Rights Community Action, a campaigning NGO, applied for judicial review of a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) released in December 2023, which advised that local planning authorities should not set energy-efficiency standards for new buildings that exceed those contained in current or forthcoming Building Regulations. Rights Community Action’s position was that local authorities should be able to impose higher energy efficiency standards to reduce GHG emissions from buildings. 

IN THE HIGH COURT

The government’s rationale was that differing local standards create complexity and cost, undermine economies of scale and could adversely affect housing supply. Rights Community Action challenged the lawfulness of the WMS on three grounds: 

1.        That the Secretary of State failed to fulfil his duty to have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement under s 19(1) of the Environment Act 2021. 
2.        That the WMS unlawfully purported to restrict the exercise by local authorities of statutory powers under s 1 of the Planning and Energy Act 2008 and under s 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. 
3.        That it misrepresented the legal position of decision-makers (particularly planning inspectors). 

Justice Lieven DBE rejected all grounds of challenge, on July 2, 2024. 

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL 

The claimants appealed. The core issue on appeal was whether the Secretary of State had complied with the environmental principles duty in section 19 of the Environment Act 2021 (s.19 EA 2021). The claimant argued that the Secretary of State had failed to have “due regard” to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement (EPPS) when the WMS was adopted in December 2023, and a later assessment carried out in February 2024 could not retrospectively cure that failure. As a separate ground, the claimant argued that the WMS unlawfully restricted local authorities’ statutory powers to set higher local energy-efficiency standards under the Planning and Energy Act 2008.

A bench consisting of Lord Justices Dingemans, Lewis, and Holgate rejected the appeal on July 25, 2025. On the s19 duty, the Court agreed that there was a failure to have regard to the EPPS at the moment the WMS was adopted, but held that this defect could subsequently be cured by a legally adequate assessment undertaken in February 2024. The Court emphasized that s.19 imposes a procedural duty; what matters is that the policy-making process as a whole demonstrates due regard, not that regard is shown at a single, fixed point in time. This case was the first time that the s 19 duty was considered in court. As such, this judgment set an important precedent regarding how the Environmental Principles Policy Statement should be applied.  

On the challenge to the lawfulness of the WMS itself, the Court held that the WMS does not override the statutory powers of local planning authorities under the Planning and Energy Act 2008. As such, local planning authorities remain entitled to adopt local plan policies that require higher energy efficiency standards, but only where such departures are supported by local circumstances and viability evidence. 

The claimants have applied to the UK Supreme Court for permission to appeal.

R (Rights: Community: Action Limited) v The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and others

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R (Rights: Community: Action Limited) v The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and others - decision

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Replacing technologies that burn fossil fuels directly with alternatives powered by electricity.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Investment in electricity transmission and distribution systems capable of integrating renewable energy, supporting electrification and strengthening energy system resilience.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

R (Rights: Community: Action Limited) v The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and others - decision

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Renewable energy

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience