With the impact of climate change increasingly evident, it is no wonder that many consumers are endeavouring to make more environmentally conscious decisions in their day-to-day lives. Consumers’ focus to become more environmentally friendly often centralises around changes to their purchases of small, everyday goods such as food, toiletries and other household essentials ...
With an estimated 3.5 million people suffering from fertility issues in the UK, and with fertility treatment involving an emotionally draining not to mention a long, costly and risky process, it is unsurprising that Nickie Aiken MP has begun a campaign for change and better employment rights for individuals and couples undergoing fertility treatment ...
On the 30 July 2024, the FCA released a statement confirming their proposals to extend the current pause to the time firms have to response to consumer about motor finance complaints that involve a discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) ...
We published an article on the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) commenting on the publication of the exposure drafts of two International Financial Reporting Standards (the Standards). The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently published its response welcoming the Standards. Key points The FCA stated that the Standards generally met its expectations as set out in its Strategy 2022 to 2025 ...
On the 10 May 2023, the FCA published its findings from its review into firms’ approaches to fair value assessments under the new Consumer Duty. In conducting its review, the FCA’s objective was to understand how firms in different sectors are implementing the price and value requirements, in a bid to ensure that the internal supervisory and regulatory approaches within the FCA reflect industry thinking ...
The FCA has published details of the financial penalties imposed during 2020 showing a significant fall on previous years in the number of penalties imposed and aggregate value. It also calls for greater resources to help tackle frauds and scams. In 2020 the FCA imposed 11 fines totalling £192,570,018. Despite the number of fines reducing significantly there was still a range in the issues which resulted in penalties being imposed ...
In its Primary Market Bulletin 49 (PMB 49) (published in May 2024), the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issues a reminder to premium listed companies incorporated in the UK of their continuing disclosure obligations under the Listing Rules (LR). FCA issues reminders to listed companies on disclosure obligations The reminders emerged following a thematic 2023 review (the review) looking at disclosures made pursuant to LR 9.4 and LR 13 ...
On 20 April 2022 the FCA published its final rules requiring the disclosure of data in relation to diversity on listed company boards and executive committees. Policy Statement On 20 April 2022, the FCA published its final rules requiring the disclosure of data in relation to diversity on listed company boards and executive committees. The rules will apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2022, so the first reporting will be in 2023 ...
On 25 September 2023, in conjunction with the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority published a consultation paper on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector. The proposals include measures to ‘support healthy work cultures, reduce groupthink and unlock talent’, in order to support the competitiveness of the UK’s financial services sector ...
On 26 July, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published two consultation papers, CP24/12 and CP 24/13 (together, the CPs), relating to the new regime for public offers and admissions to trading to replace the existing UK Prospectus Regulation. These proposals are part of a package of measures designed to strengthen the UK’s capital markets; promoting more efficient and effective capital raising for issuers and increasing investor opportunities ...
Yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper on social media guidance for firms promoting financial services and products. The draft guidance does not contain anything new so far as "dos and don'ts" for promotional material - including the new rules set to come into force on 8 October this year regarding promotion of crypto-related investments (see relevant article here) ...
On 11 January 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published policy statement PS24/1 (without consultation). The policy statement sets out temporary changes to the complaints handling rules for motor finance complaints, amid a rise in complaints against motor finance firms relating to commission ...
Employees have the right to access personal data relating to them held by their employer. However, responding to such access requests is not always easy. In a 2-part article, we tackle the 12 questions employers most frequently ask when handling DSARs. 7 ...
Employees have the right to access personal data relating to them held by their employer. However, responding to such access requests is not always easy. In a 2-part article, we tackle the 12 questions employers most frequently ask when handling DSARs. 1. How do I verify that the request is genuine? There is no set format for making a data subject access request (DSAR), so a request might be made verbally, in writing, by email or by other electronic means ...
It is not uncommon to find parents continuing to pay an allowance to their children into adulthood, and in some cases this support continues post-marriage and can include payment of school fees or other financial provision being paid on a regular basis ...
This year, Family Mediation Week takes place between 17-21 January 2022. It exists to raise awareness of the benefits of family mediation and how the process can help separating families resolve their issues productively and collaboratively. The campaign is organised by the Family Mediation Council and is supported by Resolution ...
The UK data regulator the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a clear warning to organisations that the biggest cyber risk they face is not from hackers themselves but from complacency towards internal data protection compliance. Such companies may face a double whammy of a cyber-attack and subsequent enforcement action. The ICO has fined Interserve Group (a UK based construction company) £4.4 million for breaching data protection law ...
This article examines whether the UK competition authority's decision means a change in the analysis of mergers in the digital economy. On 30 November 2021 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded in its Report that its concerns can only be addressed by Facebook selling GIPHY in its entirety to an approved buyer ...
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) published exposure drafts of two International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) ...
Following the controversial consultation exercise that ran earlier this year the Permitted Development right authorising conversions from uses falling within Use Class E to residential uses will be added to the statute books this week. What is coming into force is significantly pared down from what was proposed in the consultation exercise and David Mathias sets out some of the headlines below. The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development etc ...
Why a comprehensive exclusion of loss clause should cover 'wasted expenditure' - and how employers should resist. The Court of Appeal decision in Soteria Insurance Limited (formerly CIS General Insurance Limited) v IBM United Kingdom Limited (February 2022 Court of Appeal) contains a short but important point for those drafting exclusion clauses - especially those that seek to exclude indirect and consequential costs, loss of profits, loss of opportunity, etc ...
It’s been an exhausting week for climate and transport policy. Whilst the controversy around the Conservatives’ self-declared “war on motorists” will rightly rage, there seems little doubt that the move to electrification of domestic vehicles is one which they accept is inevitable, and ideology aside, makes good financial sense ...
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has sought to consider as many voices as possible in its assessment of the vast human impact the pandemic has had on both individuals and organisations. Every Story Matters is the Inquiry’s way of doing so, enabling those in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to share their experiences of the pandemic with the Inquiry, via an online form. To date, around 6,000 people have shared their stories ...
To celebrate the Euro 2024 football tournament kicking-off, we wanted to pay tribute by ranking the data protection authorities from the nations competing in the tournament. Below, we have set out our top ranked data protection authorities and the reasons why they are our top picks. Rank 1: Spain No ...
An analyst estimates that the market value in 2023 for digital advertising will be US$701 billion. The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a legislative competition law 'key' to 'unlocking' the big-data relating to digital advertising held in the ‘safe’ owned by BigTech. Advertising agencies are potentially one class of beneficiary (see link for article - The Digital Markets Act - Strategy reboot for online advertising) ...
