-time, full-service branches—the sites that deliver the highest social value and strongest service to customers. This requirement sets 50% as an absolute minimum, and we expect the Post Office to continue operating substantially above it. We are setting this requirement to ensure that full-time, full-service branches remain the backbone of the network for the foreseeable future, as these are the branches that deliver the greatest social value and the strongest customer service.

Government will continue to provide funding to the Post Office to support with the delivery of these policy requirements, via the network subsidy. Pending the completion of the subsidy referral process, Government plans to provide up to £180 million in network subsidy funding over the next three financial years.

Long-term stability also requires keeping with the times, which is why investing to modernise the network remains a Government priority. Government intend to provide up to £483.4 million over the next two financial years to support transformation across the network, pending the completion of subsidy referral processes. This will modernise branches, fund new equipment in branches to improve the customer experience, expand parcel locker provision, and enable the technology transformation to transition operations away from Fujitsu and ultimately move away from the Horizon system.

To continue protecting the network, Government plan to support the Post Office financially on a number of issues that the Post Office is not in a position to fund on its own. This includes plans to provide the Post Office with up to £37.4 million in funding to fund its remediation unit, which is responsible for delivering redress to postmasters affected by the Horizon IT system and other operational failures, and to fund the company’s response to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry. Government also intend to provide funding of up to £104 million to the Post Office so that it can pay its IR35 tax liability and associated corporation tax to HMRC. This funding is subject to the completion of the subsidy referral process.

Consultation responses emphasised the importance of the Post Office as a parcel hub, and we welcome the Post Office’s continued innovation in this area. On banking, people were clear that the Post Office’s role in ensuring access to cash and in-person services remains essential. Banking framework 4 will increase remuneration for postmasters, and Government will continue to work with the banking sector to strengthen provision further. On 21 January, Government held joint discussions between the Post Office and the banking sector to explore where continued collaboration, on a commercial and voluntary basis, would allow all parties to better meet the needs of individuals and businesses. Attendees agreed to give an update on discussions in six months.

Consultation responses also highlighted continued reliance on face-to-face access to Government services. We see real potential in exploring how these services could be improved and a cross-government group has been established to take this forward.

Strengthening the relationship between the Post Office and postmasters remains central. While meaningful steps have already been taken, including enhanced engagement structures, the Government expect the Post Office to develop a unified culture strategy—covering employees, postmasters, strategic partners and customers—by summer 2026. An independent evaluation of recent initiatives will report later this year.

Our long-term ambition is a financially sustainable Post Office that remains a trusted presence in communities across the UK. Decisions on long-term governance models will be taken only after the conclusion of the Horizon IT inquiry. In the meantime, the Government will work with the Post Office to ensure financial discipline, progress towards positive trading profit by 2030, and protection of access for the communities that rely on it.

This response sets a clear direction: a stable, modern and resilient Post Office, fit for the future and shaped by the people it serves.

[HCWS1360]

UK-EU Competition Co-operation Agreement

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Peter Kyle)]

I am pleased to announce that today in Brussels the United Kingdom and the European Union have signed the UK-EU competition co-operation agreement.

This is the first supplementary agreement to the UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement signed since the TCA came into force in 2021, and it demonstrates our shared commitment to strengthening co-operation between the UK and the EU for our mutual benefit.

The agreement will strengthen co-operation between our respective competition authorities, supporting more effective enforcement of competition law to address harms, protect consumers and promote fair and dynamic markets.

It will facilitate enhanced dialogue and operational co-operation between the Competition and Markets Authority, the European Commission and the national competition authorities of EU member states. In particular, it will support more effective co-ordination on similar or parallel cases, including through co-operation and information sharing in investigations into cross-border anti-competitive practices. The agreement will strengthen co-operation between our respective competition authorities, supporting more effective enforcement of competition law to address harms, protect consumers and promote fair and dynamic markets; strengthening the conditions for sustainable economic growth by promoting effective competition and innovation that delivers long term benefits for businesses and consumers.

This Government’s central mission is to deliver economic growth. Effective competition in dynamic markets drives investment, innovation, productivity and, ultimately, growth. As set out in the industrial strategy, strengthening competition and refining the competition regime are essential to achieving this mission, with a commitment to

“unlock the full potential of competition to increase market dynamism and growth”.

In our strategic steer to the CMA, the Government emphasised the importance of considering actions taken by competition and consumer protection agencies internationally, and, where appropriate, ensuring that parallel regulatory action is timely, coherent and avoids unnecessary duplication. This agreement will be an important tool in supporting these objectives.

The agreement will be formally laid before Parliament for scrutiny, in line with the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

[HCWS1364]

Electronic Travel Authorisation

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mike Tapp)]

Today marks a significant milestone in the transition to a fully digital immigration system with the UK moving to full enforcement of its digital “permission to travel” requirements. First, everyone (except British and Irish citizens and some other exempted cohorts) wishing to travel to the UK will need a “permission to travel”, and this requirement will be enforced. Secondly, from today most visa nationals applying for a visit visa will receive an eVisa only, replacing physical visa vignette stickers.

This marks a further step in the move away from paper-based evidence towards secure, digital records linked to the passport used for travel. Carriers, including airlines, are required to check that passengers hold permission to travel through automated checks against Home Office records before boarding.

The permission to travel must be in the form of:

an electronic travel authorisation (ETA);^[1]

an eVisa (a digital record of identity and immigration status);^[2] or

other acceptable physical proof, where permitted.<sup>[3]

[1]</sup> https://www.gov.uk/eta

^[2] https://www.gov.uk/evisa

^[3] https://www.gov.uk/evisa/travel-with-evisa

Wherever possible, the permission will be digitally linked to the passport being used for travel, enabling status to be confirmed quickly and securely. Anyone who has an eVisa must ensure their travel document is linked to their visa via their UK Visas and Immigration account, to ensure the smoothest travel experience. This also applies to those with status under the EU settlement scheme and I particularly urge everyone in that group to ensure that their latest passport is linked to their UKVI account.

The benefits of introducing a digital permission to travel requirement are twofold. First, we will know more about people before they travel to the UK, strengthening the security of our border, enabling a more targeted approach to border control with more efficient processing of arrivals. By maximising the use of upstream interventions, we are preventing people who pose a threat to the UK from traveling in the first place, by refusing them permission to travel here.

Secondly, this approach enables the Government to deliver key innovations through end-to-end digitisation, making it easier for people to come to the UK to live, study, work or visit, thereby boosting the UK economy through tourism, trade, and investment opportunities.

The Home Office continues to promote the ETA scheme and transition from physical immigration status documents to eVisas through a comprehensive programme including media activity, gov.uk, extensive stakeholder engagement, cross-Government engagement and targeted customer communications. In parallel, we have undertaken extensive engagement with carriers to ensure they are prepared for these new requirements.

Electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for non-visa nationals

The ETA scheme was launched in October 2023 with over 19.6 million ETAs granted up to September 2025. Phased roll-out brought EU nationals into scope in April 2025 and, since then, it has become a universal requirement for all eligible non-visa national visitors, which is now being enforced from today. Public and stakeholder communications have been ongoing since 2023 and we continue to update guidance on gov.uk, work with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office posts and engage directly with carriers and the travel and tourism sector.

With the ETA requirement now in force, carriers such as airlines are required to check passengers hold the appropriate permission before they travel. Linked to this, carriers may be liable to a penalty if they bring someone to the UK who does not have the correct documentation or permission. Passengers can also check their ETA status and expiry online.<sup>[4]

[4]</sup> https://www.gov.uk/check-eta

Dual nationals

British citizens,^[5] including dual nationals, are not eligible for an ETA and should prove their permission to travel and enter the UK border with a valid British passport or a passport containing a certificate of entitlement (CoE) to the right of abode. From tomorrow, the CoE will be available in digital form, linked to their passport. Without either of these documents, British citizens risk being refused boarding or may experience delays when travelling to the UK from today. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/electronic-travel-authorisation-eta-guide-for-dual-citizens

^[5] https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizenship

The nature of British nationality law means there is no central register of British citizens or British dual nationals and therefore no mechanism to directly contact all those who may be affected. We have, however, taken active steps to raise awareness of what this means for dual British citizens. Public information strongly advising dual nationals to travel with a valid UK passport or CoE has been available since October 2024, including official guidance on gov.uk, and we included guidance for dual citizens in our ETA communications campaign which has been running since 2023. In November 2025, we announced the enforcement of ETA from 25 February 2026, which included information about the requirement for dual citizens: “No permission, no travel: UK set to enforce ETA scheme”.^[6] We provide explicit written and spoken guidance to people who naturalise or register as British citizens, including through their application and at citizenship ceremonies, and since the start of the year we have also emailed people who have registered or naturalised in the last 10 years where we hold useable contact details.

^[6] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/no-permission-no-travel-uk-set-to-enforce-eta-scheme

This supplements our wider updates via gov.uk, engagement and promotion via Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office networks.

This position is long standing. Under the Immigration Act 1971, British citizens cannot be granted an ETA, a visa or other immigration permission. To enter the UK as a British citizen, people must evidence their right of abode by presenting a UK passport or a foreign passport endorsed with a CoE. Where all supporting information has been provided, people can expect their UK passport within three weeks when applying from the UK, and within four weeks for most applications from outside the UK. Where a dual national holds a foreign passport, His Majesty’s Passport Office reserves the right to request the original document to support completion of its checks. However, a colour photocopy of the foreign passport will usually suffice to help meet travel needs while the application is in progress.

ETA enforcement does not change this legal framework. What changes from 25 February 2026 is that carriers are now required to apply permission to travel checks consistently for non-visa nationals, in the same way that carriers already do for visa nationals, to avoid the risk of a penalty. We recognise this represents a change to how some British dual nationals experience pre-departure checks, particularly where they have travelled historically on a non-UK passport. Our approach aligns with that of comparable countries, such as the US and Australia.

Transitional arrangements and temporary measures

We do not plan additional grace periods. The ETA scheme has been rolled out to eligible nationalities since October 2023, and our approach has been clearly communicated throughout. A further transitional phase has been in place since roll-out completed in April 2025, meaning the requirement to have an ETA was not strictly enforced by carriers, giving passengers time to prepare.

Alongside this, we have supported carriers to prepare for these changes through sustained engagement, technical readiness work, partner materials, webinars and the introduction of a 24/7 carrier support hub. We have engaged with over 55,000 check-in agents globally to embed these checks in day-to-day operations.

Recognising the potential impact on dual British nationals, we have issued temporary operational guidance to carriers on the acceptance of alternative documentation. This includes carriers accepting, at their discretion, an expired UK passport (issued 1989 or later) alongside a valid non-visa national third country passport, where biographic details match. This is a short-term transitional measure and remains an operational decision for carriers. It does not replace the requirement to hold a valid UK passport or a valid CoE.

Carriers may also contact the carrier support hub, which may be able to confirm British citizenship for those with a digital record on the UK’s immigration and passport systems. This service is available to carriers only and our clear advice to passengers remains that they should travel with a valid British passport or CoE to ensure the smoothest experience. Carriers remain responsible for ensuring that passengers are adequately documented for travel; carrier liability requirements remain in force, and carriers may face charges if they transport passengers who do not have the required permission to travel. Carriers also set their own operating processes, and the decision on whether to carry a passenger is their commercial and operational decision.

Emergency travel documents remain available for urgent travel in defined circumstances. Adults and children who have previously held a UK passport issued after 1 January 2006 can apply where they need to travel urgently.^[7] Where a person has not previously held a UK passport, they can only apply if their urgent travel meets the exceptional circumstances criteria, for example urgent medical reasons or attending the funeral of a close relative. This long-standing arrangement is unaffected by ETA enforcement, but it does not remove the need to hold the correct documentation for future travel.

^[7] https://www.gov.uk/travel-urgently-from-abroad-without-uk-passport

In line with current practice, on arrival at the UK border, Border Force will continue to assess a person’s suitability to enter the UK and may conduct additional checks if required.

We will continue to take a compassionate and pragmatic approach to travellers who experience genuine difficulty while this process settles. The clearest way to ensure a smooth journey remains travelling with a valid UK passport or a CoE to the right of abode.

Transition to eVisas

Over 10 million people are already using secure and convenient eVisas, which are replacing physical immigration status documents such as biometric residence permits and visa vignette stickers in passports. We are now in the final phases of implementation, with eVisas becoming the default evidence of status for most immigration routes to the UK.

From today, 25 February 2026, most visa nationals applying for a visitor visa will receive an eVisa only, replacing physical visa vignette stickers.

These changes streamline the process for visa applicants who now only need to visit the visa application centre once to confirm their identity and receive their passport back at the appointment. Decisions will be communicated by email, and for those granted a visa, they will create a UKVI account to access their eVisa.<sup>[8]

[8]</sup> https://www.gov.uk/evisa/set-up-ukvi-account

Eligible applicants applying for evidence of exemption from immigration control from outside the UK will also receive a digital record of exemption instead of a physical vignette, allowing carriers and UK Border Force to confirm exemption status automatically through existing checks.

By the end of 2026, the Government intend to stop issuing all physical visa vignette stickers in passports, with all successful visa applicants receiving an eVisa. The latest information on the transition to eVisa is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updates-on-the-move-to-evisas/updates-on-the-move-to-evisas

The enforcement of the ETA requirement, alongside the continued transition to eVisas, reflects our commitment to modernising and further securing the UK border. They also lay the foundations for a contactless UK border in the future.

Members may wish to signpost their constituents to further information about these changes. Supporting materials can be accessed here: eVisa partner pack^[9] and ETA partner pack,^[10] including key messages, factsheets and materials that may be shared to amplify these changes.

^[9] https://homeoffice.brandworkz.com/bms/albums/?albumShare=9DCD0592

^[10] https://homeoffice.brandworkz.com/bms/albums/?albumShare=828F5184

[HCWS1361]

Grenfell Tower: Annual Report

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)]

The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 was a preventable tragedy that claimed 72 innocent lives. This tragedy was the consequence of profound failures within the system of oversight. People should have been protected. This Government recognise those failures and is putting in place the reforms needed to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again, and to create the conditions for the safe, affordable housing that we need.

Throughout this work, we have listened closely to the bereaved, survivors and the wider community, whose experiences continue to shape our reforms. But we know there is more to do to ensure every resident feels safe in their home and can trust those responsible for building and maintaining their homes. In February 2025, the Government accepted all the inquiry’s findings and committed to taking forward each of the 58 phase 2 recommendations. One year on, my Department has today laid the first annual report, setting out the progress made on those recommendations and the wider programme of policy reform delivered during the past year.

Alongside the annual report, we have laid the construction products reform White Paper, the general safety requirement consultation document, and published a statement from the interim chief construction adviser.

These publications and announcements demonstrate the Government’s ongoing work and firm commitment to deliver the lasting, systemic change that we need—the foundation for the safe, affordable homes that people deserve.

Construction products reform White Paper

In February 2025, the Government published the construction products reform Green Paper and committed to system-wide reform of the construction products sector. Fundamental reform, ensuring robust and accountable oversight, is essential to delivering meaningful change; ensuring safe and high-quality homes, buildings and infrastructure; and maintaining resilient supply chains.

Today, we have laid a White Paper that outlines an ambitious programme of system-wide reform. We will address regulatory gaps and long-standing issues in the construction products sector, where too little has changed since Grenfell.

We will establish a trusted, proportionate regulatory framework that ensures construction products are safe, and used safely. This will support long-term growth and contribute to the delivery of more, safer homes in the years to come.

The White Paper confirms the direction set out in the Green Paper and provides further detail on a range of proposed reforms, alongside a pathway for implementation. These include measures to strengthen the regulatory regime for construction products; enhance oversight of testing and certification processes; improve information requirements, digitisation and traceability; and reinforce the role and powers of the national products regulator to drive effective enforcement.

Consultation on the White Paper will run until 20 May 2026. We encourage as many responses as possible and welcome continued engagement from across the sector to support the progress of system-wide reform of the construction products regime.

General safety requirement consultation

The White Paper also paves the way for the introduction of a general safety requirement. The aim of the GSR is to bring currently unregulated products into the construction products regulatory regime. The regulations will require that construction products placed on the market are safe and will set out specific obligations for businesses. They will also provide the national regulator for construction products with the enforcement powers necessary to uphold these obligations.

We are consulting on the detail of a proposed GSR to ensure that it is proportionate to risk, practical to implement, enforceable, and aligned with broader Government policy on product safety and growth. This consultation will run until 20 May 2026.

Guidance to support businesses in meeting their obligations will be issued by the national regulator for construction products.

Grenfell Tower memorial expenditure legislation

We have also determined that we need to ask Parliament to pass a law to provide the statutory spending authority to support the creation of a Grenfell Tower memorial. We will introduce this imminently. This does not affect any of the current work on the Grenfell Tower site, and the memorial commission and the community will continue to take the lead in shaping a fitting and lasting memorial.

Throughout this work, one principle will guide all decisions: the voices of the bereaved, survivors and immediate community must remain at the heart of decisions, now and in the future.

[HCWS1363]

Courts and Tribunals: Sitting Day Allocations

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr David Lammy)]

It has come to our attention that data tables were missing from HCWS1357, on the concordat made on 24 February, and these can now be found below:

Each year, the Government and the senior judiciary work to agree the sitting day allocations and overall funding envelope for His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. This joint approach ensures transparency, supports long-term planning, and enables the system to operate within a realistic and sustainable framework.

Following extensive engagement with the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals, the Judicial Office, I can confirm that we have reached a landmark settlement for 2026-27. This settlement ensures that courts and tribunals are equipped to operate at, or close to, maximum capacity.

For 2026-27, the Ministry of Justice will provide £2,785 million of total funding—£2,498 million fiscal resource and £287 million in fiscal capital funding. This represents a record investment in our courts and tribunals.

I will continue to increase the allocation in coming years. This settlement provides an unprecedented ability to plan for the long term. While this agreement formally governs the 2026-27 financial year, I have established firm funding commitments through to 2028-29 across all jurisdictions. By providing this three-year horizon, I am enabling HMCTS to plan more effectively, recruit with confidence, and begin to address outstanding caseloads with the stability that only multi-year certainty can provide.

The Crown court backlog continues to rise and stands at over 79,000 cases. My focus, as I have said to the House, is on victims who are being left to wait three, four or five years for their day in court. Central to this allocation, then, is the uncapping of the sitting day allocation for the Crown court for the next financial year, removing any financial constraint on the rate at which HMCTS operates. This will allow the Crown court to sit at record-high levels, hearing as many cases as possible, getting swifter justice for victims and tackling the Crown court backlog. Combined with our court reform plans, this investment will help turn the tide on the open caseload, enabling the system to move to a more sustainable footing over the period.

Beyond the uncapped capacity provided for the Crown court, this settlement delivers significant resources across all other jurisdictions. For magistrates courts, I am funding an allocation of 125,800 sitting days for the next financial year, up from 114,000 in the current financial year, and I am funding increases each year thereafter, with a target of 131,000 days in the final year. I have also set money aside for additional sitting days up to 140,000 in the final year of this spending review period if the system is able to deliver this.

The allocation also includes 80,200 days for civil justice and high allocations for the tribunals, including the funding to deliver up to a high ambition of 26,000 sitting days for the immigration and asylum chamber.

Additionally for family courts, I am funding 96,100 days in the next financial year, alongside funding an expansion of pathfinder courts in 26-27, which will greatly improve the court experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private family cases, including those who have experience of domestic abuse.

To support this sitting day allocation, I am increasing capital funding by 46% compared to the previous financial year, to £287 million. This investment includes a boost to courts maintenance and will halt the long-term decline of the courts estate that we have seen in the last decade and a half. This investment will also underpin the system’s maximum operational capacity by supporting major estates projects and digital modernisation.

As was done for the first time last year, I am today publishing the total sitting day allocations per jurisdiction, and the firm commitments I am making on allocations for future years. The agreed sitting day allocations across the spending review period are set out below:

Table 1—Sitting day allocations for the complete spending review period

Funding at this level is expected to amount to the sitting-day volumes set out below.