As we usher in the new year, a host of new laws are set to come into effect across Wales and the UK. These changes will impact various aspects of life, from our food choices to travel, wages, and even driving speeds.
Some laws will be specific to Wales, while others will apply across the entire UK. Additionally, legal reforms outside the UK will also affect British residents, regardless of their location.
From alterations to Schengen border regulations to bans on single-use vape sales, numerous new rules will shape our lives over the next 12 months. Here, we detail the legal changes as we step into the new year. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone
Wages
In terms of wages, the National Living Wage and the minimum hourly wage for apprentices are set to increase in April 2025. The minimum earnings for 18 to 20 year olds will see the largest rise on record – £1.40 – reaching a new peak of £10 an hour.
There are reportedly plans to eventually establish a single rate for the minimum wage and national living wage for adults, thereby eliminating age brackets, reports Wales Online.
Parental leave and sick pay
A woman pushes a pram in a shopping precinct
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Changes are also coming to parental leave and sick pay. New rates of statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory shared parental pay, and statutory parental bereavement pay will be introduced in April 2025.
All these payments will increase to £187.18 per week. Meanwhile, statutory sick pay will have a new rate of £118.75 per week from April 2025.
Employer National Insurance
From April 2025, employers will be hit with a 1.2% higher rate of National Insurance and a lower threshold for when this tax kicks in, dropping from £9,100 per year to £5,000. Small businesses will also see an increase in Employment Allowance which allows them to reduce their NI liability, rising from £5,000 to £10,500.
Additional Learning Needs (ALN)
The implementation of Additional Learning Needs (ALN) legislation in Wales has been phased in over three years. The old Special Educational Needs (SEN) and current ALN systems for children will operate concurrently until September 2025 when the new system will be fully operational.
The additional learning needs (ALN) system is the new framework for supporting children and young people aged 0 to 25 in Wales with ALN – estimated to affect one in five school-age children. The ALN Act establishes a single legislative system for supporting children and young people aged between 0 to 25 years who have ALN.
Junk food advertising
The UK Government has outlawed advertisements for junk food on TV before the watershed. This prohibition, set to take effect in October 2025, will remove TV adverts for high sugar, high fat and high salt food in an effort to tackle childhood obesity rates.
The legislation is being introduced by the UK Government, but applies across the UK. Wales introduced its own legislation to limit junk food in 2024 which will be implemented, or in place by 2025.
New legislation will soon target foods and drinks that contribute most to obesity, including multi-buys and restrictions on where products high in fat, sugar, or salt can be displayed in shops. While the legislation will not apply to all high fat, sugar and salt products, it will target food and drinks that contribute most to obesity.
To make it easier for the food industry to operate across borders, products which fall under the new legislation will aim to align with the same products included within England’s similar legislation, the Welsh Government has said. .
Single use vape ban and tobacco and vapes bill
Single-use disposable vapes
(Image: Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images))
A vote was passed in the Senedd to introduce new regulations which will prohibit the supply of single-use vapes in Wales. The ban is hoped to tackle litter and plastic pollution.
The plans to ban vapes were announced early in 2024 and fall in line with UK and devolved government proposals for England, Scotland and Wales. This will enable the bans to be co-ordinated to improve compliance and help provide consistent enforcement across the UK, the Welsh Government said.
The regulations will come into force on June 1, 2025. No single-use vapes can be sold or given away for free after this date.
The UK government has launched the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, a collaborative effort with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. The bill aims to create the first smoke-free generation across all four nations of the UK.
It stipulates that children who turn 15 or younger this year will never be legally allowed to purchase tobacco. The legislation also prohibits advertising and sponsorship of vapes and nicotine products, and gives ministers the power to regulate their flavours, packaging, and display to prevent appeal to minors.
Sales of these products to under-18s will be banned, as will their free distribution. The bill introduces a new retail licensing scheme for tobacco, vapes and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and strengthens Scotland’s existing retail register.
A new £200 fixed penalty notice will be introduced in England and Wales, allowing Trading Standards Officers to immediately clamp down on offences such as underage sales. From April 1, 2025, EV drivers could face their first tax bills through the Vehicle Excise Duty, as their exemption from the tax ends – a decision implemented by former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Electric vehicle tax
Electric vehicles (EVs) registered after the introduction of a new tax will benefit from a lower first-year rate of £10, while those registered prior to this will be subject to the standard rate of £190 per year. The exemption EVs currently enjoy from the Expensive Car Supplement is also set to end, meaning owners of cars worth more than £40,000 will have to pay an additional £410 per year for the first five years of ownership.
Leasehold system changes
In other news, reforms aimed at giving leaseholders greater rights, protections and control over their homes are set to be introduced by the UK government in 2025. These changes, announced by Whitehall in November 2024, aim to bring “the feudal leasehold system to an end”.
Measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act will be implemented in the new year, allowing more leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease without having to wait two years from when they purchased their property. The reforms will also enable homeowners to take over the management of their building, ensure greater transparency of costs and allow them to challenge service charges.
Further reforms to unregulated ground rents are also planned.
‘Non-doms’
Finally, British people with permanent homes outside the UK will come under a new tax regime in 2025. This residence-based test is designed to close a loophole that allows wealthy individuals to earn income in lower tax countries by nominating it as their primary domicile, thereby avoiding UK taxes.
Unveiling the changes in her autumn budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves declared : “I have always said that if you make Britain your home, you should pay your tax here.”
Railways
Transport For Wales train in Flintshire
(Image: Hadyn Iball/North Wales Live)
Meanwhile, reforms proposed by Labour will bring about the potential nationalisation of UK railways. Debate in Parliament in 2024 will see whether some private operators are brought under public control.
This includes SWR, c2c, and Greater Anglia. Rail infrastructure in Wales is currently divided by ownership between the Welsh government and UK Parliament.
Transport for Wales Rail, established by the devolved Welsh government is a not-for-profit body overseeing the Wales and Border’s franchise; which includes 248 rail stations within the UK’s National Rail Network. As it stands, the UK Government’s Department for Transport controls the Welsh rail infrastructure network, however, there is an exception for the Core Valley lines which are managed by Network Rail.
Overseas travel
With regard to international travel, changes will affect those intending on entering UK borders – including the introduction of the new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). Citizens of the UK will be required to obtain this document when visiting the Schengen zone in Europe, which will cost around €7 with eligibility being applicable to citizens that aren’t required to obtain a pre-travel visa and between 18 and 70 years old.
In addition, UK tourists should be aware of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, scheduled for a full roll-out in 2025. Allowing multiple entries into the UK for up to six months, the ETA is expected to cost £10.
ETAs, which are digitally linked to a traveller’s passport, aim to enhance security at UK borders. By January 8, all non-European individuals will require an ETA for entry into the UK.
This requirement will gradually expand to include various nationalities until April 2025, when all visitors will need either an ETA or an eVisa to enter the UK. However, British and Irish citizens are expected to be exempt from the ETA system.
Listed buildings
The Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023 is set to streamline the protection of Wales’ cultural heritage, consolidating previous legislation into a single framework. The Act covers the preservation of scheduled monuments, listed buildings, conservation areas, and historic parks in Wales.
While most provisions were activated in 2024, the final sections concerning neglected listed buildings will come into force in November 2025.
Workers’ rights
Looking ahead to 2026, new employment laws are on the horizon, anticipated to significantly bolster workers’ rights. Announced in 2024 and likely coming into effect in 2026, the Employment Rights Bill has been described by the Labour government as “the biggest upgrade in employment rights for a generation”.
The Bill aims to improve statutory sick pay, eliminate the initial waiting period for its receipt, and proposes to outlaw zero-hours contracts and ‘fire and rehire’ tactics. Consultations on these reforms are slated to start in 2025, with the bulk of the new legislation expected to be implemented “no earlier than 2026”, as stated by ministers.
Crime
Inside HMP Berwyn
(Image: Getty Images)
The UK government has initiated a sentencing review to implement stricter penalties for criminals that avoid incarceration, aiming to alleviate the issue of overcrowded prisons. Spearheaded by former justice secretary David Gauke, the review will investigate the potential of technology in establishing a “prison outside prison”.
The exploration will include community alternatives and fines as substitutes for imprisonment, as well as the effects of brief jail terms, according to the government. The results of the sentencing review are anticipated to be revealed by spring 2025, with the earliest implementation of new policies expected by March 2026.
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