When does it start? Who decides that?

when does it startENG

What the rules say

The following provisions of the 2026 Act come into force on 15th July 2026

legislation.gov.uk — The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2026, last updated 16 July 2026

The page quoted here is not watched yet, so this page cannot say whether it has changed.

A Minister decides, by making a statutory instrument, and there is no obligation to say when. Two have been made under this Act. The first, in June, switched on the mayoral voting changes. The second, quoted here, switched on sections about pensions co-operation, the Local Audit Office, audit committees and smaller-authority terminology. Neither mentions section 67 or Schedule 31. So the government is commencing this Act in stages, has done it twice, and has not reached the community provisions. There is no published date and no published order of play. What there is, is a pattern: a new commencement regulation appears every few weeks, and it is checkable. This page is re-checked against the statute book automatically, and the date at the bottom says when.

The Act is UK-wide; the community provisions are not.

What to do

1. Do not wait. Nothing is gained by holding off on a nomination under the current rules.
2. Check for a newer commencement regulation before relying on this: search legislation.gov.uk for the Act's name and look for 'Commencement No. 3'.
3. Ask your council whether they have had any guidance. Councils and their lawyers are told before the public are.
4. Treat anything written about community ownership before June 2026 as describing the old regime, and anything written since as describing a regime that has not started.