Government and Public Sector news, June 2025

Legal insights, news and events from DWF's Government and Public Sector team delivered monthly to your inbox.

DWF monthly insight:

Subsidy Control - financial threshold for referral of subsidies to the CMA to increase from £10m to £25m with effect from 4 August 2025: On 7 April 2025 the UK Government announced that in response to consultation feedback, it plans to lift the mandatory referral threshold from £10m to £25m. In this article, Subsidy Control experts Jonathan Branton and Alexander Rose consider the implications of this announcement and the further news that two new Streamlined Routes will also be created. View >

The Procurement Act 2023: Excluding suppliers on national security grounds: This article examines the recent guidance published by the UK Government relating to the exclusion of suppliers from certain procurement contracts under the Procurement Act 2023 on national security grounds.

View >

TCC rules that damages are an adequate remedy even where a sufficiently serious breach is denied: In a judgment handed down on 28 March 2025, the TCC confirmed in Millbrook Healthcare Ltd v Devon County Council [2025] EWHC 744 (TCC) that where a defendant denies a sufficiently serious breach, damages may still be an adequate remedy for claimants in procurement disputes. In this article, we consider the impact of the decision. View >

DWF supports the first Ethical Practice Framework for in-house lawyers, published by the Law Society in partnership with University of Leeds: DWF has provided governance, practical insights and strategic oversight to IDEA, The Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds, who has worked in partnership with the Law Society to design and deliver the first Ethical Practice Framework for in-house lawyers. This initiative aims to address the unique ethical challenges faced by in-house legal teams and provide them with practical tools and levers to navigate these complexities. View >

UK Government confirms continuation of current IP exhaustion regime: In this article, we discuss the UK Government's recent decision to retain its current intellectual property rights exhaustion regime - known as the UK+ model - which allows for the continued parallel importation of goods from the European Economic Area into the UK without requiring additional consent from IP rights holders. View >

India Market and Business Update: The most significant development of the month is the UK-India trade deal, finalised on 6th May 2025. Coined the “best deal that any country has agreed with India” by the UK Government, the deal aims to ease the process of buying and selling goods and services between the UK and India. In this article, we reflect on the strategy behind the “landmark" trade deal, the reached agreements and what the future relationship may look like between two of the largest economies in the world. View >

Rolling back on DEI: The legal risk of taking a backward step: With diversity, equity and inclusion featuring in headlines across the globe, Kate Meadowcroft and Tracey Groves explore the legal risk for businesses of taking a backward step. View >

Pensions Insights: In this article, we give you our take on the latest highlights in the world of pensions law and policy. View >

Other news:

HM Treasury: a new report commissioned by Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, reveals multibillion price British taxpayers paid for reckless handling of Covid contracts. View >

Department of Health and Social Care: has confirmed a £1.2 billion investment to repair and upgrade deteriorating hospitals and schools across England. View >

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: has announced that local people’s access to arts venues across the country is set to be protected with cash to support vital repairs and upgrades. View >

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: has unveiled new investment for Britain’s coastal and rural regions for hosting the infrastructure needed to make Britain a clean energy superpower. View >

Scottish Government: has announced that Communities across Scotland seeking to set up renewable energy generation projects can bid for support from an £8 million government fund which has reopened for applications.

View >

Sector Events 

Look out for details of our upcoming webinars and events: 

The Procurement Act 2023 - Conflicts of Interest - 10 June 2025 

This webinar will focus on conflicts of interest in procurements and how to ensure compliance with the new duties under the 2023 Act. It will provide practical guidance for both authorities and suppliers, including on:

• The steps to take to identity and manage conflicts of interest at each stage of a procurement; and
• Practical guidance and lessons learned addressing commonly raised situations (e.g. incumbents, sub-contractors in multiple bids, employees moving between economic operators, Contracting Authority employees being subsequently employed by economic operators).

Registration link >

Real Estate Occupier Insights: The Building Safety Act - 24 June 2025

We are excited to invite you to our upcoming Occupier Insights webinar about the Building Safety Act 2022. This webinar will provide valuable insights into the latest developments in building safety and how they impact commercial occupiers. 

Registration link >

Pensions in the public sector - 25 June 2025

This webinar will provide an update on what we are seeing from a pensions perspective in respect of the public sector.  It will cover:

• Productive Finance and ESG investing
• Legal and practical considerations in pensions outsourcing and procurement
• Protected persons and their ongoing entitlement to defined benefit accrual
• Regulatory round-up
• Horizon scanning

Registration link >

Contract templates in the government sector post the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023 - 2 July 2025

This webinar will provide an overview of the contract updates arising from the Procurement Act 2023 based on a review of Government Templates including the Model Services Contract, Mid-Tier Contract, Short Form Contract and the Public Sector Contract which is used for CCS Frameworks. Using our experience of drafting these templates alongside the Cabinet Office, Government Legal and CCS, DWF will give practical advice on how and when to use them.

We’ll also be highlighting what amendments Contracting Authorities need to make to their own template contracts and insights we’ve gathered from projects with some of our Local Authority clients.

Registration link >

In case you missed it:

Direct awards in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023

This webinar set out the law in the 2023 Act relating to direct awards.

Adopting a case study approach, we explored when it was safe to make a direct award, what audit notes and evidence should have supported a direct award, and what notices needed to be published along with the practical steps that should have been taken.

Direct awards were an area of significant legal change, and the increase in transparency was likely to lead to a rise in procurement proceedings.

This webinar therefore also covered the potential consequences of not acting in accordance with the 2023 Act.

Lawfully varying a Public Contract in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 / PCR 2015

This webinar provided practical advice on how to lawfully vary a contract in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. It offered guidance on aligning factual circumstances with the relevant safe harbours and on auditing decision-making processes, including the publication of any required notices under the 2023 Act.

Remedies in the Employment Tribunal

During this webinar, we provided an outline of the remedies available in the Employment Tribunal.

This webinar included topics such as:

• Preparing for a remedies hearing – when and how
• Reducing the award – Polkey and contributory fault
• The risk of an Acas uplift
• How settlement fitted in
• What happened if the employer did not pay
• Key tactical considerations

Tax treatment of acquiring housing stock

Acquiring residential housing had a number of important tax implications, the nature of which depended on who was involved in the acquisition. In this seminar, we provided a brief overview of some of these implications, focusing particularly on local authority and public sector acquirers.

Public bodies often found themselves acquiring residential housing—for example, in their role as social housing providers, through compulsory purchase orders (CPOs), or pursuant to planning agreements. While public bodies were generally exempt from direct taxation, VAT, stamp taxes, and long-term planning considerations still required them to carefully assess the tax implications of residential housing acquisitions.

Grant Funding, Loan or Contract? The implications of the Procurement Act 2023

This webinar will explain the main differences between a grant, loan and a public sector contract, and how to ensure compliance with the 2023 Act.

Demystifying Litigation in Procurement Claims arising from the Procurement Act 2023

This session explored the litigation process following the formal issuing of a procurement claim under the Procurement Act 2023. We guided attendees through each stage—from issue to trial—highlighting critical deadlines and offering strategic insights to help ensure a successful outcome.

Both Contracting Authorities and Strategic Suppliers to Government were interested in how the requirements in the Procurement Act 2023 impacted grounds for challenges, procedural requirements, and the remedies that courts could grant. The webinar included practical tips on how to deal with proceedings.

Alex Tolcher

Senior Associate, Tax, UK

Email me |  +44 7936 335462 

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