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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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: Court of Protection Elderly and vulnerable clients UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Charity and philanthropy Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis®PSL community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& A Useful information Court of Protection Best interests in a two P situation ( Re MA & AA) Private Client analysis: In this matter, District Judge Simpson examined if a relocation, bringing the husband nearer to his wife, aligned with his best interests, and also whether ongoing contact between them served their best interests. Following a meticulous evaluation of each person’s welfare and preferences, the court decided that moving would not be in the husband’s best interests. In addition, while this position remains under periodic review, the judge concluded that, on the overall balance, it was not in their best...
See Q& A: Can a life tenant disclaim their life interest where the Will trust states that, upon the life tenant’s death, the trust capital is to be divided into two parts, one part passing to X and Y (both of age), and the other placed on discretionary trust for X, Y and Z, with Z being of age but lacking capacity?......
Best interests in a two P situation ( Re MA & AA) MA (by her litigation friend the Official Solicitor) v A Local Authority and another; AA (by his litigation friend the Official Solicitor) v A Local Authority [2023] EWCOP 65 What are the practical implications of this case? The outcomes on what served MA (wife) and AA (husband) as being in their best interests were interdependent. Following Francis J’s ruling in HH v Hywel Dda University Health Board & Others [2023] EWCOP 18, the two cases were combined. That joinder enabled District Judge Simpson to weigh both sides’ competing considerations at the same time and to reach an all-round conclusion reflecting each person’s needs and welfare. Although the decision does not forge new authority, it is a helpful illustration for practitioners of conducting a best interests assessment where there are ‘two P’s’ and the...
What is the background to the current changes? The CA 2022 secured Royal Assent on 24 February 2022. It followed the Government’s 2021 response to the Law Commission’s ‘ Technical Issues in Charity Law’ report, first issued in 2017. Aimed at removing technical legal hurdles and improving the efficient running of charities, the CA 2022 has been rolled out in stages. Phase one arrived in October 2022, phase two in June 2023, and a third instalment, containing most of the remaining provisions, took effect on 7 March 2024. Each phase has delivered discrete reforms towards the same objective. What is the impact of the implementation of the third tranche of measures in the Charities Act 2022? While this third wave may not revolutionise the sector, it can deliver meaningful advantages depending on a charity’s operations, so taking time to understand the changes and refreshed guidance is...
See Q& A: Will a spouse or civil partner of the deceased inherit the ownership period regarding AIM portfolios which qualify for business property relief ( BPR)? Does BPR apply if the AIM shares pass to an interest in possession trust for the benefit of the surviving spouse/civil partner? Does BPR apply to ISAs holding AIM shares? Business property relief ( BPR) can be obtained in relation to 'relevant business property'......
Investment and Securities Trust Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 230 ( TC) The dwelling at the heart of the option was owned by a director of the appellant, who was also a majority shareholder in the appellant’s parent. HMRC issued an SDLT assessment and closure notices, with the effect that ATED became payable in relation to the option, on the footing that the option was neither acquired nor held by the appellant exclusively for development and resale within a property development trade; consequently, reliefs from the 15% SDLT rate and ATED were not available. In their submissions, HMRC contended that the option was not obtained or retained exclusively for the prescribed purpose and emphasised the key distinction between an “exclusively” test and a “main purpose” test. HMRC maintained that further purposes for taking the option included: to give the appellant additional time to raise finance to...
Backing the residents, the UT dismissed HMRC’s claim that each person was liable for £606,480 ( US$766,000) arising from transfers their associated company, located in the island jurisdiction of Jersey, sent to the German arm of a Luxembourg enterprise called Centennial SARL......
In this issue: Court of Protection Elderly and vulnerable clients UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Budgets and Finance Bills Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments International Question of the week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis®PSL community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information Court of Protection An appeal was brought against a Circuit Judge’s decision in the Court of Protection, which had summarily resolved the best interests of an elderly patient, VT, on residence and care before medical evidence had been obtained ( VT (by her litigation friend, the Official Solicitor) v NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board). The matter came before the High Court in Court of...
See Q& A: In what circumstances can a property be sold without a grant of probate/grant of letters of administration? Where the registered title to land stands solely in the name of someone who has passed away, a grant of representation must be obtained before the property can be sold, so that the personal representatives can prove their title for any proposed sale of the property in due course. In law, where the deceased left a valid Will, the estate's executors have authority to act even before probate is issued, as their power derives from the Will itself rather than the grant......
Tousi v Gaydukova [2024] EWCA Civ 203, [2023] All ER ( D) 40 ( Mar) What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Appeal rejected Mostyn J’s earlier view that a binding decision under the relevant foreign law does not end with assessing whether the ceremony was valid, but also governs the consequences of any invalidity so long as it is not plainly unjust (para [70]). Instead, the Court confirmed (para [71]) that the forms of remedy or relief that would, or might, be obtainable if proceedings were pursued in the state where the marriage or purported marriage occurred are immaterial to the forms of remedy or relief available under English law. Further, to remove any uncertainty, it is unnecessary to investigate what remedies or relief could be pursued abroad when determining, as a matter of English law, the correct...
Clipperton and another v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2024] EWCA Civ 180 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling underscores the need for taxpayers and advisers to proceed carefully when presented with avoidance arrangements touting tax savings achieved by a chain of numerous, apparently contrived, steps. The Court of Appeal also distils how the Ramsay principle is to be deployed. It operates in two stages: first, one must adopt a purposive reading of the statutory provisions that bear on the facts; second, one asks whether the facts (here, the distributions) fall within that statutory purpose. The judgment also sheds light on the court’s treatment of the Khan decision ( Khan v HMRC [2021] EWCA Civ 624). Although there are parallels with the present scenario, the outcome there was different. In Khan, the existence of a distribution was accepted; the real issue was...
See Q& A: Where trustees of a relevant property trust choose to use their power of appointment to appoint in favour of trustees of a disabled person’s trust, must the receiving trust’s trustees become liable to pay inheritance tax periodic charges and exit charges accordingly?......
Setting out his election-year Spring Budget in the House of Commons on 6 March 2024 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that newcomers to the UK will not be charged tax on overseas income and capital gains for their first four years living in Britain. After that window, those who remain will be taxed in line with other residents. The changes take effect from April 2025 and, having been heavily signposted, came as no shock. Legal professionals foresee a short-lived spike in requests for counselling and advice, but caution that the policy shift could ultimately prove counterproductive if affluent, mobile clients opt for jurisdictions with kinder tax terms. Alex Boothman, a partner at Keystone Law, similarly expects a marked rise in instructions for legal advisers—albeit briefly. He anticipates the reforms will jolt the market in the near term and may then lessen the ongoing need for advice if fewer...
What key changes relating to trust law are being introduced by the Act? The Act—chiefly TS( S) A 2024, Pt 1—will, once commenced, stand as a comprehensive statement of Scots trust law. Its purpose is to present a clear, coherent articulation of Scots trust law that meets contemporary needs. Aspects of the existing framework that have long worked effectively are rearticulated in the Act, sharpened to reflect current practice. Some provisions introduce new rules, while others sweep away historic doctrines now viewed as unfit for purpose. Chapter 1 ( TS( S) A 2024, ss 1–12) regulates the appointment, assumption, resignation, and removal of trustees. Key developments include: a guardian (including a continuing attorney) being able to resign on behalf of an incapable trustee ( TS( S) A 2024, s 6); and the extra-judicial removal of a trustee by trustees and beneficiaries in limited...
In this issue: Spring Budget 2024 Probate Court of Protection UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Digital assets and cryptoassets Charity and philanthropy Updated HMRC guidance: How the tax system operates for charities Contentious trusts and estates International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis®PSL community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information Spring Budget 2024 On Wednesday, 6 March 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, presented the government’s Spring Budget. For commentary on consultations and statements pertinent to Private Client practitioners, please see News Analyses: Spring Budget 2024— Private Client analysis and Video analysis— Spring Budget 2024: Key...
Spring Budget 2024—key private client announcements Tap the link to view the video: Spring Budget 2024—key private client announcements...
On Wednesday, 6 March 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, presented the government’s Spring Budget. In a year when a general election is anticipated, he repeatedly cast it as a programme for long-term growth, concluding with the line ‘growth up, jobs up and taxes down’. He also outlined tax measures aimed at making the system ‘simpler and fairer’. While scrapping some reliefs may streamline matters, the backdrop of the main and small profits corporation tax rates holding at 25% and 19%, personal allowances and income tax bands staying frozen (and expected to remain so for a few more years), and the annual exempt amount for capital gains tax being halved to £3,000 from 6 April 2024, makes it uncertain whether the electorate will experience the changes as fairer. Key announcements...
See Q& A: Who should apply for a grant in the estate of a deceased individual who has died intestate while living in the Philippines and leaving no spouse but two minor issue and leaving only limited UK assets (none in the Philippines) and where the deceased was a beneficiary of their late mother's estate? While the query states the deceased lived in the Philippines, the key point is whether they actually died domiciled there or instead in England & Wales......
On 6 March 2024, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out the government’s Spring Budget amid a weak economic outlook and Conservative polling behind Labour ahead of the forthcoming general election. He had to juggle the political urge to woo voters through personal tax cuts with the constraint of the OBR’s latest fiscal headroom. With income tax reductions viewed as too expensive, reliefs targeted at squeezed households focused on further cuts to employees’ and self‑employed National Insurance contributions, reform of the High Income Child Benefit Charge, and a lower higher rate of Capital Gains Tax on residential property disposals. For Private Client lawyers, the most unexpected move was the abolition of the non‑ UK domicile tax regime. In the months ahead, Private Client advisers will be busy guiding clients through the ramifications, and only time will show whether, under the proposed...
Sheffield City Council v EE (by her Litigation Friend, the Official Solicitor) [2024] EWCOP 5 What are the practical implications of the case? This ruling has tangible consequences not only for practitioners in Court of Protection work and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 ( MCA 2005), but also for a wider cohort active in this area, including clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, care workers, attorneys under a Lasting Power of Attorney, and those who support or care for adults who may lack capacity; see the groups listed in the Introduction to the MCA 2005 Code of Practice. At a specific level, the court identified the factors relevant to judging capacity to decide about contraception, including whether EE needed to grasp potential risks to herself or to the baby. At a broader level, the case reiterates that capacity is...
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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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