The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is the key welfare benefit that people can apply for to cover their increased costs of living arising from a disability. For many, it is a lifeline of support and assistance for activities that many would consider mundane: feeding, dressing, transportation and so on. However, the process of apply for PIP is anything but simple. PIP applications have to be made on paper, using a handwritten, repetitive document which runs to multiple pages. The questions are highly nuanced in language and complex to complete. It’s no surprise that the rejection rate of claims by the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) is high – but estimates suggest that three in four applicants, with the right legal assistance, go on to win their appeals at Tribunals.

After exiting the EU on 31 January 2020, the UK entered into a time-limited transition or implementation period, during which the transitional arrangements provided in Part 4 of the Withdrawal Agreement apply. The transition period was intended as a standstill period during which the UK and EU could finalise the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and negotiate and implement the terms of their future relationship. The transition period is due to end on 31 December 2020, but Article 132 of the Withdrawal Agreement made provision for the transition period to be extended by agreement for up to one or two years on a one-off basis. Despite the tight timescales, the UK pledged not to request or agree any extension early on, and has stuck to this pledge despite calls to reconsider, particularly in light of the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19). Article 132 of the Withdrawal Agreement specified that any extension to the transition period must be agreed in the Joint Committee before 1 July 2020. With this deadline passed, many consider the question of an extension to be closed, but there is much left to resolve in order to prepare fully for the end of transition and the new regime taking effect on 1 January 2021.

Dana Denis-Smith CEO, Obelisk Support and founder of the First Hundred Years project. Sometimes innovation comes in the shape of...new clothes. For most of the past century, women in law have been conscious of forcing themselves into a system designed for and by men. Nowhere is this more visible than in the traditions of legal dress. The launch of Ivy and Normanton, the first courtwear outfitters aimed solely at women, sets out to redress the balance - taking us into a next hundred years of law that I hope we will see shaped more by men and women working together for everyone’s benefit.

At LexisNexis, we are committed to inclusion and equality, and we stand in solidarity with Black communities. On the 19th June 2020, Mike Walsh, CEO, published the statement below, in relation to Black Lives Matter and equality in today's society.