The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has published the final update to the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) funding allocations. The guidance includes updated in-year recoupment and high needs deductions, revised pupil number tools and modifications to early years funding, including increased funded weeks for under-2s entitlements.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has published guidance for schools and local authorities on the teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG) for the period from March 2024 to April 2025. The ESFA outlines the methodology for allocating funding for mainstream schools, special schools, and alternative provision, as well as the conditions of the grant that must be followed by local authorities, academies, and non-maintained special schools (NMSS). Additionally, it includes information on the allocations and payments, with payments being made in two tranches: the first payment for the period April to August 2024 and an additional payment for academies in May 2025.

Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has updated the Education and skills agreements and accountability agreements: schedule of changes document for 2024 to 2025.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has updated its Core Schools Budget Grant (CSBG) guidance, specifically revising the methodology section to include funding rates for spring 2025 payments to new mainstream schools and confirming rates for schools still adding year groups in the 2024-2025 academic year. The update includes new CSGB spreadsheets for both new and growing schools.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has added the finalised 2024 to 2025 contracts for the service providers, which includes procured non-levy apprenticeships, education and training, ESFA adult skills fund ,19 to 24 year old procured adult education budget traineeships and lastly higher education institution adult: higher level apprenticeships - adult education and training (extension).

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has published the academy general allocation guide for the 2025 to 2026 academic year, covering mainstream academies, free schools, university technical colleges, studio schools, special and alternative provision academies, and special free schools. The update also introduces a new trust access section, detailing how academy trust users can view allocation statements for all academies within their trust. Digital general annual grant (GAG) statements for 2025 to 2026 will be issued exclusively through the ‘Manage your education and skills funding’ (MYESF) online system, with automated email notifications sent to users when statements are available.

Engineered Safety Features: Engineered Systems important to the safety of the plant. These systems relate to shutting down the reactor, provision of cooling, mitigating the effects of a loss of reactor coolant accident (LOCA), or minimizing offsite release.

Introduction Purpose of this Practice Note This Practice Note outlines the main environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations affecting project finance transactions. It examines how lenders and sponsors integrate ESG standards into due diligence, contractual documentation, and post-financial-close monitoring. It also considers the growing convergence between soft-law principles and binding regulatory requirements as project finance, long governed by financial covenants and risk allocation mechanisms, is now equally defined by its ESG profile. This growth is set in an environment in which ESG factors are increasingly driving regulatory attention, investor behaviour and public scrutiny. The purpose of this Practice Note is to provide a clear analytical framework for practitioners navigating this evolving discipline. Relevance of ESG in Project Finance The consideration of ESG factors in project finance has increasingly become significant as such factors influence investment decisions, risk management and long-term business sustainability. Investors and financiers use ESG criteria to assess corporate behaviour, predict future financial performance, and manage risks, particularly in the context of climate change, sustainable financing, and

This Practice Note considers the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, regulations and legislation that are relevant to (re)insurers and intermediaries. For guidance on ESG risks and liabilities for the insurance industry, see Practice Note: ESG risks and liabilities for the insurance industry. Global ESG initiatives The Paris Climate Agreement The Paris Climate Agreement is a landmark legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 parties at COP21 in Paris on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. The goal is to: • hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels • pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels For more information, see Practice Note: The Paris Agreement 2015—snapshot. United Nations Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) The UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) has developed a series of sectoral principles-based sustainable financial frameworks. In 2012, the PSI—a global sustainability framework initiative of the UNEP FI aimed at the insurance sector—was launched. The principles serve

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : In summer 2026, the DWP plans to consult on fiduciary duty guidance that aims to provide clarity on how wider considerations can be taken into account within existing duties, including system-level risks such as climate change and the long-term impacts of investments on members’ outcomes. It will also address how trustees may take account of members’ views and reaffirm the need to consider all financially material factors, while remaining consistent with acting in members’ best interests. Note that earlier attempts to put the guidance on a statutory footing through the Pension Schemes Act 2026 failed. For further information, see: Updated workplace pensions roadmap, DWP Parliamentary response, 19 January 2026 and Hansard debate: House of Lords (26 March 2026). Meaning of ‘ESG’ and ‘stewardship’ ESG The term ‘ESG’, which stands for ‘environmental, social and governance’, is not clearly defined in law. ESG is frequently used as a catch-all term to encompass concepts

We have produced a collection which draws together the many ESG and sustainability issues for business into a hub, to help practitioners navigate this extensive area. Using this content, practitioners will be able to advise businesses on

What is biodiversity? Biodiversity is the variety of all life on Earth. This encompasses everything from bacteria through to the 1.7 million identified animal, plant and fungi species, the genetic variation found within each of these species, and the diversity resulting from the interactions between them which form complex ecosystems. Why are biodiversity and nature rising up the corporate agenda? The importance of biodiversity is increasingly being recognised by businesses. This is not just among those that primarily rely on natural resources, as every business relies on functioning ecosystem services. The growth in awareness means that businesses are increasingly recognising the importance of biodiversity and have a growing appreciation of the dependencies and impacts on biodiversity across the whole value chain. There is a growing demand for businesses to take responsibility and report their impact. Environment, social, and governance (ESG) reporting has been used predominantly in the financial sector to analyse responsible investment. This reporting encompasses a range of criteria that can be used to evaluate the actions of businesses