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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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In this issue: Pension Schemes Bill Finance ( No.2) Bill 2025–26 National Insurance Contributions ( Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill The Pensions Regulator Pension scams and liberation Dates for your diary Trackers Pension Schemes Bill Pension Schemes Bill Pension Schemes Bill Report Stage and Third Reading—government amendments agreed and statutory guidance on fiduciary duty promised On 3 December 2025, during Report Stage and the Third Reading of the Pension Schemes Bill, the government secured a series of amendments to the legislation. These changes include: Giving effect to the government’s decision to provide inflation protection for pre‑1997 pensions within the Pension Protection Fund ( PPF) and Financial Assistance Scheme ( FAS), as trailed in the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025. From January 2027, members’ pre‑1997 accruals in the PPF and FAS will receive CPI‑linked increases each year, capped at 2.5%, where their original schemes offered this entitlement......
On 27 November 2025, the European Court of Justice ( ECJ) ruled that Portugal may apply stricter conditions to non-resident pension schemes when an exemption is sought in advance. The court said the Portuguese tax administration ought to accept other forms of proof for future claims. Santander’s pension scheme in Spain pursued a refund of tax arising from cross-border dealings. However, it could not obtain a certificate from the Spanish authorities to support its Portuguese claim, the ECJ formally recorded......
What was the background to the consultation? Work on the CDC legislative framework began with a consultation in 2018; over time this process ultimately resulted in the measures set out within the Pension Schemes Act 2021. During 2022, secondary legislation, alongside the Pensions Regulator’s CDC Code of Practice, followed and thereby completed Phase 1 of CDC development in the UK. The first operational CDC arrangement—the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan—then received authorisation in 2023 and subsequently launched in October 2024. The 2021 Act, together with the 2022 regulations ( SI 2022/255), had been drafted specifically with the Royal Mail’s particular scheme design in mind. Hence, only single- or connected-employer arrangements, offering a very defined package of scheme benefits, could legally be created and, to date, the Royal Mail scheme alone has obtained authorisation. From the very outset, however, the pensions industry and large schemes have...
Guidance on Public Sector Exit Payments: Use of Special Severance Payments ( Nov 2025) What does the guidance do The HMT ‘ Guidance on Public Sector Exit Payments: Use of Special Severance Payments’: outlines the factors employers must weigh before agreeing any special severance payment describes the approvals needed to authorise such payments, including the relevant delegated thresholds details the expectations on transparency and reporting adds to the special severance material in HMT’s Managing Public Money, Annex 4.13 For more information, see Practice Note: Dismissing a senior executive— Public sector employees. What are the practical implications of the guidance update Special severance payments are sums paid on ending employment that do not align with any existing contractual, statutory or other legal entitlement. The kinds of payments captured will depend on an employee’s particular circumstances. Where the employer contests, in whole or in part, an...
Brambles Administration Ltd and others v Harvey and others [2025] EWHC 2980 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision serves as a prompt on when it is justified to incur the cost of appealing a Pensions Ombudsman determination. An appeal lies only on a point of law under section 151(4) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, and is not a vehicle to revisit the Ombudsman’s factual conclusions unless there has been an ‘ Improper Decision’: (i) a conclusion not open on the evidence or one that is perverse, (ii) a failure to consider relevant matters, or (iii) taking account of irrelevant matters. It also underscores the need to air all factual contentions fully before the Ombudsman, rather than attempting to advance them on appeal. The judgment further indicates the courts’ reluctance to allow trustees to rely on...
A D Bly Groundworks and Civil Engineering Ltd and another v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2025] EWCA Civ 1443 What are the practical implications of this case? The CA confirmed that the proper way to decide if expenditure is incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade is to apply established authorities. The principles are as follows. Because the taxpayer’s “object” in making the outlay must be identified, it follows that—save in plain cases—the First-tier Tribunal ( FTT) should examine the taxpayer’s state of mind at the time the cost is incurred ( Lord Brightman in Mallalieu v Drummond ( Inspector of Taxes) [1983] 2 All ER 1095 at 1100, [1983] STC 665 at 669, [1983] 2 AC 861 at 870 ( Mallalieu)). In conducting that inquiry, the object of the spending must be kept separate from its effects. Where the sole...
In this issue: Budget 2025—key Pensions announcements Pension Schemes Bill Scheme governance Public sector pensions Dates for your diary Trackers Budget 2025—key Pensions announcements In the 2025 Budget, delivered on 26 November 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, set out: (i) from April 2029, a £2,000 yearly ceiling on salary sacrifice pension inputs qualifying for National Insurance contribution relief; (ii) from April 2027, looser defined benefit ( DB) surplus rules enabling well-funded schemes to pay incentivised surplus amounts straight to members; and (iii) CPI-linked inflation protection (capped at 2.5%) for pre-1997 PPF and FAS pensions where legacy schemes had provided such increases. The Chancellor also outlined measures to reduce administrative burdens on personal representatives dealing with Inheritance Tax on unused pension funds, permitting them to direct scheme administrators to withhold 50% of taxable benefits for up to 15 months and conferring discharge from liability once HMRC...
The European Commission stated that its plans are designed to complement public pensions across EU Member States. The initiative is part of the EU’s Savings and Investment Union strategy to help households across the EU access financial markets more easily. Our measures will equip Europeans with means to prepare for later life with assurance, while opening channels of finance to boost the EU economy, said Maria Luís Albuquerque, EU financial services commissioner. According to the Commission, workplace and individual pensions could enable people to build a more balanced stream of income in retirement. They would supplement public schemes, which frequently fall short of delivering sufficient support for decent living conditions. The Commission urged Member States to adopt auto‑enrolment, which places employees into a workplace pension by default, while preserving the choice to opt out. This will be shaped by existing EU good...
3i v Decesare [2025] EWHC 3023 ( Ch) Mr Justice Richard Smith refused an application by John Decesare, compliance chief at 3i, seeking to contest the lawfulness of the 2023 closure of the company’s pension scheme (3i v Decesare [2025] EWHC 3023 ( Ch)). Decesare contended the employer failed to comply with scheme provisions when opting to return the anticipated £83m surplus to the business. His challenge centred on the submission that trustees were obliged to weigh members’ prospective interests alongside those already accrued, a contention Smith J rejected. In support, he relied on BBC v BBC Pension Trust [2024] EWCA Civ 767, where the court concluded that the national broadcaster was required to consider employees’ future interests when winding up its pension programme......
UKSIF voiced strong support for the Labour government’s July 2025 decision to bring back the Tony Blair-era commission to look into the adequacy of retirement savings, reflecting concerns that future pensioners are likely to be poorer than earlier generations. However, the group—which speaks for 300 financial institutions, including British pension funds—also raised worries that climate change and the global transition to a net-zero carbon economy are absent from the Commission’s terms of reference. James Alexander, UKSIF’s chief executive, urged the government to think again on this omission......
In this issue: Pension Protection Fund Scheme governance Surplus Pensions benefits Dates for your diary Trackers Pension Protection Fund PPF consults on 2026/27 levy proposing zero conventional levy and ACS changes The Pension Protection Fund ( PPF) has opened a consultation on its proposed approach to the 2026/27 PPF levy. Subject to the levy measures within the Pension Schemes Bill, it plans to set a zero levy for conventional schemes, while continuing to levy Alternative Covenant Schemes ( ACSs), with refinements and a broader review of the ACS levy methodology to reflect market developments. The PPF believes its reserves and projected future growth are adequate to support a zero levy, but it will keep funding conditions under review and retains the ability to reintroduce a levy if required. Alongside the consultation, the PPF has issued draft proposed changes to the...
Original news Source: SAB response to Pension Regulator’s consultation on new enforcement policy News summary In its formal reply to TPR’s consultation on a new enforcement strategy, the SAB backed TPR’s aim to bolster governance and compliance across pension schemes. Nonetheless, the SAB warned that any updated TPR enforcement framework must recognise the LGPS’s distinctive structure and public service role. It further urged clearer lines of communication, more substantive feedback on reported breaches, and tighter alignment between enforcement activity and the LGPS’s already high governance standards. What has happened? TPR launched a consultation to reshape its enforcement policy, seeking a more strategic, risk-based and transparent approach across UK pension schemes......
In this issue: Surplus Pensions dashboards Collective defined contribution Public sector pensions State pension Dates for your diary Trackers Surplus WPC seeks DWP clarity on independent arbiter role in pension surplus disputes The Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP) has been pressed on whether it will establish an independent, formal arbitration mechanism to manage future clashes between employers and trustees over entitlement to an estimated £160bn of surplus within defined benefit ( DB) pension schemes. In a letter released on 5 November 2025, the Parliamentary Work and Pensions Committee ( WPC) wrote to the Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell, to ask if the DWP has explored a clear route for settling disputes arising from its surplus extraction proposals. The government’s Pension Schemes Bill sets out plans for new legislation enabling employers to draw on surplus pension assets where scheme funds are...
Original news Source: House of Commons debate: Pensions Volume 775: debated on Tuesday 11 November 2025 News summary On 11 November 2025, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat Mc Fadden, told Parliament that the government will revisit its December 2024 ruling on the Women Against State Pension Inequality ( WASPI) matter, after fresh evidence surfaced in the current High Court legal proceedings — a 2007 DWP report reviewing the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters. He explained that this material had not been available to the former minister, Liz Kendall, and that, in the interests of fairness and transparency, the decision on how changes to the State Pension age were communicated will now be taken again, concerning the way such State Pension age changes were notified. The Secretary of State......
News summary The Mo U, created for the LGA, provides a model document to help LGPS administering authorities get ready for pensions dashboard connectivity with AVC providers. It is issued with firm caveats, namely: no liability is accepted no reliance by third parties a clear expectation that each authority seeks its own legal advice Nonetheless, the Mo U is expected to aid authorities in mapping data responsibilities, reviewing AVC contracts, and ensuring both technical and legal preparedness in advance of the ultimate pensions dashboards connection deadline of 31 October 2026......
The Parliamentary Work and Pensions Committee ( WPC) The Work and Pensions Committee ( WPC) has written to the Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell, via a letter published on 5 November 2025, to ask if the DWP has explored a way to settle disputes arising from its surplus extraction reforms. The government has set out draft measures in the Pension Schemes Bill that would permit employers to draw on excess pension funds when the scheme’s assets significantly exceed the amount required to cover its obligations......
In this issue: The Pensions Regulator Pensions dashboards Taxation Members and benefits Funding, surplus and investment Public sector pensions Dates for your diary Trackers The Pensions Regulator TPR announces full benefits secured for Box Clever pension members after ITV case The Pensions Regulator ( TPR) confirms it has secured full benefits for all 2,800 members of the Box Clever Group Pension Scheme, bringing its long-running case against ITV to a close. Individuals who had received payments at Pension Protection Fund ( PPF) levels since 2014 have now moved to the ITV Pension Scheme and will receive full scheme entitlement plus back payments. TPR has also released a regulatory intervention report setting out how, for more than a decade, it pursued ITV, deploying its Financial Support Direction ( FSD) powers to require the broadcaster to underpin the scheme...
On 3 November 2025, LCP said the plans call for practical steps to protect bereaved families. HMRC issued draft legislation in July 2025 confirming rule changes due from April 2027. Until now, retirement savings of up to £1.07m have been outside IHT. But measures set out by the chancellor in the Autumn Budget 2024 mean people receiving lump‑sum pension assets above £325,000 from a deceased person’s estate will face 40% tax. IHT is normally payable within six months of death. Alasdair Mayes, an LCP partner, said the policy’s aim is to stop pensions being used to avoid IHT. But he warned the new rules will catch other pension rights, including certain lump sum death......
More than one in four adults are unsure who manages their pension, while two in three have never attempted to recover misplaced or overlooked pension pots. This comes even though the typical unclaimed pot is valued at £9,470, as reported by the Pensions Policy Institute in 2024. Mike Ambery, Standard Life's Retirement and Savings Director, cautioned in a statement that 'millions' of UK employees could miss out on retirement money after losing sight of their pension funds. With frequent career moves now commonplace, he added, it is all too simple for pots to be forgotten, or fall off the radar completely altogether......
Original news Mr E ( CAS-110742- Z1H2)—25 June 2025 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a grievance regarding pension upratings in this matter. The Scheme’s approach reflected the proper reading of its governing rules. In 2022, the complainant received a retrospective pay rise covering the 2021 calendar year. Those provisions were explicit and left no room for doubt or alternative meanings. Where no pay rise falls within a calendar year, a Consumer Prices Index ( CPI) uplift is to be applied under the Scheme. Accordingly, the complaint was not upheld. This outcome highlights the importance of applying a pension scheme’s rules correctly and consistently. What were the facts? Mr E participated in the Unite Pension Scheme (the Scheme)......
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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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