The PACCAR fix: promised 'when parliamentary time allows', missing from the 2026 King's Speech

The Supreme Court's 2023 PACCAR ruling made most litigation funding agreements unenforceable damages-based agreements. The Civil Justice Council's June 2025 final report recommended legislation reversing PACCAR, retrospectively and prospectively, plus light-touch regulation. On 17 December 2025 the justice minister accepted the two primary recommendations, prospective-only and with no bill, and the 2026 King's Speech omitted it. The previous enforceability bill fell at the 2024 election. No organisation can fill this: only primary legislation works, and the Association of Litigation Funders' voluntary code has no statutory force.

Third-party funding underwrites most UK group claims, from the sub-postmasters to competition, environmental and data actions. Continued unenforceability risk deters funders, raises capital costs, and pushes cases and funding business abroad, with the sector reported losing its edge to jurisdictions with settled rules.

A short litigation funding bill clarifying that funding agreements are not damages-based agreements and establishing the Civil Justice Council's proportionate regulatory scheme. Drafting exists from the 2024 bill. An independent monitor of funded-claim outcomes and funder returns would inform the regime.

// State-led: Instrument: short Litigation Funding (Enforceability and Regulation) Bill; only primary legislation reverses PACCAR. The outcomes monitor is an adjunct.

Only primary legislation can reverse the ruling and ministers accepted the fix, and it was dropped from the 2026 King's Speech, leaving group-claim funding in limbo.