header-logo header-logo

17 June 2020 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7891 / Categories: Procedure & practice , Features , Civil way
printer mail-detail

Civil way: 19 June 2020

Go low with the CFO; Possessions reparalysed; High Street lessee win; Family cases to surge.
Flexible tenancy shock; Big financial remedy changes

Nothing special

The special and basic account rates with the Court Funds Office (CFO) have been savaged—have you ever tried savaging a peanut?—as from 1 June 2020. In line with commercial sector practice, the decision to do this was announced on 1 June 2020. As an emergency measure, the special account rate reduces from 0.5% to 0.1% and the basic account rate from 0.1% to 0.05%. The Bank of England base rate now sits at 0.1% to which the CFO rates have responded. However, the reduced rates compare unfavourably with what is on offer from NS&1: for example, 3.25% on its Junior ISA, 0.90% on its Direct Isa and 1% on its Direct Saver.

Any claimant’s advocate who joins a remote protected party settlement approval appointment deserves to be muted and drenched in cheap sanitiser if unarmed with some decent investment proposals away from the CFO (see ‘Civil way’,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
back-to-top-scroll