Update on the latest marketing legislation

As the profession continues to evolve in a fast-paced digital economy, so too do the policies that shape our work. In 2025, several government bills are set to influence how marketers operate, innovate, and grow. From AI regulation to data access, these changes will impact everything from skills development to content creation and consumer trust.

In response, we’ll be strengthening our political engagement to amplify the voice of our members. This includes closer monitoring of government legislation and more proactive collaboration with key parliamentary groups and policymakers. It’s a significant step forward in ensuring marketing is recognised as a strategic force in shaping the UK’s economic and digital future.

CIM's Public Affairs team will keep you informed every step of the way - so you can stay ahead, stay compliant, and stay confident.

A look across government:

Government reshuffle and internal politics

• ·     Prime Minister Starmer carried out a significant reshuffle in early September 2025. One major change: David Lammy replaced Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister, also taking the Justice Secretary role.
• ·     The reshuffle is seen by many as a signal that Prime Minister Starmer is addressing ethics across the party.

The President’s state visit and US-UK relations

• ·     The UK has secured a £150 billion investment package from US firms during President Trump’s state visit. The deals cover life sciences, clean energy, infrastructure, and tech, and are seen as a way for PM Keir Starmer to offset criticism about inviting Trump given his controversial profile.

CIM’s Public Affairs Activity:

Data Use and Access Act 2025

The UK has now passed legislation altering how organisations can use personal data. Key changes include balancing innovation with privacy rights while giving businesses more clarity around data access, reuse, etc.

Also, there's a “soft opt-in” extension accepted for charities for certain electronic marketing communications. That means charities will have more leeway for marketing to people who have had some prior relationship, under certain conditions.

For many, it could be transformative in donor reactivation, campaign reach and fundraising ROI - it is estimated this change could increase charity donations by around £290 million annually.

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act

The DMCC act 2024 introduced rules aimed at promoting fairness in digital markets. It gives the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) new powers (via its Digital Markets Unit) over firms designated as having Strategic Market Status (SMS).

On 3 July 2025, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a public consultation on its draft guidance (CMA209con) designed to clarify the price transparency obligations under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act).

The draft guidance covered:

• Invitation To Purchase (ITP)
• Full transparency required
• Prohibition of drip & partitioned pricing
• Design techniques encouraged
•  Enforcement

Your voice:

We represented our members during the consultation, welcoming the proposed direction of future regulation. At the same time, we emphasised the need for clarity, balance, and support for sustainable business growth - highlighting the value that marketing contributes to both business and the wider economy.

We also recommended that guidance should include or focus on the following elements:

• Championing transparency as core to ethical marketing
• The need for practical guidance alongside regulation
• Operational and system readiness
• Sector diversity
• Media specific guidance
• Small business considerations
• Alignment with international best practices

Ofqal- Regulatory framework for apprenticeship assessment

In June 2025 Ofqual launched a consultation on its proposed regulatory framework to implement the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) Apprenticeship Assessment Principles, aiming to modernise the apprenticeship End-Point Assessment (EPA) model.

The proposed changes pivot away from a single end-point high-stakes assessment to a more flexible, integrated, and a more flexible and provider-led approach

Ofqual intends to regulate the new arrangements across key areas including purposes, content coverage, synoptic assessments, marking standards, assessment strategies, grading, and employer engagement, ensuring both quality and comparability across awarding organisations (AOs).

Your voice:

Overall, our approach was to welcome greater flexibility in apprenticeship assessment, emphasising that strong regulatory guardrails and phased implementation are essential to maintain quality, consistency, and industry relevance.

We highlighted the need to support specialist providers to protect niche expertise, ensuring CIM-endorsed apprenticeships remain credible and aligned with real-world marketing practice. 

Looking ahead

Conference recess is a pause in parliamentary business, usually from mid-September to mid-October, allowing MPs to attend their parties’ annual conferences. These gatherings are a mix of speeches, policy announcements, debates, fringe meetings, and networking, with the party leader’s speech often setting the political tone for the year ahead.

In addition to internal party matters, conferences are a major forum for stakeholder engagement, where businesses, professional bodies, charities, and campaigners meet MPs and influence policy. While Parliament doesn’t sit, it’s a key period for shaping the political conversation, generating headlines, and signalling priorities before the King’s Speech – we will keep you posted on the key updates from each conference.

We’ve actively participated in several roundtable discussions with key government departments, including Skills England and the Department for Business and Trade, representing both our members and the wider marketing profession. These engagements ensure that marketing is recognised and supported in policy development. Moving forward we will continue to keep you updated with the latest insights and outcomes from these meetings.

We want your views

In the coming weeks, you’ll receive a short survey from CIM. As part of it, we’ll be asking for your thoughts on the value of our new public affairs activity. If you believe having marketers like yourself represented in Parliament is important, we’d greatly value your input - your feedback will help shape and strengthen our future engagement.

If you’d like to get in touch directly with our Policy and Government Affairs Team, please email us using the button below.