Public interest report meaning

Importance of establishing the planning history of a site Where a deal involves creating, acquiring or disposing of any interest in land, confirming whether existing or intended uses or any operational works on that land are lawful is essential. This is because permission for the ‘development’ of land, as defined by section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) (see Overview: Is planning permission required?), must be in place unless the works or uses are allowed by a development order, for example the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015, SI 2015/596 (for England) or the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, SI 1995/418 (for Wales) (see: Permitted development—overview). Failure to obtain planning permission when the law requires it, or failure to comply with conditions attached to a permission, amounts to a breach of planning control, which the local planning authority (LPA) may take enforcement action against (see: Planning enforcement—overview). As all grants of planning permission are decisions made by...

Mergers The CMA confirms it has, as required, sent its report to the Secretary of State on jurisdiction and competition issues linked to RedBird IMI’s anticipated acquisition of Telegraph Media Group—see further, case page. NOTE—For a summary of mergers in which the UK government has intervened on public interest grounds under the Enterprise Act 2022, see Government interventions on public interest grounds—merger cases tracker. Antitrust OFGEM has launched a Chapter II Competition Act 1998 investigation into suspected breaches of competition law, concerning a possible abuse of a dominant position—see further, press release. NOTE—For all live behavioural probes before the CMA and sectoral regulators, see UK behavioural investigations—ongoing cases tracker. Competition policy The CMA seeks inputs for its review of the Rail, Road, Inland Waterway Transport Block Exemption (RRIWTBER), assessing fitness for purpose, UK economic specifics, and impacts on UK businesses and consumers. Responses by 10 April 2024; consultation on proposed recommendations in June...

Why is a reform of the law of contempt needed? Contempt of court in England and Wales has evolved to safeguard the public interest in the proper administration of justice and the right to a fair trial. The penalties are weighty, ranging from financial sanctions to custodial terms of up to two years. Although comprehensive figures are scarce, the Law Commission considers it plausible that each year more than 100 individuals receive either immediate or suspended prison sentences for contempt offending. Developed incrementally over centuries through the common law, augmented by piecemeal statutes, the current framework is widely acknowledged to be challenging to navigate, leaving a patchwork that is increasingly hard to chart. In particular, the rift between civil and criminal contempt has widened, generating uncertainty for practitioners and parties alike. Crucially, that classification does not turn on whether proceedings occur in the civil or criminal courts, but on the character of the conduct, a basis that has produced a series of inconsistent attempts to categorise different manifestations of...

In this issue: Cases and decisions UK Regulation EU Regulation Cases tracker Dates for your diary Daily and weekly news alerts LexTalk®Insurance: a Lexis®Nexis community Cases and decisions UniCredit Bank GmbH, London Branch v Constitution Aircraft Leasing (Ireland) 3 Ltd; UniCredit Bank GmbH, London Branch v Celestial Aviation Services Ltd. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected the appellants’ appeal and upheld the respondent’s cross‑appeal, deciding that reg 28(3)(c) of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/855) prevented payments under the letters of credit until UK licences were secured; consequently, both the payment obligation and the accrual of statutory interest were paused. The court also concluded that section 44 of the Sanctions and Anti‑Money Laundering Act 2018 supplies a defence in civil proceedings, which would have protected the respondent from liability for debt, interest and related costs where it reasonably believed it was acting in line with the Regulations, underscoring the public aim of sanctions...

Practice Note This Practice Note explores what amounts to a protected disclosure for the whistleblowing protections in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), into which the relevant provisions of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA 1998) have been incorporated. It addresses the general features of disclosures, when they qualify as qualifying disclosures, the need for a whistleblower to hold a reasonable belief that a relevant category of wrongdoing has occurred, and that the disclosure serves the public interest, where appropriate and necessary. It further considers when qualifying disclosures obtain protection and identifies the prescribed persons (people) to whom a disclosure may properly be directed. In addition, the Practice Note summarises the reporting obligations placed on certain prescribed persons to produce an annual written report concerning the workers’ disclosures received by them...

PI & Clinical negligence horizon scanner—July 2025 [Archived] ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is not maintained. It summarises the principal legal developments relevant to personal injury and clinical negligence practitioners as at July 2025. For developments predating this horizon scanner, see PI and Clinical Negligence horizon scanning and key cases—overview. Key PI and clinical negligence developments The personal injury discount rate—a review In late 2024, the Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood MP, revealed the outcome of her five‑month review of the discount rate, initiated in July 2024. One month after the new +0.5% discount rate took effect, Thea Wilson (barrister at 12 King’s Bench Walk) assesses its impact on cases, the responses from claimant and defendant representatives, and the consequences of the change for legal practitioners. See News Analysis: The personal injury discount rate—a review. MoJ announces reduction in CFO’s interest rates The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced lower interest rates for the Courts Funds Office’s (CFO) special and basic accounts...

Special category personal data Special category personal data is highly sensitive or private and therefore demands heightened protection. It is closely associated with: freedom of thought, conscience and religion freedom of expression freedom of assembly and association the right to bodily integrity the right to respect for private and family life freedom from discrimination There is a presumption that such data must be handled with greater care, as collecting and using it is more likely to intrude upon these fundamental rights or expose someone to discrimination. This Practice Note assumes familiarity with the concept of personal data. It outlines what qualifies as special category personal data and offers practical guidance on when and how you may process it. This Practice Note does not cover criminal offence data, which is governed by separate rules. This is most likely to be relevant to private sector commercial organisations in the employment relationship—see Practice Note: Criminal offence data—employment data protection...

Every organisation faces the possibility of things going awry, or of unknowingly harbouring wrongdoing. We treat malpractice with utmost gravity, are devoted to running our business with honesty and integrity, and we also expect all colleagues to uphold high standards. We promote open dialogue among everyone who works with us and we want people to feel confident when bringing forward concerns. All employees are protected by whistleblowing legislation if concerns are raised in the proper way. This form exists to provide staff with that avenue and safeguard...

This Precedent is designed to maintain clear records of reports made under the Whistleblowing policy. Supplied in Excel spreadsheet file format, it therefore cannot be downloaded to Word...