Public Law analysis: The Covid-19 Inquiry was established under the Inquiries Act 2005 to examine the UK’s response to the pandemic and its impact, as well as the lessons learned. The Inquiry Terms of Reference were finalised in June 2022 and the investigation is divided into separate Modules with corresponding preliminary and full hearings. This bulletin outlines the latest substantive hearings and evidence in Module 2A.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has conducted a thematic review of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) to analyse their intraday liquidity risk management practices.The review was prompted by recent financial stress episodes including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Credit Suisse failure in 2023, the 2022 UK gilt market turmoil, and the 2022 energy crisis. The review found that while the sampled banks have functioning practices for managing intraday liquidity risk, the maturity of these frameworks differed across banks.

Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 (LGA 2003) is a well-established statutory means by which central government may disburse funds to local authorities for them to provide grants for a specified purpose while retaining control of: • the recipients • the quantum of the grants, and • the terms and conditions upon which the grants can be provided LGA 2003, s 31(1) provides that ‘A Minister of the Crown may pay a grant to a local authority in England towards expenditure incurred or to be incurred by it’. A minister of the Crown is defined for these purposes as the holder of

September 2021 Date Event 30 September 2021 Temporary restrictions on winding-up petitions and statutory demands expire and are replaced by new measures from 1 October 2021 (see below).See Practice Note: Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020—temporary changes to corporate statutory demands and winding-up petitions [Archived], Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of Relevant Period) (No. 2) Regulations, SI 2021/718 and Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Amendment of Schedule 10) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/1091. 30 September 2021 The relaxation of eligibility criteria for companies applying for a moratorium expires (Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/375). 30 September 2021 Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends.See Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 May to 30 September 2021) [Archived]. 30 September 2021 The Temporary Insolvency Practice Direction supporting the Insolvency Practice Direction (TIPD) expires and is replaced by the MIPD 2021.See: TIPD and Practice Notes: The Temporary Insolvency Practice Direction Supporting the Insolvency

Local Government analysis: The Court of Appeal upheld the Administrative Court's previous decision that the Mayor for Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) did not have to revisit the information audit in the statutory process for deciding a new local bus franchising scheme. Notwithstanding a change in circumstances due to the intervening pandemic. The legislation could not be construed to require this. Therefore, GMCA did not fail to have regard to a material relevant consideration (ie a new assessment after the pandemic) under Wednesbury principles. As a result, GMCA’s decision to adopt the franchising scheme without repeating the assessment was neither unlawful nor irrational. It could not be construed to be the intention of Parliament when the legislation was enacted that unforeseen circumstances arising after the statutory audit of the authority's assessment and public consultation could require a step in the statutory process to be repeated. Written by Helen Randall, consultant, Trowers & Hamlins LLP.

The Insolvency Service publishes the prosecution of Jordan Allen, a Lancashire plasterer, for fraudulently obtaining a £50,000 Covid bounce back loan (BBL) by significantly overstating his business turnover and utilised the funds for his personal benefit. Allen received a suspended 16-month prison sentence, 200 hours of unpaid work, and must pay £3,600 in compensation for his misappropriation and exploitation of the pandemic support financial aid.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major impact on the insurance market and on policyholders. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) high profile test case (The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance) in relation to coronavirus business interruption insurance coverage has addressed some of the issues impeding settlement of direct business interruption claims, but significant issues in relation to business interruption losses remain unresolved. Numerous other classes of insurance impacted by coronavirus are also producing substantial losses for insurers. Many of these losses have been reinsured, as have losses emanating from foreign jurisdictions. Complex questions arise in relation to the reinsurance of these losses that remain to be resolved at the reinsurance level. The answers to these questions will determine which reinsurers will bear the ultimate cost of paying coronavirus reinsurance claims and the extent to which coronavirus insurance losses will remain with direct insurers. This Practice Note considers some of the issues facing cedants (the reinsured) and reinsurers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. For guidance in relation to the

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. The government announced a number of measures in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. For further details, see Practice Notes: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—tax implications [Archived] and Coronavirus (COVID-19)—key issues for Corporate lawyers. This Practice Note provides a high level picture of some of the ways that the coronavirus crisis has impacted executive pay and keeps abreast of the changes in guidance released by the government and the main institutional investor bodies. For further information on how the coronavirus crisis impacted share schemes more generally, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19) impact on share schemes. For further, more general details of the main institutional investor bodies, see Practice Notes: Directors’ remuneration—institutional investor guidelines and Comparison of UK Corporate Governance remuneration principles. The coronavirus job retention scheme and the Job Support Scheme (JSS) The Coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS), initially announced on 20 March 2020, provided support to UK employers with a grant to enable them to continue paying up to 80% of their employees’

This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. The table below shows the expiry of various support measures as applicable to Scotland (as part of the UK or in its own right, as indicated by the last column). September 2021 Date Event Scope 30 September 2021 Temporary restrictions on winding-up petitions and statutory demands expire and are replaced by new measures from 1 October 2021 (see below).See Practice Note: Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020—temporary changes to corporate statutory demands and winding-up petitions [Archived], Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of Relevant Period) (No. 2) Regulations, SI 2021/718 and Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Amendment of Schedule 10) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/1091. UK 30 September 2021 Expiry of the provision allowing more than one moratorium on diligence in any 12-month period.See Coronavirus (Extension and Expiry) (Scotland) Act 2021 Scotland 30 September 2021 The relaxation of eligibility criteria for companies applying for a moratorium expires (Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has published its first report and recommendations on Module 1. This report focuses on the state of the UK’s central structures and procedures for pandemic emergency preparedness, resilience and response. The report found various significant flaws including, but not limited to, emergency planning being complicated by the many institutions and structures involved, a flawed approach to risk assessment and a failure to fully learn from past civil emergency exercises and outbreaks of disease.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care between 9 July 2018 and 26 June 2021, Matt Hancock, gave evidence to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry on 21 November 2024. Module 3 looks into the governmental and societal response to coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as dissecting the impact that the pandemic had on healthcare systems, patients and health care workers. This includes healthcare governance, primary care, NHS backlogs, the effects on healthcare provision by vaccination programmes and long diagnosis and support.

The practice of electronic signing of documents has risen in popularity in recent times, and has accelerated further as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This has come to be known as the 'Mercury Signing Approach', which was initially proposed by the Law Society in 2009 in a Practice Note: Execution of documents by virtual means (updated in May 2020). In its 2019 report, Electronic Execution of Documents (Law Com No 386), the Law Commission endorsed the Mercury approach. This involves a scanned manuscript signature being added to the final version of the deed, and is of use where all parties to the transaction completed by deed are not