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R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
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Parliamentary process On 22 May 2024, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, asked the King to dissolve Parliament so a general election could take place on 4 July 2024, and the King consented. As a result, Parliament was prorogued on 24 May 2024 and formally dissolved on 30 May 2024. The parliamentary timetable is set out below: 22 May: The Prime Minister asked the King to use the prerogative to dissolve Parliament 22 May: King Charles approved the request and a general election was announced nationwide 23 May: ‘ Wash-up’ period begins 24 May: Parliament is prorogued 25 May: Pre-election period of sensitivity begins (previously known as ‘purdah’) 30 May: Parliament is dissolved 30 May: Pre-election period starts 4 July: General election 17 July: State Opening of Parliament For an explanation of the ‘wash-up’ period and the period of...
Wilkinson, R ( On the Application Of) v London Borough of Enfield [2024] EWHC 1193 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The practical consequences are that principal local authorities holding title to parkland within their districts and in their area on long leases, which are held on statutory trusts for public recreation for the enjoyment of the public, also possess broad powers under LGA 1972, Pt VII to grant leases to companies and may dispose of such land under LGA 1972, released from statutory trusts under PHA 1875. Moreover, local authorities are not constrained in how they apply any receipts from entering into those leases, are under no duty whatsoever to re-invest the proceeds in the remainder of a particular park or in other parks locally, and may instead transfer the monies to their general funds. Given the financial position of many...
In this issue: Judicial review Education Environmental law and climate change Public procurement Children's social care Social care Governance Licensing Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Judicial review High Court rules it has no jurisdiction to reconsider refusal of judicial review ( R ( Karim) v Upper Tribunal) The High Court has delivered its judgment on a judicial review brought against an Upper Tribunal decision dated 6 October 2022, by which permission to appeal from a First-tier Tribunal ruling of 26 June 2022 was refused. The June 2022 ruling had dismissed the Claimant’s appeal against the Home Secretary’s decision of 26 March 2021 refusing indefinite leave to remain. The proceedings turned on the procedural consequences of a statutory ouster of judicial review, drawing a fundamental distinction between what a claimant must...
Abbot v The Information Commissioner [2024] UKFTT 478 ( GRC) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling mirrors the approach in other recent decisions on the operation of the exception to disclosure under EIR 2004, SI 2004/3391, reg 12(5)(b), again stressing the considerable weight that legal professional privilege carries within our justice system. It therefore highlights the obstacles applicants will encounter when attempting to access documents protected by legal professional privilege, and that only ‘special or unusual’ circumstances are likely to be sufficient for the public interest in disclosure to prevail over the interest in preserving legal professional privilege. That said, legal professional privilege was not the Tribunal’s only concern when concluding that EIR 2004, SI 2004/3391, reg 12(5)(b) applied. The Tribunal indicated that the exception would have been engaged even without legal professional privilege, particularly because releasing the material would not have added...
In this issue: Education Public procurement Governance Children’s social care Planning Healthcare Licensing Local government finance Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q& A Education ‘ Reasonable Adjustments’ vs ‘ Special Educational Provision’. Upper Tribunal considers their overlap ( KTS v GB of a School) This appeal to the Upper Tribunal ( UT) challenged a First-tier Tribunal ( FTT) decision on a claim of ‘reasonable adjustments’ under the Equality Act 2010 ( Eq A 2010). The UT allowed the appeal, holding that the FTT had not properly determined the claim advanced and had taken a flawed approach to assessing reasonable adjustments under Eq A 2010, ss 20, 21 and 85. The UT explored how the special educational needs framework in the Children and Families Act 2014 ( CFA 2014)...
R (on the application of Wellingborough Walks Action Group Ltd) v North Northamptonshire Council [2024] EWHC 1225 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling is of direct importance to local planning authorities ( LPAs) and to developers advancing or assessing proposals that entail removing trees protected by TPOs. It clearly underscores the responsibility of LPAs to secure the protection of safeguarded trees, and stresses that the statutory exceptions to felling under the Town and Country Planning ( Tree Preservation) ( England) Regulations 2012 (the Regulations) must be approached with care and not deployed as a blanket position without examining in detail the particular circumstances on the facts. As to the discrete, expressly framed exception in Regulation 14(a)(vii), which provides that consent is unnecessary where felling is ‘necessary to implement a planning permission’, the court reviewed Barney‑ Smith v...
KTS v Governing Body of a Community Primary School [2024] UKUT 139 ( AAC) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling offers plain, significant direction on how the FTT should approach disability discrimination cases about reasonable adjustments under the Eq A 2010—particularly where a claimant has not adequately particularised their case and/or where a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan ( EHCP). The Judge developed the principles identified in SS v Proprietor of an Independent School [2024] UKUT 29, giving further emphasis to the relationship between special educational provision under the CFA 2014 and the duties on non-independent schools to make reasonable adjustments in line with the Eq A 2010. It clarifies how the FTT should deal with sparse particulars and EHCP contexts, without letting CFA duties eclipse Eq A obligations. The message is one of practical alignment rather than...
Statutory consultation process challenge Kate Thomas, whose bid for elevation to circuit court judge was refused in 2021, is contesting the ‘statutory consultation’ stage through which the Judicial Appointments Commission ( JAC) seeks views from other judges on candidates’ suitability. On 13 June 2024, a three-judge panel granted permission for a review assessing the fairness of that procedure, its consistency with regulations on judicial appointments, and any breach of applicants’ right to a private life. The Master of the Rolls, Geoffrey Vos, observed there was ‘much to be said’ for the JAC’s contention that the confidentiality of references obtained via statutory consultation must be protected. Nevertheless, he considered that, in the exceptional circumstances of this case, the appellant’s criticisms of the process should be determined on the basis of all the evidence at a full judicial review hearing, rather than being disposed of at a...
R (on the application of Carralyn Parkes) v Dorset Council [2024] EWHC 1253 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling confirms how far planning control reaches in England and Wales under the TCPA 1990 where land meets the sea, and addresses whether ‘land’ covers the sea bed beyond the foreshore’s LWM. Although the High Court was told there is considerable opposition to the Bibby Stockholm being moored in the harbour and to its role in accommodating asylum seekers, the court emphasised it was not there to judge the merits of those controversies. Its focus was strictly on the legal issues presented by the claim... What was the background? The Bibby Stockholm is a barge stationed in Portland Harbour, Dorset, used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers. Up to 500 men are expected to live on the vessel while their asylum...
Interpreting statutory language— Applying common law principles in the context of judicial review: R (on the application of LJ Fairburn & Son Ltd and others) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2024] EWHC 65 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The decision explores how common law protections operate through statutory construction where property rights are interfered with, seemingly in the absence of an entitlement to compensation. When construing para [5(2)] of Schedule 3 to the Animal Health Act 1981 ( AHA1981), the court found the text sufficiently equivocal to justify giving the claimants the benefit of the doubt on the interpretative question. Accordingly, the claimants succeeded on their reading of the point in time at which compensation is engaged where birds are condemned for culling to contain the spread of Avian Influenza (‘ AI’). Put...
In this issue: General election Public procurement Judicial review Governance Local government finance Social care Social housing Healthcare Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A General election Cabinet Office publishes new security guidance for elections The Cabinet Office has issued fresh election security advice, ‘ Online disinformation and AI threat guidance for electoral candidates and officials’. It offers practical steps for staff in political parties, local authorities, central government and the devolved administrations to lower the risk of hostile activity and to respond if targeted by online disinformation or generative AI material. It sets out how to cut the likelihood of attack and what to do if you are impacted by online disinformation or generative AI content. Readers should consider it alongside the National Cyber Security Centre’s ‘...
R (on the application of Cambrian Offshore South West Ltd) v Norfolk County Council [2024] EWHC 1042 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? Procurement professionals should remain constantly vigilant to identify and address potential conflicts of interest, both internally and within external bodies. They must apply robust procurement best practice, together with suitable audit measures and financial prudence, so that public funds are correctly and appropriately accounted for. The decision also assists those advising private contractors, underscoring the need to manage conflicts of interest properly within organisations to avoid non-recovery... What was the background? The project was supported by the European Regional Development Fund and governed by EU Regulation No 1303/2013. Norfolk County Council ( NCC) acted as the Managing Authority for the Programme, and the interested party ( OREC Ltd) was the Programme’s Lead Partner, contracting with 18 Project Partners. Cambrian...
In this issue: Public procurement Governance Social housing Education Social care Healthcare Lex Talk®Local Government: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& As Public procurement Welsh Government publishes statement on PA 2023 commencement regulations The Welsh Government has issued a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office, Rebecca Evans, regarding the Procurement Act 2023 ( Commencement No 3, Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/716. These regulations activate the practical and operational legislative duties under the Procurement Act 2023 ( PA 2023). SI 2024/716 sets 28 October 2024 as the start date for the substantive PA 2023 provisions and ends the existing framework. The Welsh Government notes that further commencement regulations will be needed to bring additional PA 2023 provisions into effect, which will likewise require consent of Welsh Ministers. See: LNB News 31/05/2024 8. Procurement Act 2023 (...
EF v LM and another [2024] EWHC 922 ( Fam), [2024] All ER ( D) 23 ( May) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling underscores the intricate questions surrounding consent in relation to transgender adolescents and children. From 16 up to, but not yet 18, a young person may consent to medical treatment under section 8 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969, without needing approval from a parent or guardian. The judgment, however, calls into question whether that autonomy alone sufficiently protects the young person’s best interests. Although the court retains power to step in and set aside a young person’s consent where the decision is grave enough to justify intervention ( Re W ( A Minor) ( Consent to Medical Treatment) [1993] 1 FLR 1), this case sharpens the issue of when judicial intervention should occur. It also starkly...
In this issue: General election Public procurement Governance Education Healthcare Planning Local government finance Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content General election Bills receive Royal Assent ahead of 2024 general election Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sought and obtained the King’s approval to dissolve Parliament, announcing a general election for 4 July 2024; consequently, Parliament will be prorogued on 24 May 2024. The interval before prorogation, known as the ‘wash-up’, is when any outstanding parliamentary business must be agreed by both Houses or it will lapse upon dissolution. On 23 May 2024, Penny Mordaunt MP confirmed that the Victims and Prisoners Bill, Finance ( No 2) Bill, Post Office ( Horizon System) Offences Bill and Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill have all received Royal Assent. Further measures granted Royal Assent during wash-up include the Media Bill, Pet...
In this issue: General election announced for 4 July 2024 Social housing Healthcare Education Children’s social care Governance Judicial review Public procurement Planning Licensing Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content General election announced for 4 July 2024 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought and secured the King’s consent to dissolve Parliament and has set a general election for 4 July 2024. As a result, Parliament will be prorogued on 24 May 2024 and, in accordance with the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, dissolved on 30 May 2024. This analysis reviews what the announcement means for bills currently progressing through Parliament, alongside the implications for government and public bodies in the lead-up to the vote. See News Analysis: General election announced for 4 July 2024......
Suitability of B& B accommodation for homeless applicants ( R ( Pickford) v Sandwell MBC) R (on the application of Rebecca Pickford) v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council [2024] EWHC 756 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? Government figures show that by the end of 2023, 112,660 households were living in temporary accommodation supplied by local housing authorities in England under HA 1996, Pt 7. That represents a 12% rise on year-end 2022 and amounts to more than double the total at the end of 2010. Within those households are 145,800 children. As the judgment observes, some have characterised the situation as a temporary accommodation crisis. Councils are increasingly struggling to secure suitable interim housing for both single people and families, prompting greater reliance on hotels and bed and breakfast options. By late 2023, 15,950 households were placed in such...
In this issue: Public procurement Education Social housing Children’s social care Healthcare Planning Local government finance Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q& As Public procurement Cabinet Office publishes new National Procurement Policy Statement The Cabinet Office has issued a refreshed National Procurement Policy Statement ( NPPS), superseding the June 2021 version and outlining strategic priorities for public purchasing. Laid before Parliament under section 13(3)(c) of the Procurement Act 2023, it takes effect on 28 October 2024. Streamlined to reflect that many principles in the earlier NPPS are now statutory within the Procurement Act 2023, this edition concentrates chiefly on procurement objectives. A new section on value for money underscores that contracting authorities must put value for money at the heart of all procurement activities. The NPPS also addresses small and...
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities v Caldwell and another company [2024] EWCA Civ 467 What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment is a notable clarification of the scope of the Murfitt principle. In Murfitt v Secretary of State for the Environment and East Cambridgeshire District Council (1980) 40 P& CR 254, it was determined that, where enforcement is taken against a material change of use, a notice can also require the removal of related operational development, even where those works might otherwise be immune from action. Here, the Court of Appeal emphasised that this does not hold where the operational development is the origin of, or integral to, the change of use and amounts to a distinct development in its own right. In that situation, the four-year limit for enforcement under section 171B(1) of the Town and Country...
R ( TTT) v Michaela Community Schools Trust [2024] EWHC 843 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling concerns a particular school with a secular ethos and an idiosyncratic disciplinary approach—often labelled the ‘strictest school in Britain’—together with a defined policy on prayer rituals that was introduced urgently by the headteacher and subsequently adopted by the governing body. Despite its specific context, the decision provides a valuable examination of the protections afforded by Article 9 of the ECHR, section 19 Eq A 2010 and section 149 Eq A 2010. It further illustrates how the court interrogates a school’s decision-making processes, including its treatment of relevant facts and legal questions. Understanding the court’s analysis will aid lawyers advising any educational institution, employer or service provider who must grapple with which restrictions may lawfully be placed on a pupil, employee or...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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