Government bills are managed through the Legislation Programme.
Towards the end of each year, Ministers are invited, through a Cabinet Office circular, to put in proposals (bids) to include bills in the Legislation Programme for the upcoming year. The Legislation Programme comprises groups of existing or proposed government bills in descending priority order.
The priorities given to bills for the 2026 Legislation Programme will be as follows:
- Category 1 - must be passed before the 2026 General Election as a matter of law. This category is reserved for legally mandated legislation, such as appropriation bills, or secondary legislation confirmation bills.
- Category 2 - must be passed before the 2026 General Election to meet a specific deadline. This category is for legislation that must be passed before the 2026 General Election, due to either a specific Government commitment or other regulatory or mandatory deadline.
- Category 3 - a priority to be passed before the 2026 General Election. This category is for legislation for which passage before the 2026 General Election is a Government priority, but there is no mandatory deadline or specific timing constraint.
- Category 4 – to be passed before the 2026 General Election if possible. This category is for legislation which is available to be passed before the 2026 General Election, but which does not fit into either of the above categories.
- Category 5 – to proceed to select committee before the 2026 General Election. This category is for legislation which, for reasons of size, complexity, timing, or priority, is intended to be referred to a select committee, but not enacted, before the 2026 General Election.
- Category 6 – drafting instructions to be issued in 2026. This category is for legislation for which drafting instructions will be issued to PCO within the 2026 calendar year, but the legislation is not expected to be ready for introduction before the 2026 General Election.
- Category 7 – policy development to continue in or beyond 2026. This category is for legislation for which policy development is either ongoing, or expected to commence, in or beyond 2026, but no drafting instructions are expected to be issued in 2026.
- Category 8 - on hold. This category is for legislation which is at any stage in the legislative or policy development process, but is currently paused and not expected to advance any further in 2026.
- Category 9 - to be withdrawn. This category is for legislation which is at any stage of the legislative or policy development process, and is no longer going to proceed.
These bids are compiled by the Legislation Co-ordinator in the Cabinet Office (see the Cabinet Office circular 2026 Legislation Programme: Requirements for Submitting Bids [CO (25) 3] for contact information), and submitted to the Cabinet Legislation Committee (LEG) for a decision on which bills are to be included in the Legislation Programme, and the priority that they will be given. There is a form that should be used when seeking priority for bills on the Legislation Programme.
If, during the year, Ministers would like to have bills drafted that are not on the Legislation Programme, they must make a bid for a priority at the earliest possible time. This bid should include the information contained in the form.
The Legislation Programme is amended as demands on the government change, new issues arise requiring legislation, and priorities change over time. Further information on the Legislation Programme is in paragraphs 7.6 to 7.15 of the Cabinet Manual.