Felicity Aris

General Election 2024 campaigning resources: catch up on the full series

What do you need to know to campaign effectively within the law in the next few weeks in the run up to the general election on 4 July? Explore our resources on campaigning and get to grips with key rules for charities and other campaigners around spending on campaigning, publishing political statements, and wider political …
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Setting our science-based target

We have been working hard to reduce our carbon footprint for over a decade now. As a city-based professional services firm, our direct emissions are relatively low, but we are determined to do our bit to reduce any negative impact that we have on the planet and to encourage others to do the same. In …
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Bates Wells advises Woodland Savers in £.7m seed investment round

Bates Wells has advised Woodland Savers, an organisation developing a new model of UK woodland ownership, in their recent investment round. The new venture focuses on building a national network of community initiatives. It will help them co-acquire and co-manage local woodlands and co-develop projects delivering nature recovery and enhancement. Revenues will be generated through …
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Department for Education guidance on “gender questioning children”: call for responses

The Department for Education (DfE) is inviting responses to its long awaited draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England on “gender questioning children”. It states that the term transgender is not being used to describe children because under English law, children cannot obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate and therefore cannot change their legal …
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Supreme Court rules on employment status of Deliveroo riders in key case for the gig economy

After 7 years, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (“the Union”) has lost the battle to provide greater protection for Deliveroo riders, as the Supreme Court has ruled that Deliveroo riders are not legally recognised “workers” within the meaning of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“TULRCA”). Background On 7 November …
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New spending limits for non-party campaigners – what you need to know

Organisations and individuals that campaign ahead of an election (but are not standing candidates themselves) are known as ‘non-party campaigners’. Their activities can be subject to financial restrictions and transparency requirements – particularly during a regulated period. The regulated period is usually 365 days before a general election for ‘general campaigns’ (see below) – so, …
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Spotlight 2023: Real Estate law update

Daniel Farrow, a solicitor in our Real Estate team, shares practical advice on aligning your property strategy with your operational strategy as well as an update on recent real estate law developments including changes to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for landlords and tenants. Extra resources: Take a look at our Stay vs go …
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Spotlight 2023: Charity campaigning law update

Suhan Rajkumar, senior associate in our Politics, Elections and Campaigning team, provides practical commentary on campaigning law for charities including an overview and practical examples of the application of CC9, the Lobbying Act and PPERA. If you enjoyed this mini-webinar, catch up on our elections and campaigning resources below: Election ’24 factsheet series This series …
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Bates Wells successfully supports claimants challenging unviable rural development

The High Court has this week in R (Watton and Cameron) v Cornwall Council [2023] EWHC 2436 (Admin) set out guidance on the standard of reasons to be given by public authorities in circumstances where no duty to give reasons exists but reasons have been given voluntarily. Harry Campbell of Bates Wells represented the successful …
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Faith-based Organisations: 2023 Update

Welcome to our annual faith-based update. In a volatile and uncertain world, faith-based organisations bring hope, stability, community, and compassionate service to many. Faith-based groups often find that the boundaries of their responsibilities, as well as identity and culture, shift during these times. Our update includes practical advice on how to support staff when funds …
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Bates Wells successfully supports the Friends of the Victoria Hall community group against charity property disposal scheme

A team at Bates Wells led by Laura Soley and Jaqui Symcox recently supported the Friends of the Victoria Hall (FoVH), a community group representing local residents and organisations of Ealing, in the First-tier Tribunal. FoVH were appealing against a scheme allowing Ealing Council, as trustee of the Victoria Hall charity, to sell the historic …
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Election ’24: New transparency requirements (‘imprints’) ahead of elections

In this week's factsheet, we've joined forces with the Electoral Commission to set out the key requirements of the 'imprint' regime, an additional set of rules under election law that can apply when publishing advocacy and campaigning content.
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