Regulatory record · checked to source
UK SRS regulatory updates
UK SRS regulatory updates from GOV.UK, FCA.org.uk, FRC.org.uk and other official sources, each dated and linked to the document it describes.
For daily UK SRS news across the wider reporting landscape, the family’s hub is SRS Report News; this page keeps only the regulatory record.
This page
What this record covers
This page carries UK SRS regulatory updates from official sources relating to the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Every dated item below links to the document it describes.
The FCA published its final rules on CP26/5 on 30 September 2026; the dates still to watch are the FRC interim assurance register (target mid-2026, passed unmet), the Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation, which closes on 30 November 2026, and the first accounting periods under the FCA’s rules, from 1 January 2027.
For the full implementation schedule, see the UK SRS timeline.
Ahead
Key upcoming milestones
In date order; a stated aim is not a commitment.
- Mid-2026FRC interim register — target passed
No launch announcement found as at 26 September 2026.
Source: Assurance of sustainability reporting: government response
- 28 Sep 2026ISSB taxonomy comments closed
The proposed update to the digital sustainability taxonomy changes no requirement.
Source: ISSB taxonomy proposal
- 30 Sep 2026FCA final rules on CP26/5 published — PS26/19
Listed companies in scope report against UK SRS, UK SRS S2 included, on a comply-or-explain basis.
Source: FCA PS26/19 · FCA CP26/5
- Autumn 2026FCA final rules on CP26/17 (FCA aim)
Removal of product-level TCFD reporting for asset managers, life insurers and FCA-regulated pension providers.
Source: FCA CP26/17
- 30 Nov 2026Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation closes
Responses due by 11:59pm.
Source: GOV.UK consultation
- Later in 2026DESNZ consultation on SECR and ESOS (stated intention)
Promised in the Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation; not yet launched.
Source: Modernising corporate reporting
- 15 Dec 2026ISSA (UK) 5000 effective
For engagements on periods beginning on or after that date; voluntary use.
Source: FRC
- 1 Jan 2027UK SRS comply or explain begins
For listed companies in scope, for accounting periods starting on or after this date; first reports in 2028.
Source: FCA PS26/19
- Spring 2027Climate-related financial disclosure review completes (stated timing)
The Government’s post-implementation review of the Companies Act CFD requirements.
Source: Modernising corporate reporting
The record
UK SRS news: developments since February 2026
Newest first. Each item carries the document it comes from.
- 30 Sep 2026FCA publishes its final rules on UK SRS — PS26/19
The FCA has “finalised rules requiring listed companies to report against UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS), on a comply or explain basis”.
They apply to accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2027, with first reporting in 2028.
Comply or explain runs across all categories of disclosure, UK SRS S2 included: CP26/5 had proposed making S2 mandatory, and the final rules do not.
Scope is companies listed under UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 — so secondary listings and depositary receipts now report too, where CP26/5 had proposed only a signposting statement for them.
The reliefs are one year’s non-disclosure of Scope 3 and two years’ non-disclosure of UK SRS S1 non-climate matters; a company using one says so, and no further explanation is required during the relief period.
Assurance is not required: where it is obtained, the company names the provider, the disclosures assured and the standards used.
Source: FCA PS26/19: Aligning listed issuers’ sustainability disclosures with international standards
- 7 Sep 2026Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation published
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade published the consultation on 7 September 2026; it closes at 11:59pm on 30 November 2026.
It is a consultation, not a change in law: nothing in it applies to anyone yet.
On UK SRS it says only that the Government “will consider how UK SRS should be reflected in the Companies Act 2006”, taking into account feedback and the review below — no scope, threshold or date for private-company reporting is proposed.
It declines to propose changes to the climate-related financial disclosure requirements in section 414CB of the Companies Act 2006, because a post-implementation review of them is under way and due to complete by spring 2027.
On SECR, it proposes to move where the disclosure sits — because the directors’ report would be abolished — not to remove the duty.
It records that DESNZ “intends to hold a consultation on SECR and the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) later in 2026”.
It also floats, with “an open mind”, a new “very large” company category for certain non-financial reporting obligations, and gives no figures for it.
Source: Modernising corporate reporting — GOV.UK consultation
- 20 Jul 2026The department that published UK SRS is renamed
GOV.UK’s organisation record for the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade was first published on 20 July 2026.
UK SRS S1 and S2 were published in February 2026 by the Department for Business and Trade, and that attribution stays as it was.
The new name applies to the department’s acts from 20 July 2026 onward, including the Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation.
Source: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade — GOV.UK
- Jul 2026ISSB proposes a taxonomy update tracking the December 2025 IFRS S2 amendments
The ISSB published IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy — Proposed Update 1, reflecting the December 2025 amendments to IFRS S2 on greenhouse gas emissions disclosures; comments close on 28 September 2026.
In the ISSB’s own words, the taxonomy “neither introduces new requirements nor affects a company’s compliance with ISSB Standards” — it is a tagging vocabulary for digital reporting.
The December 2025 amendments are already reflected in UK SRS S2, and take effect for IFRS S2 reporters for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
Source: ISSB proposes updates to its digital sustainability taxonomy
- 25 Jun 2026The seventh carbon budget is set
The Carbon Budget Order 2026, made 25 June 2026, sets the seventh carbon budget at 535 MtCO2e for the 2038–2042 period.
Carbon budgets are a duty on the Secretary of State under the Climate Change Act 2008 — a national emissions ceiling the government must set and stay under.
They create no direct obligation on any company, and are distinct from any UK SRS, SECR or ESOS disclosure duty.
- 11 Jun 2026DESNZ publishes the 2026 GHG conversion factors
The factors cover UK activities in 2026, with an accompanying methodology paper and major-changes report; a corrected flat file followed on 31 July 2026.
They are the conversion factors used for SECR and for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions calculations from activity data.
DESNZ’s own note is that they are published for the Environmental Reporting Guidelines and SECR, and that other uses are at the user’s own risk.
Source: Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2026 — DESNZ
- 5 Jun 2026FCA CP26/17 proposes removing product-level TCFD reporting
The proposal covers asset managers, life insurers and FCA-regulated pension providers, replacing product-level TCFD reporting with targeted retail and institutional disclosure rules.
The consultation closed on 13 July 2026 and the FCA aims to finalise the change in the autumn.
Entity-level TCFD reporting is not changing — see TCFD vs UK SRS.
- 26 May 2026DESNZ publishes the statutory post-implementation review of SECR
The formal departmental recommendation is to amend rather than remove: “The overarching recommendation is to retain the SECR requirements with amendments… Removing SECR would risk reversing gains in transparency and board level accountability.”
Refinements will be explored through a planned consultation on streamlining energy and emissions reporting, which has not yet launched.
The review builds on DESNZ’s independent evaluation of SECR, published 29 January 2026, which found 19,900 organisations in scope against the 11,300 forecast in 2018.
UK SRS does not replace or phase out SECR: the government has committed only to consider how energy and emissions data reported under UK SRS interacts with SECR, with a view to reducing duplication where possible.
Pending
Still outstanding as at 30 September 2026
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| FCA Policy Statement on CP26/5 | Published 30 September 2026 as PS26/19 — no longer outstanding |
| FCA final rules on CP26/17 | Not published; the FCA aims to finalise in the autumn |
| Government response to the DESNZ transition plan consultation | The consultation closed 17 September 2025 and GOV.UK still invites readers to “visit this page again soon to download the outcome” |
| FRC interim register of sustainability assurance practitioners | The mid-2026 target has passed; no announcement that it is open |
| DESNZ consultation on SECR and ESOS | Promised “later in 2026”; not launched |
Before
Earlier developments
- 25 Feb 2026UK SRS S1 and S2 final standards published
The Department for Business and Trade published the final UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2 standards on 25 February 2026.
They were available for voluntary use immediately; the FCA’s final rules of 30 September 2026 now require listed companies in scope to report against them on a comply-or-explain basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
- 30 Jan 2026FCA launches CP26/5
The consultation proposed mandatory UK SRS S2 for listed companies in scope, and estimated that around 600 listed companies would be affected.
It closed on 20 March 2026; the FCA published its final rules, PS26/19, on 30 September 2026.
Source: FCA CP26/5 Annex 2, paragraph 43
- Jan 2026Government response on assurance oversight
Published at the end of January 2026, it confirms a voluntary, profession-agnostic regime run by the FRC.
The FRC was tasked with an interim register by mid-2026, with legislation to follow when Parliamentary time allows.
- 12 Nov 2025FRC issues ISSA (UK) 5000
It is effective for assurance engagements on sustainability information reported for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026, with early application permitted.
The standard is for voluntary use: it governs how an engagement is performed where one is commissioned, and creates no obligation to obtain assurance.
- 21 Oct 2025Modernisation of Corporate Reporting announced
The programme that became the September 2026 consultation was announced in a Written Ministerial Statement, which said “a broad consultation will be delivered in 2026”.
Watch
Forthcoming developments to watch
FCA final rules — the first reporting cycle
The FCA’s final rules settled the scope, timing and transitional reliefs on 30 September 2026; the next milestone is the first accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with first reports in 2028.
FRC interim assurance register
The government has tasked the FRC with establishing an interim, non-legislative, voluntary public register of sustainability assurance practitioners, targeted to be operational by mid-2026 and “well ahead of the 1 January 2027 reporting year”.
Statutory underpinning is to follow when Parliamentary time allows.
As at 26 September 2026 no FRC announcement that the register is open has been found; the mid-2026 target has passed.
Registration will be voluntary and profession-agnostic, covering audit and non-audit professionals providing sustainability assurance, with an initial focus on firms rather than sole practitioners.
Private companies
The Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation is now the live document on this question, and it proposes nothing: the Government “will consider how UK SRS should be reflected in the Companies Act 2006”.
Listed companies in scope report against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis from 2027; nothing in UK SRS is mandatory.
No government or regulator document has proposed any threshold or date for private-company UK SRS reporting.
Background
Implementation guidance
For background on what the standards require, see our guides on UK SRS S1, UK SRS S2, and the four-pillar framework.
Companies preparing for the FCA’s rules should start with a gap analysis.
For the consultation in FCA CP26/5 in the regulators’ own words, see the FRC’s Sustainability Reporting Developments FAQ, which summarises the CP26/5 proposals and how UK SRS differs from IFRS S1 and S2, and the GOV.UK UK SRS page.
For common questions, visit the UK SRS FAQ.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner. Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- GOV.UKUK Sustainability Reporting Standards
The central government page on UK SRS; last updated 25 February 2026.
- Department for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeModernising corporate reporting — consultation
Published 7 September 2026; closes 30 November 2026.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers' sustainability disclosures with international standards
First published 30 September 2026. The final rules: comply or explain across the UK SRS for UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22, from accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2027; first reporting in 2028.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityCP26/5 — Sustainability disclosures
Published 30 January 2026, closed 20 March 2026; the consultation PS26/19 finalises.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityCP26/5 — consultation paper (PDF)
Annex 2 ¶43: the consultation’s estimate of around 600 listed companies affected.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityCP26/17 — Quarterly Consultation No 52
Proposes removing product-level TCFD reporting; closed 13 July 2026.
- Financial Reporting CouncilFRC issues ISSA (UK) 5000
News release of 12 November 2025; voluntary use.
- Financial Reporting CouncilSustainability reporting developments — FAQ
The FRC’s summary of the CP26/5 consultation and of how UK SRS differs from IFRS S1 and S2.
- Department for Business and TradeAssurance of sustainability reporting — government response
Voluntary oversight regime; FRC tasked with an interim register by mid-2026.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006
The Act through which any future private-company UK SRS requirement would be made.
- UK ParliamentWritten Ministerial Statement HCWS973 (21 October 2025)
Announcement of the Modernisation of Corporate Reporting programme.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroSECR post-implementation review (2026)
Published 26 May 2026; retain SECR with amendments.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroSECR regulations: evaluation
Independent evaluation published 29 January 2026.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroGreenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2026
Published 11 June 2026, corrected 31 July 2026.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroClimate-related transition plan requirements — consultation
Closed 17 September 2025; outcome not published as at 26 September 2026.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Carbon Budget Order 2026 (SI 2026/695)
Seventh carbon budget, 535 MtCO2e for 2038–2042, made 25 June 2026.
- IFRS FoundationISSB proposes an update to the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy
Tracks the December 2025 IFRS S2 amendments; comments close 28 September 2026.
- GOV.UKDepartment for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade — organisation page
First published 20 July 2026.
Continue reading
Read next
UK SRS timeline
The implementation timeline, with key milestones and the FCA’s final dates.
UK SRS assurance
The voluntary assurance position, ISSA (UK) 5000 and the FRC register.
Private companies and UK SRS
What has and has not been proposed for private companies.
SRS Report News
Daily UK SRS news across the wider sustainability reporting landscape.