As set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between HM Treasury and the Bank of England, the Bank of England is entirely responsible for the design, production, issue and distribution of banknotes.

In 2025, the Bank of England established a new internal advisory group, the Banknote Imagery Advisory Group, to advise the Governor on the choice of theme and imagery to appear on its new series of banknotes. Following a public consultation in July 2025, the Bank of England chose to depict UK wildlife on its next series of banknotes. On 3 June 2026, the Bank of England launched a further public consultation to seek the views on what images will appear on its next series of banknotes.

The final decision about what images will appear on the next series of banknotes will be made by the Governor of the Bank of England.