On an application by a claimant to amend his ET1 claim form so as to introduce a new head of claim based on new facts, a tribunal should consider all the circumstances and balance the injustice and hardship of allowing the amendment against the injustice and hardship of refusing it. In conducting that balancing exercise, if the tribunal is in a position to be sure that the proposed amendment asserts an utterly hopeless case, it is permissible to take the merits of that proposed new claim into account as a reason for not allowing the amendment, since to allow it in such circumstances would be pointless. However, in all other cases, (a) it should be assumed that the new claim is arguable, and hence (b) the apparent merits of the claim are (i) irrelevant to the consideration of whether or not the amendment should be allowed and so (ii) should not be taken into account. This is so in particular because, usually, at the point when it is sought to introduce a new claim by amendment, the evidence which goes to support or undermine that specific head of claim will not yet be before the tribunal, as such evidence will normally only be gathered, prepared and introduced after the amendment has been allowed; hence the tribunal will be in no position to conduct a proper assessment of the merits at that point in any event. EAT: Woodhouse v Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Only applicable until A-day, this is where HMRC used its discretionary powers under the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, s 591 to grant approval to a pension scheme which did not fully meet the conditions set out in ICTA 1988, s 590 thus preventing it from qualifying for mandatory approval

It is unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex, marital status, civil partner status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability and age.

Key principles to apply when making discretionary decisions • Before exercising a discretionary power, trustees should: ◦ check the limits of the scheme's discretionary power in the governing documentation ◦ follow any procedures set out in the scheme's governing documentation ◦ obtain and consider all relevant information ◦ obtain legal advice to resolve any doubts or concerns • When reaching a discretionary decision, it is imperative that the trustees adhere to the following well-established principles: ◦ Trustees

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO TRUSTEES OF ALL PENSION SCHEMES A power is a legal authority conferred on a person to deal with, and dispose of, property which is not their own. Most trust-based occupational pension schemes confer powers on their trustees. Statute also confers powers on trustees. A power will give the trustees a choice or discretion. In relation to trusts, powers are generally either administrative or dispositive. Dispositive powers that are commonly found in pension schemes concern the provisions relating to early retirement, ill-health early retirement, death-in-service benefits, increase in benefits (including annual increases to pensions in payment and revaluations of deferred pensions), accepting transfers into the scheme and a surplus on winding-up. Schemes also usually include powers of amendment relating to the trust deed and rules. Sometime the powers are vested unilaterally in the trustee. Other powers are held jointly with the employer or subject to the employer’s consent. There are also express and statutory limitations and restrictions on the exercise of powers, and schemes often prescribe

Discretionary life sentences A discretionary life sentence is a life sentence given to an offender in respect of an offence for which life imprisonment (or custody for life) is available but not fixed by law. A number of offences carry life imprisonment, eg manslaughter, kidnapping, torture and hijacking. However, this does not necessarily mean that an offender will receive a life sentence. Life sentences are generally reserved for those cases where the culpability of the offender is particularly high or the offence is exceptionally serious. A discretionary life sentence is different to a mandatory life sentence, where the sentencing judge has no option but to impose a sentence of life imprisonment. See Practice Note: Mandatory life sentences. Any sentencing tribunal must be satisfied of the following before imposing a discretionary life sentence: • the offender is convicted of an offence listed in Schedule 19 of the Sentencing Code • the offence was committed on or after 4 April 2005 • in the court’s opinion the offender poses a significant risk to the public of serious harm by the

Section 4L of the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981) was inserted by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and has been in force since 28 June 2022. It is a discretionary provision for the registration of adults as British citizens, but it is not intended to mirror BNA 1981, s 3(1), which provision applies to children only and gives the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) a much broader discretion. Instead, BNA 1981, s 4L is intended to operate in a limited and specific set of scenarios only and was devised by the Home Office to provide the SSHD with a legal mechanism to provide a correction for individual cases of past unfairness or exceptionality that led someone to miss out on being, or becoming, a British citizen. There is a mirror provision for the registration of British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTC) at BNA 1981, s 17I. BNA 1981, s 4L BNA 1981, s 4L allows for the registration of adults, of full age and capacity,

Local Government analysis: The appeal in Abdelrahman v The Mayor and Burgesses of The London Borough of Islington concerned whether, in interpreting the authority’s discretionary succession policy, those such as the appellant, who are the child of a deceased tenant’s partner by a former relationship, are included within the meaning of ‘stepchild’. Ms Abdelrahman’s mother was in an intimate relationship with Mr Seales (the secure tenant), but they never married or entered into a civil partnership. The Court of Appeal upheld HHJ Bloom’s first instance decision that ‘stepchild’ meant a child of a person’s spouse or civil partner by previous marriage or civil partnership. On the basis of that interpretation, Ms Abdelrahman fell outside the scope of the policy and was not entitled to succeed. Written by Sarah Salmon and Olivia Davies, barristers at Cornerstone Barristers.

A trust in which the trustees have power to select the beneficiaries to benefit from the trust.

This TRUST is made on [date] Parties 1 [settlor] of [address] (the Settlor) and 2 [original trustees] of [addresses] (the Original Trustees) Background (A) The Settlor wishes to make this Trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries and has transferred to the Original Trustees [£[amount] cash] to be held on the following trusts. (B) Further assets may in the future be transferred to the Trustees (as defined below). (C) [This Trust shall be irrevocable.] (D) [The Original Trustees agree to act as the first Trustees.] This Deed provides: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 In this Trust: Beneficiaries • means (subject to clause 7) the following persons: (a) the Settlor’s [widow OR widower] whether or not remarried; (b) the descendents of the Settlor [but subject to clause 11]; (c) the spouses and any widow or widower (whether or not remarried) of the descendents of the Settlor, and Beneficiary has a corresponding meaning; Charitable • means charitable (and exclusively charitable) according to English law; Charity • means a trust, corporation, association, society or other institution established only for charitable purposes and Charities has a corresponding meaning; [[Spouse • or spouse includes: (a) a person treated or registered

This Practice Note deals with the main principles of income tax that apply to the beneficiary of a discretionary trust. An individual will be charged to income tax only where they are entitled to, or receive, income from a taxable source. As a beneficiary of a discretionary trust the source of income is from the discretionary trust itself. The source of a beneficiary's income Where a beneficiary receives income from a discretionary trust they receive it because they have become entitled to that income on the exercise of the trustees' discretion. The source of the beneficiary's income is the trustees themselves. This contrasts with the position of a beneficiary of an interest in possession trust who is treated as deriving their income from the trust property. See Practice Note: Interest in possession beneficiaries (life tenants)—income tax. The rule in Drummond applies to trusts where the beneficiary does not have title to the income as it arises, for example where: • they are a beneficiary of a discretionary trust • the trustees have a power to accumulate

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, marking the first review of trusts law in Scotland in over 100 years since the principal legislation, the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921, was passed. The trusts provisions require secondary legislation from Scottish Ministers to be brought into force whereas some provisions relating to succession law came into effect on 30 April 2024. The main changes to modernise the law are summarised in News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed. Practice Notes on areas of Scottish trusts and succession law will be updated further to reflect this new legislation. What is a discretionary trust? A discretionary trust or discretionary settlement is an arrangement created when an individual—or individuals—(traditionally the truster or trusters in Scots law albeit that the English terminology of ‘settlor(s)’ is becoming more commonly adopted) gifts, or settles, property to trustees, to be held for the benefit of one or more of a group of designed potential beneficiaries. A properly constituted trust will have clearly stated