The National Crime Agency Barred List and National Crime Agency Advisory List Regulations 2026 were made on 6 July 2026, laid before Parliament on 13 July 2026 and come into force on 21 September 2026. Signed by Home Office minister Angela Eagle, the instrument applies across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. According to the statutory instrument, the Regulations are made under section 252 and Schedule 25 to the Crime and Policing Act 2026. The Secretary of State also consulted the Scottish Ministers, as required by that Schedule. In practical terms, the instrument supplies the working rules for two new NCA lists created by primary legislation: a barred list and an advisory list.
For the barred list, regulation 3 sets out a defined record for every person included. The Director General of the NCA must record the person's full name and date of birth, whether they were an NCA officer or former NCA officer at the point of dismissal or finding, and, where relevant, their grade or last grade together with their staff number. The entry must also explain why the person was dismissed or became subject to the relevant finding. That includes a description of the conduct in question and, where applicable, how that conduct was contrary to NCA standards under the National Crime Agency (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2013. The date of the dismissal or finding must be recorded, and where the person first appeared on the advisory list the barred list entry must also note that earlier date and whether the person resigned or retired.
The removal rules for the barred list are not left to general discretion. Even where the automatic statutory removal route in Schedule 25 does not apply, regulations 4 and 5 require the Director General to remove a name as soon as reasonably practicable if a court or tribunal reinstates or re-engages the person, if the dismissal is later found to have been unfair, or if the NCA becomes aware that the person has died. That drafting matters because a barred list entry has direct consequences for future appointment in law enforcement. The Regulations therefore build in a clear correction mechanism where the original employment outcome no longer stands or where the record should no longer be maintained.
A separate review route opens after five years on the barred list. Regulation 6 allows a listed person to apply for removal once that five-year period has passed, with later applications controlled either by a date set by the Director General after the last refusal or, if no date is set, by a further five-year wait. Applications must be made in the form and manner determined by the Director General and may include any information or documents the applicant considers relevant. The statutory test is more detailed than a simple passage-of-time review. The Director General must consider whether the person has shown they are suitable to be employed or otherwise appointed by a law enforcement employer, the circumstances of the original dismissal or finding, and the effect on public confidence in the NCA of removing the name. The Director General may ask for further representations or documents before deciding, and notice of the decision must be given within five working days.
The advisory list operates on a different basis. Regulation 7 requires the NCA to record identifying details and a specific set of case details showing why the statutory conditions for advisory list inclusion are met. Where the relevant Schedule 25 condition concerns resignation or retirement linked to disciplinary proceedings, the record must include the person's grade, staff number, whether they resigned or retired, the date of departure, a summary of the relevant allegation and the form of disciplinary proceedings. Where the second statutory condition applies, the required information changes slightly. The Director General must still record the person's grade, staff number, departure type and departure date, but must also record the date the relevant allegation came to the Director General's attention, together with a summary of that allegation. The effect is to preserve a formal record of allegations connected to a person's departure from the agency, even where the case has not resulted in barred list inclusion.
Removal from the advisory list is also possible after five years. Regulation 8 broadly mirrors the barred list procedure on eligibility to apply, the form of the application, the Director General's ability to request further material, the option to impose a further waiting period after refusal, and the requirement to give notice within five working days. There is, however, an important difference in drafting. For the advisory list, the Regulations do not set out the same express factors found in the barred list review process, such as suitability for law enforcement employment or the effect on public confidence. The test is whether the Director General is satisfied that removal is appropriate. Regulation 9 also requires a name to be removed as soon as reasonably practicable once the NCA becomes aware that the listed person has died.
For policy and oversight purposes, the instrument is significant because it turns the list framework in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 into an administrative scheme with defined legal rules. The Regulations specify what data must be held, when a record must be corrected, and how long-term review decisions are to be handled. That creates a clearer basis for consistency in cases involving misconduct findings, resignation or retirement during live allegations, and later court or tribunal outcomes. The explanatory note states that no full impact assessment was produced because no, or no significant, effect on the private, voluntary or public sector was foreseen. Even so, the Regulations do more than tidy process. They place the NCA's record-keeping on a firmer statutory footing and make public confidence an express consideration when a barred list entry is reviewed. For an agency whose authority depends on both operational performance and internal standards, that is a material drafting choice.