Public Sector

Regulating for growth – a new approach to an old idea?

“We’ve got to look at regulation across the piece, and where it is needlessly holding back investment… mark my words, we will get rid of it”. This was Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s bold commitment at the International Investment Summit in October 2024. Two months later, on Christmas eve 2024, the PM wrote to 17 regulators, …
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A new approach to enforcement? Ofqual consults on its Taking Regulatory Action policy

On 20 February 2025, Ofqual opened a consultation on updates to its enforcement policy, “Taking Regulatory Action”, which it proposes to rename “Supporting Compliance and Taking Regulatory Action”. The consultation will close on 15 May 2025. This refresh of Ofqual’s enforcement policy has been long awaited by awarding organisations (“AOs”). Since the existing policy was …
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The Procurement Act 2023: new regime goes live

The Procurement Act 2023 is now in force. Explore our Procurement teams’ top takeaways on the Government’s strategic priorities following publication of the new National Procurement Policy Statement. On 13 February 2025, the Cabinet Office published the long-awaited National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), reinvigorating a focus on public bodies using procurement to achieve public benefit. …
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Cabinet Office survey on the National Procurement Policy Statement – an opportunity for mission driven procurement?

The Procurement Act 2023, which promises a major overhaul of public procurement law, will now take effect on 24 February 2025. It had previously been due to go live on 28 October 2024 but was delayed by the new Labour Government in early September (as we explained previously). The reason given for the delay was …
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“Distorted and fragmented responsibility”: the role of public law and regulation in ensuring accountability after the Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Seven years since the Grenfell Tower fire in North Kensington, a disaster which brought into devastating focus decades of institutional failings in fire safety and construction standards, and in which 72 people lost their lives, Chair of the Public Inquiry Sir Martin Moore-Bick this month published his 1,700-page report (“the Grenfell Report”) into the tragedy. …
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Lessons learned from the judgment on the Michaela School’s “prayer ban”

The Michaela Community Schools Trust has successfully defended its decision to ban prayer rituals for all its pupils as lawful in the High Court. Following this high-profile judgment, the Bates Wells’ Public Law team reflect on the wider implications of the case for pupils, parents and schools. Background R (TTT) v Michaela Community Schools Trust …
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Infected Blood Inquiry: culture change in our public institutions – is it possible?

Seven years after a public inquiry into the scandal was first announced, last week marked the publication of the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry (“the Report”). Over thousands of pages the Report collates the harrowing details of the “worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS” which led to the infection of …
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Equalities update: consultation on updated NHS constitution reinforcing commitment to “single-sex” wards

The Department of Health and Social Care is currently consulting on proposed changes to the NHS Constitution (“the Constitution”) as part of a 10 year review process set out in the Health Act 2009. The constitution was last updated in 2015. The consultation will run for 8 weeks and closes on 25 June 2024. The …
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