The Committee of Public Accounts has published a report examining HM Treasury's revised approach to major project governance. Under the new approach, HM Treasury will fully implement recommendations from the Office for Value for Money (OVFM) for projects exceeding £10bn, classified as 'mega-projects'. The government has also merged the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure and Projects Authority to create the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), which will oversee infrastructure strategy and project delivery. While welcoming these reforms, the Committee emphasises that their success will depend on HM Treasury and NISTA establishing effective oversight and accountability mechanisms to build market confidence and ensure alignment with strategic objectives.

The Committee on Standards has reported on an investigation into whether Alex Davies-Jones MP has breached paragraph 12 of the Code of Conduct for Members, on paid advocacy, when asking a topical question at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development questions on 8 November 2022. The Commissioner has found that Davies-Jones' topical question requesting government support for the British Council, from whom she had received outside reward or consideration, breached paragraph 12 of the Code of Conduct. The Committee has reported that Davies-Jones has accepted this decision and apologised for the breach. However, the Committee accepted that Davies-Jones had no intention to breach the rules. The Committee has recommended that no further action be taken.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has published a report on the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The report assessed the UK’s planning for the withdrawal, the evacuation and the future relationship with Afghanistan and is highly critical of the UK government’s planning, preparation, intelligence, diplomacy and leadership during the withdrawal. According to the report, there were numerous failings such as no clear line of command, poor coordination between government departments and no plan for evacuation of Afghans who were not employed by the UK government but supported the UK. The report makes recommendations such as that the UK government creates a future strategy and plan to re-establish diplomatic presence in the country as soon as it is safe to do so.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has published a report on cultural touring in the EU, finding that UK artists continue to face barriers when working and touring in European countries following Brexit. The Committee says that visa and work permit requirements, customs procedures and transport restrictions have increased costs and made touring more difficult for performers, musicians, orchestras and their support teams. The report states that artists face challenges when travelling between EU countries, transporting instruments and equipment, and selling merchandise while on tour. Evidence submitted to the Committee suggests that these barriers have reduced touring opportunities, increased financial pressures and limited cultural exchange between the UK and the EU. The Committee calls on the government to seek practical solutions through future discussions with the EU, including arrangements for short-term touring, extended stays, customs barriers and cabotage rules. It also recommends that the government consider participation in Creative Europe or its successor programme, pursue cultural agreements with individual EU Member States, reduce the upfront costs of ATA carnets, reinstate orchestral tax relief for EU tours, facilitate the designation of St Pancras International as a CITES port of entry and exit and establish a dedicated cultural touring advice hub to provide practical advice and support for artists and their teams.

The European Parliament Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection has released a draft report on addictive design of online services and consumer protection in the EU single market, which includes a motion for a Parliament resolution. The report also highlighted the harmful impact addictive online services had on people's health and emphasised the urgent need to regulate addictive design of online services. Parliament is now calling on the European Commission to bring forth a legislation against addictive design and urges the Commission to revise the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), Consumer Rights Directive and Unfair Contract Terms Directive (Fitness check), to tackle the rising issues regarding the addictive and manipulative design of online services.

The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee has published its 15th report for the 2024-2025 session which contains the Committee's responses to the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [HL]: Government Amendments.

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy has published a report about the collapse of a major espionage prosecution under the Official Secrets Act 1911 (OSA 1911). The case, which involved allegations that two British citizens passed information about Members of Parliament to the Chinese state, was abandoned by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in September 2025.

The House of Lords Home-based Working Committee has published its report ‘Is working from home working?’ examining the effects and future development of remote and hybrid working across the UK. The Committee concludes that working from home, now a mainstream practice since the pandemic, could help the government’s wider ambition of bringing people back into work, particularly those with disabilities or long-term health conditions, if integrated effectively into existing employment initiatives.

Raw materials such as crude oil, metals and agricultural products.

Murabaha agreements may be employed to provide working capital or acquisition financing (such as financing the acquisition of real estate). A Murabaha arrangement entered into for such purpose is known as a commodity Murabaha. A transaction known as Tawarruq or ‘reverse Murabaha’ closely resembles the commodity Murabaha in function, and the terms are often used interchangeably. Shari’ah distinguishes between these arrangements. On the one hand, commodity Murabaha must meet the requirements for Murabaha transactions and largely focuses on the behaviour of the Islamic financial institution (IFI). On the other hand, Tawarruq focuses instead on the Customer. Under Tawarruq, a person (the Mustawriq) buys an asset for a deferred price with the express purpose of selling the asset for cash to a third party. Shari’ah scholars do not universally acknowledge Tawarruq as an acceptable transaction, although the majority hold that it is permissible provided that it complies with Shari’ah requirements governing sales. The provision of working capital presents one of the most difficult issues in Islamic finance. In the UK, the most

An introduction to commodities arbitration Arbitration under the rules of a trade association is a major feature of commodities disputes. Trade association arbitration is often provided for in contracts for the sale and purchase of metals, grains, sugar, cotton and coffee. By contrast, petroleum products contracts, which often incorporate large traders’ general terms and conditions, tend to provide for disputes to be resolved in Court or by international arbitration under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or London Court of International Arbitration (‘LCIA’) for example. The advantages of trade association arbitration are numerous. Typically, trade associations offer a speedier and more cost-effective form of dispute resolution compared to Court proceedings or international arbitration. In common with other forms of arbitration, the process is private, allowing for confidential dispute resolution. Trade arbitrations also tend to draw their arbitrators from current or former members of the industry, which allows specialist commodities disputes to be determined by a tribunal with in-depth knowledge of trading and shipping the relevant commodity. Trade

An introduction to contracts for the sale and purchase of commodities Contracts for the sale and purchase of commodities lie at the heart of international trade. A single transaction for the sale of a particular commodity is likely to involve a number of other contracts or commercial transactions including but not limited to: • a contract for the transportation of the commodity by sea and, perhaps, by road and/or rail • a contract of insurance • the execution of a bill or exchange or the opening of a letter of credit or other documentary credit Many, but not all, disputes arising out of contracts for the sale of commodities and other related contracts will be determined in arbitration. As will be discussed below, many of the bodies that produce standard form contracts or other services for a particular trade or trades also provide arbitration services. For more information on commodities arbitration, see Practice Note: Commodities arbitration—trade associations and arbitration rules. The focus of this Practice Note is on contracts for the sale