To try but not to succeed: R (Friends of the Earth and others) v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

The Court of Appeal has recently given judgment in the case of R (Friends of the Earth and others) v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change [2009] EWCA Civ 810 - a judicial review of the Government's failure to hit statutory targets for the eradication of fuel poverty.

The court held that the Secretary of State was entitled to take into account the budgetary pressures that he was under, and that the duty on him to hit the targets was not absolute - more in the nature of a duty to try than to succeed.

The case has implications for the enforceability of other statutory duties which appear to bind the Government to meet important targets on, for instance, climate change.

Wragge & Co's Public Law and Regulation team examines the implications of the case here.