Higgs Guidance meaning

In this issue: Public procurement Children's social care Education Licensing Social housing Local authority prosecutions Governance Local government finance Social care Environmental law and climate change Planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Public procurement CCS launches new procurement tools for electric vehicle infrastructure Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has rolled out a toolkit to help local authorities navigate procurement for electric vehicle infrastructure (EVI). Developed with the Department for Transport and other collaborators, the package includes configurable template documents for open-market procurement of on-street EVI services, together with draft terms and conditions. The materials are designed to reduce complexity, reflect government guidance and reinforce good practice. In addition, CCS has produced a distinct set of documents to cater for the upcoming Procurement Act 2023 regulations, which will apply from 24 February 2025, enabling compliance with the present and future regimes. See: LNB News 11/02/2025 17 and LNB...

In this issue: Public procurement Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Post-Brexit transition guidance Equality and human rights Constitutional and administrative law Judicial review Subsidy control and State aid Other Public law news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Public procurement New National Procurement Policy Statement published ahead of PA 2023 go-live The Cabinet Office has issued a refreshed National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) that outlines strategic priorities for public purchasing. Laid before Parliament under section 13(3)(c) of the Procurement Act 2023, it takes effect on 24 February 2025 to align with the PA 2023 go-live and will continue unless withdrawn, revised or replaced. Alongside the NPPS, government has released two new Procurement Policy Notes focused on small business procurement spend targets and social value. It has also set out plans for a suite of tools and measures to further enable...

Some of these shifts will be driven by regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority, which is expected to finalise guidance on how organisations should handle non-financial misconduct. Lawyers also anticipate wider adoption of AI and a rising inclination among employees to express politically sensitive views in the workplace, keeping teams alert as 2026 approaches. They are likewise awaiting further clarity on several measures within the Employment Rights Bill (ERB), which is expected to secure Royal Assent by winter. Billed as the most significant overhaul in a generation, the ERB will usher in major changes across aspects of contract and equality law. Yet Rebecca Jobling of Lewis Silkin LLP noted that headline plans for day-one protection from unfair dismissal and a right to guaranteed working hours have ‘big gaps to be filled in by regulations’, which makes it very difficult for employers to prepare. The Employment Rights Bill Lawyers said proposed reforms to rules on dismissal, harassment, the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and trade union rights could...

This Practice Note outlines examples of employment discrimination judgments based on the protected characteristic of philosophical belief, centring on gender-critical and/or gender identity beliefs. The decisions are arranged in approximate chronological order. For additional detail on the protected characteristic of religious or philosophical belief, see Practice Note: Religion or belief. Forstater v CGD Europe In Forstater, the claimant, a researcher and writer, engaged with the respondents through consultancy agreements. She posted tweets about proposed reforms to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA 2004) that would allow individuals to self-identify their gender. Some members of staff at the respondents raised objections, describing the tweets as transphobic. When her consultancy engagements were not extended, Ms Forstater maintained that this was due to the gender-critical views she had expressed. She brought employment tribunal claims alleging direct discrimination on the basis of a philosophical belief, together with indirect sex discrimination. In 2019, the London Central Employment Tribunal initially concluded that the specific belief that a person’s ‘sex’ is a material reality which...