Efficiency defence meaning

In this issue: Key developments and materials Brexit Air pollution and climate change Contamination and environmental pollution Energy efficiency and buildings Product energy efficiency Energy for environmental lawyers Environmental assessment Environmental information Environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Marine Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste Waste producer responsibility regimes Water, flooding and drainage Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content United Kingdom Environmental Law Association (UKELA) Annual Conference Key developments and materials Spending Review 2025—Key Energy and Environment announcements On 11 June 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, set out to Parliament the government’s Spending Review 2025 (SR25). This News Analysis draws out announcements and commitments of significance to the energy and environment sectors. See News Analysis: Spending Review 2025—Key Energy and Environment announcements. 2025 UN Ocean Conference...

The episode was disclosed in a whistleblowing claim brought by a former investigator, which was unsuccessful. The case offers a rare glimpse into the agency’s attempts to prevent being swamped by the sheer volume of evidence it must handle, after high-profile cases collapsed owing to disclosure problems. Guidance issued by a senior SFO official in 2023—advising investigators not to set out every doubt about the strength of a criminal inquiry in email—does not seem to breach the organisation’s duty to disclose material that could assist the defence. However, white-collar lawyers argue that, amid intense scrutiny of the SFO’s disclosure practices, such a caution risked introducing bias into the investigation. Christopher Houssemayne du Boulay, a partner at Hickman & Rose, said contemporaneous records capturing the frank, unvarnished views of seasoned SFO officers should be promoted rather than pushed to the margins...

In this issue: Spring Statement 2025 Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Post-Brexit transition guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19) highlights Constitutional and administrative law Judicial review Equality and human rights State security and intelligence Information law Subsidy control and State aid Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers New and updated content Useful information Spring Statement 2025 Spring Statement 2025—key public law announcements At the Spring Statement on 26 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, outlined a number of measures pertinent to Public Law professionals, spanning public sector reform, oversight of spending, defence procurement, government efficiency, and investment in infrastructure. Commentary on the package has been provided by Crowley Woodford, partner, Ashurst; Gemma Duncan, partner, and James Goldthorpe, trainee solicitor, Sharpe Pritchard; and Helen Bunker, chair and partner, Blake Morgan. See: LNB News 26/03/2025 55. Brexit highlights Independent reviewer...

STOP PRESS As of 24 February 2025, the principal provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) are in effect. Procurements commenced on or after this date must proceed under PA 2023, while those started under earlier regimes must continue to be procured and managed in accordance with that legislation. See Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023. Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 Concession Regulations 2016 Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 PCR 2015 as assimilated law PCR 2015 are EU‑derived domestic legislation and therefore constitute assimilated law under sections 2 and 6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. For practical guidance on the status and interpretation of assimilated law, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. The drive to identify alternative service delivery models that enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector is relentless. Economic austerity in government funding and the effects of the coronavirus (COVID‑19) pandemic highlight the...

This Practice Note surveys a selection of significant and illustrative rulings addressing how the courts decide whether to direct a preliminary issue or a split trial. It should be read alongside Practice Note: Dispute resolution—preliminary issues and split trials. Case details and analysis Issues considered Petersen Energia Inversora v The Argentine Republic [2026] EWHC 344 (Comm) News Analysis: Foreign law disputes—non-compliance with CMC order risked loss of foreign law defence (Direct Investments Ltd (a company in receivership incorporated in the British Virgin Islands) v Mittal-Goenka) Waksman J declined Petersen’s bid to split the jurisdictional hearing, despite submissions that some points could be determinative. The claimants said that threshold issues—such as the competence of the Southern District of New York court, submission to jurisdiction, and issue estoppel—could dispose of the proceedings without addressing Argentina’s substantive public policy and state immunity defences. They therefore sought to defer those latter questions, which would require expert evidence on Argentine law. The judge ruled that a chance of dispositive findings is insufficient to...

Practice Note: Summary judgment—general principles As set out in Practice Note: Summary judgment—general principles, the essential question on a summary judgment bid is simply whether the respondent lacks any real prospect of succeeding on the claim, defence, or a specific issue in dispute. The bar for establishing a ‘real’ chance of success is very low; accordingly, it is helpful to examine examples where the courts have held that a respondent’s case was so weak it had no ‘real’ prospect of success at trial, by way of illustration. This Practice Note concentrates on decisions from 2026 onwards. Case details Date of judgment Outline of facts Why did the respondent lack ‘real’ prospects of success? Instagroup Ltd v Northwest Insulations Ltd (In Liquidation) Chancery Division [2026] EWHC 819 (Ch) 14 April 2026 The claimant provided insulation products and outsourced fitting services, a significant portion financed through government-backed energy-efficiency programmes. From around 2008 until 2022, the first defendant performed installation services for the claimant. In 2008 the first defendant opened...