On 12 September 2025, the House of Commons Public Accounts committee published a report on improving family court services for children. The report highlights that statutory targets such as the 26 week completion requirement for most public law cases have never been met, with case durations averaging 36 to 41 weeks and over 4,000 children involved in cases open for more than 100 weeks. The report identifies multiple factors contributing to delays, including shortages of district judges and social workers (especially in London and the South East), complex administrative processes and fragmented accountability structures across various state bodies.

The House of Commons Public Bill Committee has opened a call for evidence on the Pension Schemes Bill on 8 July 2025. The Committee is set to begin its line-by-line scrutiny of the Bill on 2 September 2025 and is expected to report by 23 October 2025. The Committee asks for those with relevant expertise and experience or those with a special interest in the Pension Schemes Bill to submit their written evidence as soon as possible to enable the Committee to take it into consideration before the deadline. The call for evidence follows the Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons on 7 July 2025. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has also revealed that the proposed reforms, such as the consolidation of small pension pots, measures to ensure schemes deliver value for money, and the creation of larger pension schemes, could increase average-salary workers’ pension savings by up to £29,000 at retirement and benefit approximately 20 million pension savers.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note deals with the Public Bodies Act 2011 (PBA 2011) and the contractual implications that need to be considered if a public body or business is affected by it. Background On 14 October 2010, Francis Maude, the Minister for the Cabinet Office stated in a written ministerial statement that ‘the landscape for public bodies needs radical reform to increase transparency and accountability, to cut out duplication of activity, and to discontinue activities which are simply no longer needed.’ To this end, the PBA 2011 received Royal Assent on 14 December 2011. It is designed to allow the government to ‘simplify the public bodies landscape’ by, among other things, abolishing so-called quangos (ie quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations). Quangos include non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), a term commonly used by the government. The PBA 2011 is

A consultation document published by the Code Committee seeking the views of interested parties on proposals, and setting out the background to, reasons for and (where available) full text of the proposed amendments to the Code. See Current consultations and Closed consultations.

ARCHIVED: These archived training materials provide information on Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC. These training materials are for background information only and are not maintained. These training materials consist of template PowerPoint slides and associated notes that can be used as the basis of one or more training seminars outlining key features of the law in relation to public procurement under Directive 2014/24/EU, the Public Contracts Directive, implemented in England and Wales by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, SI 2015/102. Topics covered include: agenda drivers behind the Directive, key components of the procurement procedures and underlying principles. It is anticipated

Stop Press: On 24 February 2025, the main provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) come into force. We are reviewing and updating our content accordingly. Note, however, that procurements begun on or after 24 February must be carried out under PA 2023, whereas those begun under the previous legislation (the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) must continue to be procured and managed under that legislation. For background reading, see Practice Note: Key Implications of the procurement Act 2023 for Construction Lawyers. Brexit impact—public procurement The UK public procurement regime derives from EU public procurement laws, and is therefore impacted by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. For general updates on the process and preparations for Brexit, see Practice Note: Brexit timeline. For further reading on the impact of Brexit on public procurement, see Practice Note: Brexit—the implications for public procurement [Archived]. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102 set out

Public First has published a report following the Home Office’s May 2025 Immigration White Paper which proposed introducing a 6% flat levy on all international fee income to be reinvested into the higher education and skills system. The white paper estimated the impact of this price rise using London Economics estimate of price elasticity of demand from 2021, assuming non-EU students in 2025 have the same price sensitivity as EU students in 2021. Public First’s report extends and updates this modelling and provides updated assessments as of 2025, focusing on non-EU student demand, who now represent 90% of international enrolments, and provides a more accurate assessment of the likely consequences.

Fees for applications to the Office of the Public Guardian The fees to be paid in respect of applications, etc to the Office of the Public Guardian derive from the Public Guardian (Fees, etc) Regulations 2007 (2007 Regulations) as amended by subsequent various amending regulations. The references to Columns 1 and 2 in the table refer to those columns in the 2007 Regulations. Column 1 Column 2 Enduring power of attorney registration (regulation 4) £92.00 Enduring power of attorney office copy fee (regulation 4A) £25.00 Lasting power of attorney registration (regulation 5) £92.00 Reduced fee for repeat application to register a lasting power of attorney (regulation 5) £46.00 Lasting power of attorney office copy fee (regulation 5A) £35.00 Deputy assessment fee (regulation 8) £100.00 General supervision (regulation 8) £320.00 Minimal supervision (regulation 8) £35.00 Guardianship set-up fee (regulation 8A) £200 Guardianship supervision (regulation 8A) £320 Fees for applications to the Court of Protection The

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. For the latest Brexit News Analysis, see: News Analysis—Brexit collection. Public Law Brexit Legal Updates—2019 Q2 Lexis®PSL Public Law has published news alerts and updates on a range of issues concerning the implications of Brexit, as set out in the tables below. Date Legal Update Brief description of Legal Update 2 August 2019 Referendums (Scotland) Bill—‘interesting, but not decisive’ The Scottish government tabled a Bill on 28 May 2019 setting out a legal framework for holding referendums that are within the competency of the Scottish Parliament. The Bill, currently progressing in the Scottish Parliament, applies to all referendums, but the Scottish government has an outspoken goal to have another Scottish independence referendum before the next parliamentary session commences in 2021. Meantime, it hopes to see the Bill passed by the end of this year. Professor Tom Mullen at the University of Glasgow discuss the Bill, and the likelihood of it leading to a second referendum on Scottish independence. 1 August 2019 Government

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived is not maintained. For collated Brexit news and guidance, see: Brexit collection. Public Law Brexit News Analysis 2019 Lexis®PSL Public Law has published News Analysis on a range of issues concerning the implications of Brexit, as set out in the tables below. Date News Analysis Brief description of News Analysis 2 August 2019 Referendums (Scotland) Bill—‘interesting, but not decisive’ The Scottish government tabled a Bill on 28 May 2019 setting out a legal framework for holding referendums that are within the competency of the Scottish Parliament. The Bill, currently progressing in the Scottish Parliament, applies to all referendums, but the Scottish government has an outspoken goal to have another Scottish independence referendum before the next parliamentary session commences in 2021. Meantime, it hopes to see the Bill passed by the end of this year. Professor Tom Mullen at the University of Glasgow discuss the Bill, and the likelihood of it leading to a second referendum on Scottish independence. 31 July 2019 After Brexit: An Association

The Public Law Outline (PLO) is the legislative framework within which public law children proceedings must be dealt with including care and supervision proceedings under Part IV of the Children Act 1989.

Public Law Project has reported on the High Court’s declaration that the Welsh Government’s decision to stop free school meals was made unlawfully, after a legal challenge was brought by two families. Welsh ministers admitted to failing to consider the negative impact of the decision on the rights of children and vulnerable families. The High Court found, by consent, that the Welsh ministers acted in breach of the Rights of the Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 (RCYP(W)M 2011) and the Equality Act 2010. This is the first time Welsh ministers have been declared to be in breach of their duties under RCYP(W)M 2011. The two families were represented by Matthew Court of PLP, David Gardner of No5 Chambers and Gwion Lewis KC of Landmark Chambers.