The Cabinet Office said on 10 September 2026 that the government would strip away needless "box-ticking" consultations to speed up decision-making. According to the release, the First Secretary of State, Chancellor and Attorney General had written to departments two days earlier, on Monday, directing ministers to pare back what it called counterproductive administrative burdens. The release said a bespoke AI tool identified around 7,000 consultation duties in the statute book, and cited delays to flour fortification with folic acid and repeated consultations on cat microchipping between 2019 and 2023.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said governments are "elected to lead – not hide behind process," adding that her department was stripping out needless bureaucracy. The release said departments would be expected to reduce unnecessary consultations, and that updated Attorney General guidance would state that legal risk should inform ministers' decisions rather than dictate them. It also said the government planned to empower Parliament to designate and approve the country's most important infrastructure projects, giving them enhanced protection from legal challenge, and planned a fixed challenge window so legal points are identified earlier.

The release said the government would set out a vision for public participation and issue new guidance in the Autumn. In line with the source date, these measures were described as plans and expectations, not completed changes.