header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
27 January 2023 / Neil Parpworth
Issue: 8010 / Categories: Features , Constitutional law , Public
printer mail-detail

Counsellors of State: time to widen the circle? (Pt 2)

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
Is the Counsellors of State Act 2022 a short-term solution? Neil Parpworth suggests it may be a missed opportunity for bolder reforms

In brief

  • The modest changes made to the Regency Act 1937 by virtue of s 1, Counsellors of State Act 2022, which received royal assent in December 2022.
  • Consideration of why the new Act might be regarded as a missed opportunity to make more significant reforms with longer lasting effects.

The Counsellors of State Act 2022 (CSA 2022) received royal assent on 6 December 2022 and came into effect the day after (see s 2(2), CSA 2022). Unusually, it is a piece of legislation which was effectively requested by the sovereign, as was evident from a message sent by the king to both Houses of Parliament on 14 November 2022, which read as follows:

‘To enable continued efficiency of public business when I am unavailable, such as while I am undertaking official duties overseas, I confirm that I would be most content, should Parliament

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

Read All
Sponsored by
NLJ Career Profile: Nikki Bowker, Devonshires

NLJ Career Profile: Nikki Bowker, Devonshires

Nikki Bowker, head of litigation and dispute resolution at Devonshires, on career resilience, diversity in law and channelling Elle Woods when the pressure is on

Ellisons—Sarah Osborne

Ellisons—Sarah Osborne

Leasehold enfranchisement specialist joins residential property team

DWF—Chris Air

DWF—Chris Air

Firm strengthens commercial team in Manchester with partner appointment

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Conditional job offers carry hidden risks for employers
A simple phrase like ‘subject to references’ may not protect employers as much as they think. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, analyses recent employment cases showing how conditional job offers can still create binding contracts
NLJ this week: Diamond rings and broken promises

An engagement ring may symbolise romance, but the courts remain decidedly practical about who keeps it after a split, writes Mark Pawlowski, barrister and professor emeritus of property law at the University of Greenwich, in this week's NLJ

NLJ this week: FCA enforcement embraces ‘quality over quantity’
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has become ‘a very different organisation’ under its new enforcement leadership, writes James Tyler, of counsel at Peters & Peters LLP, in the latest issue of NLJ
NLJ this week: When post-breach events rewrite damages claims
Contract damages are usually assessed at the date of breach—but not always. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Gascoigne, knowledge lawyer at LexisNexis, examines the growing body of cases where courts have allowed later events to reshape compensation
King sets out Starmer’s legislative agenda
The government will aim to pass legislation banning leasehold for new flats and capping ground rent, introducing non-compulsory digital ID and creating a ‘duty of candour’ for public servants (also known as the Hillsborough law) in the next Parliament
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll