The Automated Vehicles Act (the Act) regulates the marketing of self-driving vehicles, prohibiting the use of misleading terminology or communications that could confuse consumers. In this article Ben Gardner explores how the use of terminology that could mislead consumers will be regulated. The Act has now received Royal Assent and creates a regulatory framework which applies to the deployment and use of automated vehicles on UK roads ...
On 3 May 2024, the Court of Session upheld the Scottish Ministers’ decision to refuse Miller Homes Ltd planning permission for 250 houses in West Calder. The decision is the first occasion on which the Court has considered Policy 16 of the NPF4 (Quality Homes) and confirms the approach to be adopted when considering applications for development of unallocated housing sites in the absence of an adopted local development plan postdating NPF4 ...
With the race to develop AIs, the intellectual property protection for them is an increasingly vexed subject. The UK Intellectual Property Office’s (UKIPO) new guidelines may help. The issue European and UK patent law excludes from patent protection inventions relating solely to a program for a computer or a mathematical method. The exception to this is where there is a ‘technical contribution’ to the state of the art ...
As employers begin to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the workplace, its growing use within the recruitment process means that the potential risks of its implementation need to be considered. The Responsible Technology Adoption Unit (RTA) has published guidance to assist HR and recruitment organisations on how to use AI responsibly ...
Following the announcement of a UK general election, set for Thursday 4 July 2024, the real estate industry now has a unique opportunity to pro-actively engage with policymakers on sustainability – helping shape future regulation and strategy to support meeting the industry’s net zero targets ...
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the Bill) completed the legislative process and received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and is now law. The changes introduced by the Bill include better protection for consumers in relation to subscription contracts, regulation of fake reviews, the display of ecommerce pricing information (to avoid ‘drip pricing’) and enhanced enforcement measures (including GDPR style fines) against non-compliant traders ...
On 17 April 2024, the JCT Design and Build 2024 (JCT DB 2024) was published. This is the first contract published in the new JCT 2024 suite, with further contracts set to be published on a rolling basis over the coming year. There are some notable changes, but overall the JCT has taken a balanced approach on the extent of the changes, building on the previous JCT Design and Build 2016 (JCT DB 2016). An understanding of the key changes is essential for those looking to adopt the new form ...
A General Election will be held on 4 July 2024. In this article, Sarah Jenkins considers what that might mean for the pensions industry What does the General Election mean for pensions? It has been a busy time for the pensions industry of late - a new policy, consultation or legislation seemingly appeared each month. However, the pensions plates are not the only ones which the Government has been spinning, and much of the planned pension reform has not yet made it to the statute books ...
On 15 May 2024 a new report, titled 'Skills 2030; Building a World-Class Skills System' was launched in Westminster. Below are our key recommendations of the report and what it could mean for the automotive sector. The report includes contributions from multiple industries and sector leaders including the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), Jisc, The University of Derby and The University of Warwick ...
On 16 May, a letter was signed by over 50 participants and groups from the digital asset industry. They sent it to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging them to back a Bill (HR 4763, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act or “FIT 21”). FIT 21 is expected to be debated and voted on this week ...
The Automated Vehicles Act has received Royal Assent after a smooth and quick passage through parliament. In this article, Ben Gardner outlines what organisations in the sector can expect to happen next. What is the Automated Vehicles Act? The Act lays the foundations for the future deployment of automated vehicles on public roads ...
HR teams have a lot on their plate, but a key priority for 2024 is undoubtedly protecting the employee brand proposition. Our 2024 online programme is focused on supporting HR teams to do just this, equipping them with the tools they need to protect the employee brand proposition of the organisations they work for. Our latest webinar focused on what organisations need to do to protect their employee data ...
When the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) first invited comments in 2018 on the wide-ranging topic of termination of leases, it sought views not only on those elements which were subsequently covered in its draft bill, the Leases (Automatic Continuation etc) (Scotland) (Bill) published in 2022, but also on the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act 1949 ...
When assessing your business assets, IP might not be at the front of your mind, but it could be one of your most valuable assets as it’s at the heart of your business. This article provides a whistlestop tour of the IP assets that are important to consider ...
NPF4 forms part of the statutory development plan taking precedence where it postdates local development plans. Tesco argued that the local planning authority failed when considering whether the store was "small scale neighbourhood retail development". Tesco has successfully challenged a decision by Perth and Kinross Council granting planning permission to Aldi for a store at Pitheavlis, Perth. The store was intended to be a direct replacement for Aldi's existing store at Glasgow Road ...
Last month, Shoosmiths hosted a second event with leading industry body, Regen on REMA, The UK’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements – Second Consultation, which closed [this week ]. The event featured insights from Dan Osgood, the director of energy markets and analysis at Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, as well as a number of expert panel discussions around the key parts of the consultation ...
Cabinet Office has developed and published a standard Carbon Reduction Contract Schedule which provides standard terms and conditions to support contract-specific decarbonisation objectives to be set and delivered and provides a framework to monitor and assess the Suppliers’ decarbonisation performance ...
Shoosmiths’ energy & infrastructure partner Chris Pritchett hosted a panel discussion at the Solar and Storage Live London last week, focussing on the often-overlooked elements of the low carbon transport transition, namely accessibility, regional parity, and the regulatory and industry code barriers to rolling out some of the solutions that this transition so desperately needs ...
In our fourth article in the series focusing on the risk of discrimination in the workplace, we consider the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity, the common issues that arise and what employers should do to avoid claims of discrimination. Despite the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) making it unlawful to discriminate against women because of pregnancy or maternity leave, women continue to face significant challenges in the workplace when they become parents ...
On 23 April 2024 the U.S.A.’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a final rule banning non-compete clauses in employee contracts. The rule will take effect six months following formal publication.1 The scope of the rule is an absolute and immediate prohibition of non-compete clauses, with the obligation on employers to serve notice on employees informing them they are no longer bound by the clause ...
Between September 2021 and May 2022, the words 'stress', 'mental health' and 'depression' appeared in more than 12,000 early conciliation or employment tribunal cases , demonstrating the prevalence of this subject matter in employment-related disputes. Today, more than ever, employers are expected to afford greater consideration to workplace conditions that do or could impact upon employees’ mental health ...
Earlier this month, the UK Joint Taskforce (UKJT) formally launched the Legal Statement on Digital Assets and English Insolvency Law. The statement aims to provide clarity to critical legal questions regarding how digital assets are treated in any insolvency. Shoosmiths contributed towards the consultation for this legal statement through the Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery network ...
A local planning authority (“LPA”) can take enforcement action in respect of planning breaches where it considers it to be expedient to do so. However, breaches of planning control can become lawful and immune from enforcement action after a period of time ...
From 2 May 2024 Companies House is set to receive new powers to impose financial penalties for non-compliance with company legislation. Currently, the Registrar of Companies operates a civil penalty regime only for late filing of accounts. Under the new regulations (The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Financial Penalty) Regulations 2024) the Registrar will be able to impose direct financial penalties for a wider range of offences under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) ...
Do social media users have a fair choice between giving up their privacy and paying a subscription fee? The European Data Protection Board has given its opinion on what’s fair for large platforms in the latest shake up of personalised online advertising. When it comes to justifying processing personal data for targeted advertising under EU data protection laws, Meta (along with other online platforms) has been feeling the squeeze ...
