Permission to appeal decisions by UK Supreme Court
23 December 2015
Permission to appeal decisions on Littlewoods' £1bn tax dispute and a case relating to whether abortion services should be made available to women ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland.
1. Littlewoods Limited and others (Appellants) v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (Respondent) UKSC 2015/0177
Littlewoods Limited and others (Respondents) v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (Appellant) UKSC 2015/0178
On appeal from the Court of Appeal Civil Division (England and Wales)
The Supreme Court has granted applications by Littlewoods and HMRC in an appeal and cross-appeal relating to Littlewoods overpaid VAT to HMRC. HMRC have now repaid the principal sums together with simple interest at the rates provided for under s. 78 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 ("VATA"). Littlewoods seeks to recover in restitution the time value of the principal sums (in compound interest) which it claims exceeds the simple interest available under VATA by a sum of £1 billion.
The Court of Appeal judgment being appealed is available here:
2. R (on the application of A) (a Child) (by her litigation Friend B) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for Health (Respondent) UKSC 2015/0220
On appeal from the Court of Appeal Civil Division (England and Wales)
The Supreme Court has granted 'A' permission to appeal in a Judicial Review case relating to whether abortion services should be made available via the NHS to women ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland.
'A', a young woman of 15 resident in Northern Ireland, fell pregnant and had to travel to a private clinic in England with B, her mother (and her litigation friend in these proceedings), at a total cost of £900, because abortion services are not available through the NHS for women ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland. This is because the Abortion Act 1967, which liberalised the law of abortion, does not extend to Northern Ireland, although the Secretary of State has the power to require that the procedure is provided to women from Northern Ireland through the NHS in England. 'A' brought proceedings for Judicial Review. She contends that the failure to exercise that power and the continuation of the exclusionary policy was unlawful.
The Court of Appeal judgment being appealed is available here:
Other results of the most recent round of permission to appeal applications will be published in the mid January on the Court's website.