A Primary Principles document was issued in January 2022, superseding the Good Practice Protocol previously issued in November 2019, in relation to the Financial Remedies Court. The Primary Principles document makes provision as to procedure and allocation in the Financial Remedies Court.

THIS PRACTICE NOTE RELATES TO REGISTERED PENSION SCHEMES Primary protection was one of the first two forms of protection made available for pension savers on A-day (6 April 2006) when the registered pension scheme regime and the concept of the lifetime allowance were first introduced by the Finance Act 2004 (FA 2004). The other form of protection introduced on A-day was enhanced protection. Unlike enhanced protection, individuals could not claim primary protection unless the total benefits (whether crystallised or uncrystallised) they held under registered pension schemes on 5 April 2006 were valued at more than £1.5m. The original aim of primary protection was to offer transitional protection to individuals who, before A-day, had already built up pension savings that might otherwise have been adversely affected by the introduction of the lifetime allowance (which on A-day was set at £1.5m). While the lifetime allowance was abolished with effect from 6 April 2024, primary protection continues to provide some transitional protection in terms of an individual’s entitlement to (i) the lump sum allowance, (ii) the lump sum and

A pension scheme member who has pension rights valued in excess of the lifetime allowance could safeguard against a later tax charge.

The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, have announced the first partnership between Great British Energy (GB Energy) and the Crown Estate. This partnership has the potential to leverage up to £60bn in private investment into the UK’s drive for clean power and energy independence. The government is introducing two bills in Parliament today to grant GB Energy and the Crown Estate the necessary powers to delivery and carry out this partnership.

The Prime Minister has announced a comprehensive Plan for Change, outlining key milestones to deliver national missions by the end of the current Parliament. The plan includes commitments to fast-tracking planning decisions on over 150 major economic infrastructure projects and constructing 1.5 million homes across England. It also focuses on securing home-grown energy, targeting at least 95% of low carbon generation by 2030, in line with advice from the National Energy System Operator (NESO). In addition, the government intends to publish ten-year strategies for housing and infrastructure in Spring 2025, detailing key priorities and a project pipeline for investors and supply chains.

In a speech on 28 November 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the state of immigration in the UK, further to the release of revised estimates from the Office of National Statistics which revealed that nearly one million people entered Britain in the year ending June 2023—a fourfold increase from 2019 levels. Starmer announced forthcoming measures to reduce immigration, including the imminent publication of a White Paper, reforms to the points-based system, and new expectations for visa applications regarding training of domestic workers. The Prime Minister also discussed a new security agreement with Iraq, aimed at combating people smuggling and enhancing border security. Additionally, Starmer reported increases in asylum returns (53%) and total returns (34%) over the past year, emphasising the government's commitment to addressing immigration challenges and securing UK borders.

The Prime Minister has announced a package of measures through No10 North aimed to build mayoral authorities’ capability and capacity and support devolution and local growth in England. The announcement was made during the first No10 North virtual situation room, one month after No10 North opened. From autumn 2026, every mayoral authority included in an initial pilot will receive between five and ten civil servants on secondments lasting six to nine months, with mayors able to request the skills they need. The package also includes a Civil Service Fast Stream pilot in Yorkshire and Humber, the expansion of the Future Leaders Scheme to mayoral and local authority officials, a Digital Devolution programme to improve access to government data and develop AI, digital and data capability, and a Stadium Regeneration Accelerator. Eighteen mayoral strategic authorities are expected to be included in the initial secondment programme, while two further strategic authorities currently being formed could benefit in future.

The Prime Minister's Office has announced that the Prime Minister will introduce a package of fiscal devolution reforms that will give mayors across England a share of locally generated income tax revenues for the first time and allow them to retain a greater share of business rates. The government states that the reforms will give local leaders greater financial autonomy, reduce reliance on central government grants and enable more local investment in housing, transport, skills, employment support, planning and economic development. The package also introduces a 'local first' principle, under which ministers will be expected to justify retaining powers in Whitehall, supports the creation of strategic authorities in areas without mayors, and states that further details on income tax retention and business rates will be set out in a roadmap at the Autumn 2026 Budget.

The Prime Minister has announced that the government intends to stop firms found at fault by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (GTI) from being awarded future government contracts. The Prime Minister stated during his address to the House of Commons that the government will write to all companies found guilty by the GTI as the first step to preventing them from being awarded future government contracts.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has announced the launch of ‘Extract’—an AI tool, developed by the government in collaboration with Google DeepMind—to support planning officers and local councils in England. Extract, which uses the Gemini AI model, will assist councils in digitising planning documents by converting handwritten records and maps into data. In trials conducted across Hillingdon, Nuneaton & Bedworth, and Exeter councils, the tool digitised planning records in just three minutes, compared to the one to two hours typically required for manual processing. The government plans to roll out Extract to all English councils by spring 2026, aiming to reduce the estimated 250,000 hours spent annually on manual document checks. The digitised planning data will be uploaded to a publicly accessible GOV.UK service page.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has announced plans to deliver the next generation of new towns, including measures to expedite the planning process for new housing developments by requiring bodies such as National Highways, Natural England, and the Environment Agency to engage directly with planners and housebuilders to resolve issues that have impeded development. Additional funding has also been announced, including £2m to support the Building Safety Regulator in improving the processing of new-build applications, £3m in grants for local councils to strengthen planning capacity, and £20m to transform neglected small-scale council-owned sites into new homes, focusing on areas most in need. Starmer also revealed that over 100 proposals from across England were submitted in response to the New Towns Taskforce’s November 2024 call for evidence, each capable of delivering 10,000 homes or more.

The UK government has returned 24,103 individuals without legal right to remain between 5 July 2024 and 22 March 2025, marking the highest return rate since 2017. The announcement was made by the Prime Minister at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit where over 40 countries and organisations are meeting to agree on new action to combat people-smuggling networks. The government has established new bilateral agreements with France, Germany, Italy and Balkan states to enhance enforcement capabilities. Returns announced include 6,339 enforced removals, 3,594 foreign national offenders and 6,781 asylum-related cases.