The Government Legal Department has published a business plan that shows where Whitehall legal capacity will be concentrated in 2026-27. According to GLD's Business Plan 2026-27, the department's 3,900 lawyers and legal professionals will support a legislative programme spanning employment law, housing, transport, cyber security, criminal justice and financial regulation. In practical terms, the plan functions as a map of where government expects substantial legal work over the next year. The accompanying gov.uk announcement links GLD's workload to reforms likely to affect employers, tenants, homeowners, transport users, regulated firms and public authorities.
Published alongside the plan, GLD's Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26 provides the performance backdrop for that programme. The gov.uk release identifies three headline areas for 2026-27: finalising the US/UK Economic Prosperity Deal, implementing the Employment Rights Act 2025 and supporting the wider housebuilding programme tied to the government's target of 1.5 million new homes. For departments, that mix matters because it combines treaty work, primary legislation and delivery against a flagship housing target. Legal capacity is often a practical constraint on how quickly reforms move from ministerial commitment to enforceable rules, guidance and operational change.
Employment and housing are among the clearest examples of the department's role. The gov.uk release says GLD is advising across government on the Employment Rights Act 2025, described as one of the most significant changes to employment law in decades, covering workers' rights, trade union recognition and fair pay, while also helping the Civil Service prepare for the new framework. The same publication places housing reform alongside that agenda. GLD is supporting the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, which the department says would make commonhold the default tenure for new flats and prevent the creation of new leasehold flats. That would alter the legal model used in a large part of the flat market and would matter for developers, leaseholders, lenders and housing bodies.
The 2026-27 portfolio also extends into infrastructure and regulated sectors. According to the Business Plan, GLD will support the Railways Bill establishing Great British Railways, the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which is intended to widen regulatory oversight and strengthen protection for essential services and critical national infrastructure. Financial regulation is another area where the legal work is technically demanding. The plan says GLD will advise on the Financial Services Bill, including provisions on cryptocurrency markets and stablecoin regulation. That places a central government legal department inside a fast-moving area of policy where domestic law, supervision and cross-border market questions meet.
Justice and health reform also feature in the workload. The gov.uk statement says GLD will support the Victims and Courts Bill, with measures aimed at stronger protections for victims, new sentencing powers and an expanded role for the Victims' Commissioner. The department is also advising on implementation of the Mental Health Act 2025. Taken together, those measures show the breadth of GLD's remit. The department is not limited to defending government in court or settling points of interpretation after the fact; its planned work sits earlier in the policy process, where legal advice helps determine how legislation is framed, commenced and carried into day-to-day administration.
The Business Plan is also a workforce document. GLD says staff based outside London grew by 22% over the past year, with Leeds, Manchester and Bristol all expanding. In 2026-27, the department plans to increase the number of senior staff outside the capital, publish quarterly data on its geographic distribution and move its Bristol office to a new city-centre location. The notes accompanying the announcement describe GLD as one of the country's largest legal organisations, operating across London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Croydon as well as client sites. The Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26 also records a staff engagement index of 65%, six points above the 2022 figure and level with the Civil Service average.
Operational reform runs alongside the legislative programme. According to GLD's Business Plan 2026-27, the department will introduce new roles so that lawyers can spend more time on complex, high-value matters, replace its current case management system with a newer platform, and invest in early talent and career routes into the profession. Douglas Wilson KC (Hon) OBE, the Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary, says in the accompanying gov.uk release that GLD's task is to serve the elected government of the day, uphold the rule of law and prepare for new demands over the next decade. As 2026-27 is the final year of GLD's 2024-27 strategy, the plan reads as both a delivery document for the current legislative programme and a statement about the legal capacity Whitehall expects to need next.