VERIFIED Part of What we found: laws passed, then left switched off
Explore the detail
- No official list: the last full official list of Acts not yet in force was a one-off in 1997.
Explorer Pointers
- Hansard (Lords), 2 July 1997: the first official list of Acts not in force (Cm 3595, Acts of 1979 to 1992) (opens in new tab)
- The register: every Act with parts not in force (our data, free CSV)
Topics: Transparency Laws not in force
Earlier dots
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The lawFinding
Almost 1 in 4 Acts passed since 2010 still had parts not in force five years after becoming law.
Topics: Laws not in force Switch-on orders
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The lawFinding
The care cap: passed in 2014, never switched on, still on the books.
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Said vs doneFinding
Starter Homes: 200,000 promised in 2015, a law passed in 2016, none built, and those sections never switched on.
Topics: Starter Homes Housing Promises vs delivery Laws not in force
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The lawFinding
Once a law stalls, it stays stalled: 58 of 79 stuck Acts haven't had a single new switch-on order in five years.
Topics: Laws not in force Switch-on orders
Last checked 9 Oct 2026. Corrections: Corrections policy · Archive