Last month the Scottish Government published “Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation”, a consultation paper on a new Land Reform Bill. The paper sets out the proposals for the bill and seeks views on various related issues, including measures aimed at “large-scale holdings”, changes to subsidies, the introduction of a new type of agricultural tenancy, and transparency of land ownership ...
ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) has become a familiar phrase and, in practice, the component parts of it are developing at different rates. ESG in leasing models: focus on the ‘social’ ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) has become a familiar phrase and, in practice, the component parts of it are developing at different rates ...
As we discussed in a prior update, on July 13, 2022, Plaintiff Christian Buckner filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court in Tampa, Florida, seeking to enjoin the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s set-aside of 10% (around $37 billion) of transportation funding for “small business concerns” owned and controlled by “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals ...
The Ministry of Public Works and Housing (“MPW”) has issued the Circular Letter No. 21/SE/M/2021 on The Procedures for Fulfillment of the Business License Requirements, the Implementation of Construction Work Competence Certification, and the Implementation of Business Entity Certificates and Construction Work Competence Certificates (“Circular Letter”) ...
We would like to share with you the most recent updates regarding the draft Power Development Plan (“PDP”) VIII, a mechanism for wind, solar power projects in transition and future, and the police investigation into 62 wind power projects. PDP VIII UPDATE Following the report of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (“MOIT”) to the Prime Minister under official letter no ...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by commercial tenants against the High Court’s summary judgment rulings ordering them to pay rent arrears notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Even though Belgium is lagging behind when it comes to enacting specific legislation, companies doing business in Belgium should be aware of the risk of being held accountable for human rights violations or environmental pollution up or down their value chain. Human rights violations are a ‘hot’ topic and businesses are confronted with ethical challenges in this respect ...
Asbestos was used extensively in UK commercial and residential buildings in the 20th century, primarily for insulation, flooring and roofing, as well as being sprayed on ceilings and walls. On health grounds, the UK banned the use and import of all asbestos in November 1999. The House of Commons DWP Select Committee recently conducted an inquiry into the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) approach to asbestos management ...
In an effort to counteract the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 Pandemic, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November of 2021. Part of that bill set aside $370 billion to improve and expand transportation, and further earmarked 10% of those funds for socially and economically disadvantaged government contractors ...
On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would modify its requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule would revise and replace the EPA’s water quality certification rule promulgated in 2020 (the “2020 Rule”) ...
The Royal Decree No. 750 (B.E. 2565) issued under the Revenue Code regarding income tax exemption on investment in Thai startups (the “Royal Decree”) was recently published in the Government Gazette, in cases where the funding for the startups is provided directly or indirectly through Venture Capital (VC), Corporate Venture Capital (CVC), or private equity trust (PE Trust). This Royal Decree aims to unlock capital gains tax on investment in startups under the Royal Decree No ...
Switch2 Energy, Shoosmiths and HermeticaBlack came together to discuss procurement and delivery of new, low cost, low carbon heat networks ...
In conversation with... Our panel of experts - Nina Pindham of No.5 Chamber, Sam Grange and Will Thomas from Shoosmiths and Rhys Bradshaw from DLP Planning took a fresh look at the new "Planning" Bill and gave us their thoughts. There are many questions that many have about the new ‘Planning’ bill... Is this the final Act for s ...
With its increasing population and urbanization, Thailand cannot escape from the mountains of solid waste generated in households and in communities across the country. The inappropriate disposal of solid wastes will cause serious ramifications which would be a national nightmare, such as air pollution, water pollution and contagious diseases. All of these issues are harmful not only in the environmental scale, but also in respect of the public health of each domestic sector ...
The list of extensions for the adaptation of municipal and inter-municipal plans to the (new) rules on land classification and ualification contained in the Legal Framework for Territorial Management Instruments (Regime Jurídico dos Instrumentos de estão Territorial - “RGJIT”) 1 has been joined by a new one, with the publication of Decree-Law 45/2022 of 8 July ...
More than two years on from the first work-from-home order of the Covid-19 pandemic, business leaders are still grappling with changes to working practices that one executive says could lead to a two-lane economy in which swathes of workers never return to the office ...
What is a JCT contract? A JCT contract is a standard form of building contract produced by a UK body known as the Joint Contracts Tribunal. The JCT is comprised of seven members who represent a wide range of interests in the building sector from contractors, architects, and surveyors. The documents produced by the JCT are intended to standardise construction contracts with a view to reducing the time taken to negotiate the documentation ...
Much has been written about the recent introduction of a right on the part of secure agricultural tenants to sell back their tenancies for value to the landlord. I want to have a look at another means by which some secure tenants can sell on the tenancy without involving the landlord at all. That the tenant’s interest in a secure traditional agricultural tenancy has a considerable value is now well established and the reasons easy to understand ...
In Abbey Healthcare (Mill Hill) Ltd v Simply Construct (UK) LLP, the Court of Appeal recently determined that a collateral warranty, signed four years after completion, was a construction contract that applied retrospectively, therefore an adjudication award applied to the dispute under the warranty and was enforceable. The court’s decision provides clarity that a collateral warranty can be sufficient evidence of contractual obligations to seek enforcement of an adjudication award ...
Welcome to the third and final part in our series of articles on the Building Safety Act 2022. In Part 1 of our series of articles on the Building Safety Act 2022 we discussed the greater exposure to claims due to extensions in limitation periods and the measures aimed at addressing failures to remedy historical safety defects. In Part 2, we discussed the dutyholder regime and, in this final part, we look at the new gateway regime for higher risk buildings ...
Switch2 Energy, Shoosmiths and BEIS have come together to provide an update on how regulation, rising energy prices and decarbonisation targets are impacting heat network operators and customers. This second webinar, in a series of three, looks at what to do with existing buildings in relation to heat networks ...
Welcome to the second part in our series of articles on the Building Safety Act 2022. In Part 1 of our series of articles on the Building Safety Act 2022 we discussed the greater exposure to claims due to extensions in limitation periods and the measures aimed at addressing failures to remedy historical safety defects. In Part 2, we discuss the dutyholder regime and look at the steps developers can take now to prepare ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 Sold Products emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’. The event featured guest speakers: Emma Watson, Net Zero Senior Manager, CDP & Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi); Mark Lancelott, Consulting Director, PA Consulting; and Emma Darroch, Responsible Business Manager, Sky ...
