The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has announced changes to its funding and grant model in response to demand for its services rising by 36% over the past four years. These changes aim to ensure CITB can continue delivering its services, particularly as it has not increased its Levy rate during this period. CITB has confirmed that any training booked before 8 December 2025 will be honoured at current rates, including training delivered after 8 January 2026, provided evidence of the booking is supplied. Most changes take effect from 8 January 2026, with additional changes coming into force on 1 April 2026.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has announced that its Consensus consultation with the construction industry on Levy Proposal options for 2026–29 will take place from 26 September to 24 October 2024.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has called on construction companies and firms to accelerate the number of apprenticeship starts by applying for CITB apprenticeship grants. From April 2023 to March 2025, the CITB is investing nearly £150m in these grants. According to the CITB’s latest Employer Voice survey, 31% of employers plan to hire an apprentice, with another 48% considering it.

The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA) has published a report examining the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on intellectual property (IP) practice, highlighting both opportunities and risks for the profession. The report outlines how AI is already influencing trade mark work through automation of routine tasks, enhanced decision-making and faster data processing. It identifies emerging threats such as AI-generated counterfeits and ‘starjacking’, where AI is used to artificially boost the credibility of online repositories. CITMA notes that AI tools are being applied in areas including trade mark searching, portfolio management and legal drafting, but emphasises the continued importance of human oversight, particularly in mitigating risks such as inaccurate or fabricated outputs. The report also explores the evolving global regulatory landscape, comparing the EU’s risk-based AI Act with the UK’s developing principles-based framework, and provides guidance on ethical and transparent AI use. CITMA confirms that its AI Task Force has been made a permanent committee in response to the scale and pace of technological change.

Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) has announced a new mandatory ratings system for care homes and domiciliary support services, effective from 1 April 2025. The system evaluates services across four themes—well-being, care and support, leadership and management, and environment—with ratings from excellent to requires significant improvement. Services must display ratings on premises and online following inspection, with full implementation expected over two years. The system was developed in consultation with care providers and commissioners to enhance service transparency and quality standards across Wales.

Public Law analysis: Jodie Blackstock, legal director of JUSTICE, examines the Supreme Court's decision in R (on the application of Hallam and another) v Secretary of State for Justice establishing that section 133(1ZA) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (CJA 1988), which confines compensation for miscarriages of justice to cases where fresh evidence shows beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant did not commit the offence, is not incompatible with the presumption of innocence as guaranteed by Article 6(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) Enforcement Working Group has launched a call for evidence on enforcement. The CJC Enforcement Working Group asks for detail of experience and awareness of enforcement, potential judgment debtors, support for debtors, proposed improvements to the system of enforcing judgments and general opinion on the current system of enforcing money judgments in court. The call for evidence closes on 16 September 2024.

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) Futures Working Group has published a report on examining digital disadvantage in the justice system. The report recommends reframing the issue as ‘digital inclusion’ and creating a central strategy hub focused on accessibility and inclusive design. It addresses Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration, emphasising the need for safeguards against AI errors and maintaining non-digital access options. The report calls for cross-sector collaboration between public, private and third sectors to develop digital services while preserving access to justice for digitally disadvantaged users.

Law360, London: A government advisory body has called for the creation of a unified digital court to enforce unpaid debt judgments because the two-tier system divided between the High Court and the County Court 'is not working as it should'.

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has concluded its extensive review of pre-action protocols (PAPs) with the publication of its phase two report. The first phase of the final report, published in August 2023, examined the role of PAPs in the civil justice system and explored the potential for digitalising pre-action processes. The second phase was published in November 2024. In the second (and final) phase report the CJC has set out its recommendations for the reform of various existing PAPs, including those for Personal Injury, Housing, Judicial Review, Debt, Construction and Engineering, Professional Negligence and Media and Communications. The report also recommends the creation of two new PAPs, one for dealing with child abuse and one for Multi-Track Claims in the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (with a draft included at Appendix 1).

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has launched a consultation on proposed reforms to Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. The consultation paper, prepared by the Reform of the Solicitors Act Working Group, sets out proposals for a comprehensive overhaul of the solicitor and own-client costs regime. Key recommendations include removing the distinction between contentious and non-contentious business, introducing an overarching principle that solicitors’ charges must be ‘fair and reasonable’ and implementing a graduated dispute resolution system. Under this system, lower-value bills under £50,000 would be directed to the Legal Ombudsman before any court proceedings, while higher-value disputes would be subject to mandatory alternative dispute resolution. Further proposals include abolishing the concept of ‘statute’ or ‘statutory’ bills, introducing a single one-year time limit for initiating proceedings in relation to bills, and providing that certain procedural requirements should be addressed by conduct rules and rules of court rather than primary legislation. The consultation closes on 16 July 2026. Following this, the Working Group will review feedback, prepare its final report with recommendations and submit it to the CJC, with publication expected in early 2027.

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has extended the closing date of its consultation on litigation funding for an additional month until 3 March 2025 at 23.59 pm, with a full report still expected to be published by summer 2025.