Local authority round-up 19 December 2025
19th December, 2025
Our Local Authority round up provides brief summaries of topical information on a weekly basis, to keep you aware of the changes and updates relevant to you.
Education
Around 50,000 specialist places to support children with SEND in mainstream schools to be created nationwide
The Education Secretary has announced a ‘transformational’ expansion of specialist, calm learning spaces in mainstream schools, equipped with facilities to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Government has suggested this would mean students no longer have to travel far from home to meet their needs and instead, can now access support in ‘tailor-made spaces’ with the correct facilities. Meanwhile, the Government plans to deliver 10,000 more school places by building the planned schools, or by giving local authorities the funding to create the equivalent number of specialist places themselves.
However, in order to ‘prioritise the investment of specialist places’, the Government has said that a number of free school projects will no longer go ahead. This is also due to the number of primary school pupils falling significantly since 2019 whilst the number of young people with SEND needs has risen to at least 1.7 million – an increase of 400,000 pupils since 2020.
For further information, please click here.
Health and Social care
Cutting edge cancer treatment set to be produced out of uranium
Precision treatment tackling the hardest-to-treat cancers set to be produced from hundreds of tonnes of reprocessed uranium from nuclear reactors. This work is being made possible thanks to the landmark agreement between biotech firm Bicycle Therapeutics and the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Bicycle will use a process developed by United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL) to harvest the valuable medical isotope lead-212 from reprocessed uranium. A very small amount of lead-212’s parent martial is extracted through a series of processes, and through radioactive decay. Then, an even smaller amount of lead-212 is taken for use in radiopharmaceuticals: a type of precision medicine that could help treat some of the cancers that conventional treatments struggle to tackle.
This builds on the government’s wider work to transfer cancer care across the NHS. It is overhauling the health service to catch cancer sooner and save lives by expanding diagnostic capacity and investing in new technology to ensure patients can access timely, high-quality care.
For more information, please click here.
The UK approves the first twice yearly biological medicine for asthma and severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved depemokimab (Exdensur), the first twice-yearly biological medicine for use as an add-on treatment for asthma in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older, and as an add-on treatment for severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in adults.
In patients with these conditions, the active ingredient, depemokimab, works by blocking a key protein (interleukin-5) and reducing type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in both asthma and CRSwNP.
The medicine works by being administered via injection under the skin every six months.
For more information, please click here.
Upcoming events
Subsidy control masterclass series
Subsidy control is one of the first considerations in public funded initiatives – but it can also be a significant cause of uncertainty and delay. This course will cut through those concerns by equipping attendees with the expertise to spot potential issues and to manage these within the law, noting recent case law and guidance. It will cover the basics, working up to a level of detail that will be useful to the most experienced practitioners.
This masterclass series is presented by Ward Hadaway Partner Alexander Rose – recognised as a national expert in this area of law – with the following dates remaining across our offices:
- Leeds: Wednesday 14 January 2026, 1pm – 3pm
- Manchester: Thursday 22 January 2026, 1pm – 3pm
- Birmingham: Wednesday 4 February 2026, 9.30am – 11.30am
Book your place at any of these sessions here.
Legal Services Forum: Hillsborough Law
On 16 September 2025, the Government laid before Parliament the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, commonly known as Hillsborough Law. The Bill introduces a duty of candour and assistance on public authorities and officials in relation to their involvement with public inquiries and inquests.
It ensures that families of victims in state-related deaths are able to access non-means-tested legal assistance and advocacy at inquests and inquiries where public authorities are interested persons. If enacted in full, the Bill is likely to have a significant impact on public inquiries and a large number of inquests.
We are pleased to invite Austin Welch, Counsel from Lincoln House Chambers to talk us through the main features of the Bill and its implications. Register here to save your place on Thursday 29 January between 10:00am – 11:00am submit and submit any questions/topics for discussion ahead of the meeting.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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