The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has published the details of the ministerial reshuffle. David Lammy MP has been appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, replacing Shabana Mahmood MP, the new Home Secretary. Lammy is also the new Deputy Prime Minister. Ellie Reeves MP has been named Solicitor General replacing Lucy Rigby MP, who becomes Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has reported significant progress in reducing NHS waiting lists, with over two million extra appointments delivered across various treatments, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endoscopy and diagnostic tests. This milestone was achieved seven months ahead of schedule, with waiting lists reduced by almost 160,000 since the government took office. The PMO has announced an additional £40m funding for trusts demonstrating the most substantial improvements in cutting waiting lists. The government's Elective Reform Plan aims to treat 92% of elective care patients within 18 weeks by the end of Parliament. Key initiatives include expanding Community Diagnostic Centres to operate 12 hours daily, seven days a week, and creating 17 new or expanded surgical hubs. These efforts are supported by a £1.8bn immediate investment for extra elective care appointments and a total of £26bn in additional NHS funding secured at the October Budget.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has published the speech by Prime Minister (PM), Keir Starmer, on the independent National Health Service (NHS) report done by Lord Darzi. In the speech Starmer makes mention of how damaged the NHS currently is. Starmer mentions the big mandate for change that the government is planning on implementing to improve the current state of the NHS. Starmer states that the change could be the most profound revamp since its creation. The PM notes that it won’t be easy neither will it be quick and that it will likely take a ten year plan to execute.

The Prime Minister’s (PM) Office has announced that the State Opening of Parliament and the King’s Speech will both take place on 17 July 2024. The new Parliament has been called to meet on 9 July 2024 where the Speaker will be elected and members will be sworn in.

The Prime Minister’s (PM) Office has announced that the King has approved the appointment of Catherine Smith KC as Advocate General for Scotland, to advise the government on Scotland's law. The Advocate General may choose to intervene, on behalf of the UK government, in proceedings in which devolution issues have been raised, and is responsible for oversight of Schedule 6 to the Scotland Act 1998, concerning devolution issues raised before Scottish courts and tribunals. Smith's role also entails consideration of the legislative competency of all Scottish Parliament Bills as they progress, in consultation with interested UK government departments.

The Prime Minister’s (PM's) Office, 10 Downing Street, has announced that the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill 2024, introduced on 13 March 2024, will automatically quash wrongful convictions relating to the Horizon Scandal if passed. The Bill will extend and apply to England and Wales and the government will work closely with Northern Ireland and Scotland as they develop their plans. The PM’s Office has noted that if the Bill is passed, convictions will be automatically quashed if they were prosecuted by the Post Office or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), were for offences carried out in connection with Post Office business between 1996 and 2018, were for offences including theft, fraud and false accounting, and, lastly, were against sub-postmasters, their employees, officers, family members or direct employees of the Post Office working in a Post Office using the Horizon system software. The PM’s Office has said that passing of the Bill will enable affected sub-postmasters to receive an interim payment with the option of taking a fixed final offer of £600,000 to help ‘rebuild their lives’, and the Horizon Shortfall Scheme cohort, which consists of people who were not convicted but still suffered due to Horizon failures, to receive a fixed sum payment of £75,000. Following publication of the Bill, Business and Trade Committee Chair, Liam Byrne has said that the legislation must include provisions on a legally binding timeframe for 'tabling offers to victims once their claims are in'. Byrne has also noted a lack of standard guidance on what victims are entitled to.

The Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street, has published a policy paper summarising the government’s legal position on the UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 22 January 2024. The policy paper confirms that the legal basis for further military action remains the same, that the used force is necessary and proportionate, and that the government has notified the United Nations Security Council that the UK is taking action under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

The Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street, has published a policy paper, summarising the government’s legal position on the legality of UK military action targeting Houthi facilities in Yemen. The PM’s Office has noted that attacks on shipping in the Red Sea will continue unless ‘action is taken to deter them’. The policy paper states that it was necessary and proportionate and permitted under international law to target the Houthis in this circumstance and that the government will notify the United Nations (UN) Security Council of these actions taken under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited: PNTL is owned by INS (62.5%), AREVA (12.5%) and a consortium of Japanese nuclear companies. (25%) and its fleet is managed by Serco Limited. PNTL operates a fleet of purpose built ships capable of carrying all categories of nuclear material.

Pensions analysis: In the determination of Mr S, CAS-5288–B6H4, the Pensions Ombudsman (PO) has partially upheld a complaint that a scheme failed to carry out appropriate due diligence on a pension transfer. While the PO found that the scheme did take steps to warn the complainant of the transfer risk, the PO considered that the complainant would have proceeded with the transfer irrespective of the level of due diligence carried out on the part of the scheme. Martin Scott of gunnercooke LLP looks at the decision.

In NHS Business Services Authority v Wheeler, the High Court overturned a decision by the Pensions Ombudsman and held, in respect of a claim for the repayment of a death benefit overpayment, that there were no grounds for limiting the employer's entitlement to repayment to the net assets of the deceased member’s estate. The full amount of overpayment could be pursued.

Pensions analysis: The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman upheld a complaint that a decision by trustees of a pension scheme to halt payment of an incapacity pension had been arrived at on improper grounds and constituted maladministration. Wyn Derbyshire of gunnercooke LLP looks at the decision.