16 March 2022
The (Long) Covid Inquiry – the challenge of complying with Article 2 in timing the Covid Inquiry
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has published its long awaited draft terms of reference, and a consultation on those proposed terms. The final terms of reference are of considerable importance to those taking an interest in the Inquiry, as set out here by Stephen Parkinson
10 February 2022
Case Note: challenging consultations in judicial review proceedings - R (oao Binder and others) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2022] EWHC 105 (Admin)
The Administrative Court has recently upheld a challenge to a ‘consultation’ undertaken by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) prior to the publication of the National Disability Strategy. Strikingly the DWP gave evidence that it had not been intending to carry out a consultation – but Mr Justice Griffiths held that, as a matter of substance (as opposed to intention), there had in fact been a consultation; and that, (unsurprisingly as it was not a standard that it thought it had to meet) the DWP had failed to meet the legal requirements for a fair and adequate consultation.
4 February 2022
The Covid-19 Inquiry: the Consultation on the Terms of Reference
In December 2021, the Prime Minister appointed Baroness Heather Hallett DBE as Chair of a statutory public inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic across the UK. The announcement concerning the inquiry stated that there would be a public consultation on the draft terms of reference. This blog discusses the likely approach and scope of that consultation.
3 February 2022
Data Protection reform: A new direction for charities?
Following the UK’s departure from the EU, the Government wishes to reform the data protection legislation within this country in order to ‘unlock the power of data.’ For charities, does this mean the painful prospect of reworking their existing GDPR compliance regime or the promise of a lighter regulatory load?
1 February 2022
Why Companies with Supply Chains in Xinjiang and China Need to Act Now
It’s a year since the UK Government announced business measures over human rights abuses in the Xinjiang province of China. In this piece we reflect on those measures and what might come next. We also look at what action prudent businesses should take now if they are concerned about products from Xinjiang in their supply chain, or how products they export to China are being used.
