Court finds unlawfulness in relation to Government’s Net Zero Strategy

27 July, 2022
In R (Friends of the Earth Ltd and ors) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWHC 1841 (Admin), the High Court partially upheld a challenge to the Government’s Net Zero Strategy (the “NZS“) under the Climate Change Act 2008 (the “2008 Act“). Key Points It is not incumbent on the … Read more

Public Law Podcast: The Bill of Rights Bill

07 July, 2022
In the latest episode of our Public Law Podcast series, Andrew Lidbetter, Nusrat Zar, and Jasveer Randhawa discuss the Bill of Rights Bill, which was laid before Parliament on 22 June 2022. In some respects the Bill keeps closely to the proposals laid out in the original consultation document, published earlier this year. However, there … Read more

Government formally establishes COVID-19 inquiry

04 July, 2022
The UK Government has published the final terms of reference (“ToR“) for the COVID-19 inquiry (the “Inquiry“), which has now begun work. Unprecedented in its size and significance, the Inquiry will consider over a two-year period the impact of the pandemic on the UK, and how the UK Government, devolved administrations, local government, and many … Read more

Government presses ahead with new Bill of Rights

24 June, 2022
On 22 June, the Government laid its new Bill of Rights Bill before Parliament. The Bill has been anticipated since the Government invited responses to a consultation on the replacement of the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA“) earlier this year. A summary of the proposals can be found here and an exposition of our views on the … Read more

Court finds error of law in code amendment

31 May, 2022
In R (on the application of SSE Generation Ltd) v Competition and Markets Authority [2022] EWHC 865 (Admin), the Court found an error of law on the part of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) in the context of amendments made to an energy code. Key Points There is no hierarchy of obligations in legislation, … Read more

The long-awaited Procurement Bill goes before Parliament: 10 key features

23 May, 2022
The much-anticipated Procurement Bill was laid before the UK Parliament on 11 May and has already received its first reading in the House of Lords.   Once enacted, the Bill will overhaul the existing regulations governing the award of public and utility contracts in the UK (other than Scotland).  These outgoing regulations are based closely on … Read more

Constitutional All Change? The Judicial Review and Courts Act, the Brexit Freedoms Bill and a new Bill of Rights

17 May, 2022
Recent weeks have seen a number of notable developments concerning new or proposed legislation which could have a wide-ranging impact on aspects of public and administrative law. In particular: The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 has recently received Royal Assent and introduces, amongst other things, changes to remedies in judicial review. The Queen’s Speech, … Read more

Court finds Government’s Covid policy in care homes unlawful

04 May, 2022
In R (Gardner and Harris) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and others [2022] EWHC 967 (Admin) the Divisional Court has found that arrangements by the Department of Health for discharging patients from hospitals to care homes during the pandemic were unlawful. Key points Article 2 of the European Convention on Human … Read more

Decision makers have significant discretion in climate change issues

13 April, 2022
In R (on the application of Friends of the Earth Limited) v Secretary of State for International Trade/Export Credits Guarantee Department [2022] EWHC 568 (Admin), the court refused to quash a decision to provide export finance in support of a natural gas project in Mozambique. Key points The nature and scope of the enquiry that … Read more