Accelerated Settlement (T+1)
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-20)

The Accelerated Settlement Taskforce and its Technical Group have developed a plan to move to faster settlement of securities trades on financial markets.

Update – November 2025

In February 2025, the government committed to legislate to mandate T+1 as the standard settlement period in the UK from 11 October 2027. The government has now published a draft statutory instrument (SI) illustrating how it plans to deliver this, alongside a policy note which explains the approach taken.

The government has published this draft SI in advance of laying it in Parliament to aid stakeholder preparations by providing clarity on how the T+1 requirement is intended to apply. The government welcomes any technical comments on the draft SI by 27 February 2026.

Pending any technical comments received on the draft, the government intends to lay the final SI in advance of 11 October 2027, allowing ample time for appropriate legislative processes and Parliamentary scrutiny to take place beforehand and to provide early certainty for the sector.

February 2025

In December 2022, Charlie Geffen was appointed to chair the Accelerated Settlement Taskforce to explore the potential for faster settlement of securities trades in the UK. The taskforce’s report (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6603f31bc34a860011be762c/Accelerated_Settlement_Taskforce_Report.pdf) was published on 28 March 2024, which recommended that the UK should move to a T+1 settlement cycle no later than the end of 2027.

Following this, the government appointed Andrew Douglas to chair a Technical Group to take forward the next phase of the work. The group was asked in its Terms of Reference (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accelerated-settlement-taskforce/b1c20858-cfb8-45c1-a942-8f1220c87c8c) to develop a detailed implementation plan for the UK transition to T+1 and to recommend a date before the end of 2027 for this to take place.

The Technical Group’s report was published on 6 February 2025. The report recommends 12 ‘critical’ and 26 ‘highly recommended’ actions to facilitate a successful transition to T+1. It also recommends that the UK move to T+1 on Monday 11 October 2027.

On 19 February 2025 the government published its response to this report. The government has accepted all of the recommendations made to it and will legislate to make T+1 the standard settlement cycle in the UK from 11 October 2027.

The report makes clear that an aligned move to T+1 across Europe is a highly desirable outcome which would minimise costs for firms. The government is engaging with European partners to support this outcome and notes the growing consensus that 11 October 2027 is an appropriate implementation date.

The government has also set out new Terms of Reference for the Accelerated Settlement Taskforce in the final phase of its work to manage and oversee the transition to T+1. The Taskforce will continue to be chaired by Andrew Douglas, with representation from across the financial services industry. For further updates on the progress of this work, please visit the taskforce’s dedicated website (https://acceleratedsettlement.co.uk/).