The legislation.gov.uk text for the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (Amendment of Section 3) Order 2026 sets out a narrow statutory change with a clear administrative effect. The instrument was made on 9 June 2026, laid before Parliament on 10 June 2026 and will come into force on 1 July 2026. Although the drafting is short, the effect is specific and material. HM Treasury has used this Order to alter the approval framework for certain public service pension scheme regulations, rather than to change pension benefits, member contributions or retirement terms.
The legal structure sits in section 3 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. As the legislation.gov.uk text shows, section 3(5) contains a general requirement for HM Treasury consent before scheme regulations are made, while section 3(6) lists categories that are exempt from that rule. This 2026 Order amends section 3(6)(a) by removing the reference to fire and rescue workers and members of a police force. The accompanying Explanatory Note states the consequence directly: regulations made by the Scottish Ministers for those groups will no longer fall within the exemption from Treasury consent.
In practical terms, the change is procedural but still important. From 1 July 2026, where Scottish Ministers propose pension scheme regulations relating to police officers or fire and rescue workers, those regulations will require HM Treasury consent before they can be made. That shifts the balance of approval. A future amendment that might previously have moved through a devolved regulatory route without Treasury sign-off will now need formal clearance from the centre, adding an extra step to the policy and drafting process.
The Order also illustrates how Parliament intended this part of pension law to be updated. The power used here, section 3(7) of the 2013 Act, was inserted by section 94(6) of the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022, giving the Treasury a route to amend the exemption list by secondary legislation. That point matters for readers tracking pension governance. This is not an ad hoc administrative adjustment outside the statutory scheme; it is a use of a specific delegated power that Parliament has already provided for altering the consent framework.
The instrument extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as a matter of legal extent, but the operative effect is narrower than that formula may suggest. The Explanatory Note identifies Scottish Ministers, and the amendment is directed at their regulations for fire and rescue workers and members of a police force. For that reason, the immediate consequence lies in the administration of devolved Scottish public service pension schemes rather than in a wider rewrite of pension rules across the United Kingdom. The change is about who must approve regulations in a defined area, not about creating a new scheme design.
The Explanatory Note also records that no full impact assessment has been prepared because no significant effect on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. On its face, that is consistent with a measure that changes the consent gateway rather than the substance of pension entitlements. Even so, process changes in public service pensions are rarely trivial for those responsible for implementation. Scheme managers, advisers, unions and officials will need to account for Treasury consent in the timing and handling of any future Scottish regulatory changes affecting police and fire and rescue pensions.
The Order is signed by Stephen Morgan and Christian Wakeford as two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, confirming its origin as a Treasury instrument. That detail underlines the central purpose of the measure: it brings a defined category of Scottish pension regulation back within Treasury oversight. For Policy Wire readers, the main takeaway is straightforward. From 1 July 2026, Scottish Ministers will no longer be able to rely on the section 3(6) exemption when making pension scheme regulations for fire and rescue workers or members of a police force, and HM Treasury consent will now be required.