The government are set to introduce new measures on High in Fat, Salt and Sugar (HFSS) food including restrictions on volume offers and new rules on placement and promotion. What is a HFSS food? HFSS foods are food or soft drink products that are assessed as high in fat, salt or sugar in accordance with the Department of Health nutrient profiling model. Foods scoring 4 or more points and drinks scoring 1 or more are classified as HFSS ...
On 25 March 2022, the European Commission and the United States Government announced an “agreement in principle” on a new EU-US Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework (the Framework). The purpose of this is to address the concerns that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) raised in the Schrems II decision, and thus allow the flow of personal data from the EU to the US in a manner that is compliant with the requirements of the GDPR ...
Changes to the rules relating to the use of red diesel will come into effect from April 1 2022 as a result of amendments to the Hydro Carbon Oil Duties Act 1979. The new rules set out a list of “excepted machines” which are allowed to use red diesel. A vehicle that is used for a purpose related to agriculture, aquatic farming, horticulture and forestry is allowed to use red diesel and can be used on the public road if the use is for one of those purposes ...
HM Treasury has recently published the outcome of its UK Prospectus Regime Review. The Review Outcome sets out important reforms to the UK prospectus regime for the public issuance of securities and admission to trading on capital markets, outlining the policy approach the UK Government will take following last year's Prospectus Regime Review consultation. This briefing note sets out the key measures confirmed by the UK Government in the Review Outcome ...
Here we look at some of the possible avenues to explore in relation to contracts governed by English law if you are affected by events unfolding in Ukraine. Reviewing your contracts might seem like a minor inconvenience compared to what has been happening in Ukraine over the last month or so ...
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published its combined consultation on draft Regulations designed to improve accessibility of illiquid assets for defined contribution schemes. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published its combined consultation on draft Regulations designed to improve accessibility of illiquid assets for defined contribution schemes ...
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, many individuals are being called up to defend their home countries. This has left employers wondering whether they are obligated to release those employees from employment. In the UK, if an employee is mobilised for full-time service in the UK armed forced, there are rules in place to protect an employee’s employment ...
The Government of the Russian Federation has adopted Resolution No. 497 dated March 28, 2022, which es-tablishes a large-scale moratorium on bankruptcy from April 1. Meanwhile, earlier on March 9, 2022, the Fed-eral Tax Service had already decided to suspend the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings. In this newsletter, we will provide you with an analysis of the key provisions of the moratorium ...
On 31 March 2022, a legislative Act that makes considerable changes to the sale of consumer goods was published in the Belgian State Gazette. This law transposes into Belgian legislation two European directives: EU Directive 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services and EU Directive 2019/771 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods ...
The government have announced a variety of new immigration routes aimed at assisting businesses to fill labour shortages and plug the gaps left by Brexit. Here we summarise the changes that come into force in April 2022. The Home Office released the statement of changes to the immigration rules on 15 March 2022 with details of the new routes that will open to applicants from 11 April 2022 ...
A recent judgement of the Court of Appeal brings welcome clarification of the principles regarding the recovery of wasted expenditure claims in IT disputes. Summary Whist wasted costs arising from failed IT implementations often form part of a subsequent loss of profit claim, the two forms of loss are separate and distinct. Consequently, in order to be effective, exclusions must specifically refer to wasted costs ...
As we enter the brave new world in which we are all expected to get on with ‘living with COVID’, what should employers be considering for staff who know or suspect that they have COVID-19? What are the new rules? The government has been slowly winding down the COVID-related legal requirements in England over the past few months. While Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland retain some restrictions it is expected that these will also be removed in due course ...
The headlines of the just announced energy strategy were already well known and the comments of ‘missed opportunities’ by various interested parties were equally predictable. Green targets to reduce demand such as energy efficiency measures and improving home insulation have fallen by the wayside, as have those for businesses and organisations on the demand side, with no mention of measures such as plant and equipment switching, on-site renewables or fuel switching ...
HM Treasury has recently published the outcome of its UK Prospectus Regime Review. The Review Outcome sets out important reforms to the UK prospectus regime for the public issuance of securities and admission to trading on capital markets, outlining the policy approach the UK Government will take following last year's Prospectus Regime Review consultation. This briefing note sets out the key measures confirmed by the UK Government in the Review Outcome ...
The government have introduced various visa concessions for Ukrainian citizens affected by the conflict. Legal director of immigration, Rachel Harvey and Pavan Sumal, associate specialising in immigration law discuss the routes available and what you can do to assist. In country options Concessions are available for those who were in the UK at the start of the conflict ...
Dramatic changes to energy supply security driven by geopolitical upheaval The EU energy transition is aimed at weaning Europe of its fossil fuel dependence and to enable Europe to reach climate emissions reduction targets. For the last 100 years, energy consumption other than transportation has been supplied almost entirely by hydropower. Norway in later years has been actively reducing its dependence on fossil fuel for road transport, costal shipping and the offshore supply fleet ...
There is concern the race to achieve carbon net-zero is leading to the loss of productive agricultural land to forestry. Investors recognise land with planting potential as an excellent investment, which has had a distorting effect on land values. To some extent, this is simply the operation of market forces. A landowner with an unprofitable farming business may well be tempted to sell land to a forestry investor and there are no restrictions on their ability to do so ...
Family businesses underpin the Scottish economy and most have endured a particularly turbulent few years. While many businesses have sadly struggled, others have adapted, and family businesses, in particular, have demonstrated a remarkable resilience and ability to positively respond to the market in these uncertain times ...
On 25 March 2022, the European Commission and the United States Government announced an “agreement in principle” on a new EU-US Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework (the Framework). The purpose of this is to address the concerns that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) raised in the Schrems II decision, and thus allow the flow of personal data from the EU to the US in a manner that is compliant with the requirements of the GDPR ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 employee commuting and homeworking emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’. When setting science-based targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), companies whose Scope 3 emissions account for more than 40% of their total emissions must set Scope 3 targets ...
Our Shoospeak HR podcast welcomes special guest Pavan Sumal who explains the options open to Ukrainians looking to flee the current conflict. Shoosmiths colleagues Andy Graham and Amy Leech are joined by special guest Pavan Sumal (Associate within Shoosmiths’ Immigration Team) to discuss visa options and other immigration support available for Ukrainians fleeing the current conflict ...
The competition review of local market mergers is often complex. This series of three articles breaks down that complexity into ten key questions ...
The demise of Kids Company and its aftermath has unfortunately overshadowed the pioneering work that charity did for nearly twenty years with some of the most damaged children and young people in our society. In the words of its founder “making a commitment to help maltreated children heal through unrelenting love by being resolute and kind, and over the years understanding how to help children acquire mastery over their traumas ...
The late 1990s to early 2000s were a time when the internet – still in its infancy – was akin to the wild-west; new, uncharted, and rapidly growing in usage and adoption. The accompanying excitement over this new technology fuelled a stock market bubble caused by untenable speculation on dot-com companies ...
On 6 April 2022, Shoosmiths hosted the second in a series of webinars about the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry. The webinar focussed on the current status of the inquiry and gave practical tips for potentially interested parties. Hosted by Hayley Saunders (Partner), the webinar included talks by Charles Arrand (Partner), Alex Friston (Associate) and Hannah Frost (Associate) ...
