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European law firm Fieldfisher has successfully fought off an application for judicial review of new legislation that requires construction industry employers to pay an annual levy.
The challenge, which was brought by Hudson Contract Services Limited, was to new legislation that was brought in following a five year development and consultation process, which made the levy system significantly easier to administer and had widespread support from across the construction industry. Representing the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the Fieldfisher team provided detailed analysis of vast amounts of documentary material, with the case straddling both public and tax law.
The new legislation is set to raise between £150m and £180m each year, which will be used to support training and skills in construction.
Had Hudson's challenge - which came against the backdrop of the government's wider, as yet uncertain apprenticeship levy - succeeded, the CITB would have been limited to the previous, highly restrictive levy system which had been widely discredited across the industry.
The Fieldfisher team was led by senior partner Matthew Lohn, with support from senior associates David Northfield and Alice Hickey.