Coronavirus (COVID-19)

This subtopic contains materials, commentary and analysis on the public law implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, together with links to related guidance and policy documents.

Coronavirus legislation

Legislation was key to the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, ensuring that actions were taken on a clear and secure legal basis. Central to the legislative response was the passage of the Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020), which received Royal Assent on 25 March 2020. This emergency legislation was fast-tracked to provide the government, devolved administrations and authorities in the UK with extensive powers to respond to the pandemic. For background reading, see: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—emergency legislation receives Royal Assent, LNB News 26/03/2020 4 and Coronavirus Act 2020, LNB News 26/03/2020 3.

While passing CA 2020, Parliament also passed the Contingencies Fund Act 2020, increasing the capital limit of the Contingencies Fund to allow for additional expenditure on account. This was done to enable departments to access cashflow required to fund measures introduced as part of the coronavirus response. For details, see: Contingencies Fund Act 2020, LNB News 26/03/2020 2.

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Latest Public Law News

Greenhouse gas emissions under scrutiny in development consent order decision (R (Boswell) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and others)

Planning analysis: The Court of Appeal has dismissed the claimant’s appeal in which he sought a statutory judicial review of the Secretary of State (SoS)’s decision to grant permission for a gas power station with carbon capture and storage at Teeside. The appeal focused on three grounds, all concerned with the way the decision assessed and weighed in the balance the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the development. These had been acknowledged to be significant for environmental impact assessment (EIA) purposes and had been given significant weight in the planning balance. The first ground alleged an internal logical flaw in the SoS’s reasoning; the second alleged that the SoS had erred in her interpretation or application of a paragraph of the relevant National Policy Statement (NPS); and the third alleged that the SoS failed to reach a reasoned conclusion since she failed to assess the significance of the GHG emissions against a benchmark or other adequate means of contextualisation. All three grounds were rejected in decisive terms by the court. Written by Harriet Townsend KC, barrister, at Cornerstone Barristers.

Wild Justice files application for judicial review of Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Wild Justice, a conservation group, filed an application for judicial review in the High Court on 11 June 2025, challenging a claim made by the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, in April 2025 that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill would not reduce environmental protections. Wild Justice argues that Rayner failed to provide a legal rationale for her statement and intends to challenge it on the grounds that it is either legally incorrect or irrational. The challenge, supported by a legal opinion from expert planning barristers, contends that the Bill weakens existing environmental protections by removing the requirement to prove—beyond reasonable scientific doubt—that a proposed development will not adversely affect a protected site. The Office for Environmental Protection, named as an interested party in the claim, has also criticised the Bill, describing it as a ‘regression’ for environmental protections in law.

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HM Treasury unveils ten-year Infrastructure Strategy with £725bn clean energy investment plan

HM Treasury, in partnership with the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, has unveiled a landmark ten-year Infrastructure Strategy as part of the Plan for Change. This detailed strategy commits at least £725bn to infrastructure investment through to 2035, with the dual aim of establishing the UK as a clean energy superpower and providing long-term investment certainty. It outlines aggressive 2030 clean power targets of 43–50 gigawatts (GW) offshore wind, 27–29 GW onshore wind, and 45–47 GW solar capacity, while allocating £9.4bn for carbon capture, usage and storage projects and £500m for hydrogen transport infrastructure. In addition, the strategy sets aside £14.2bn for the development of Sizewell C and £2.5bn for small modular reactor programmes, with Great British Energy set to invest £8.3bn in clean power projects, including £300m for offshore wind supply chains.