The Insolvency Service has reported that video game composer and sound designer Peter Connelly has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining a second coronavirus bounce back loan (BBL). Connelly, who had already secured a legitimate loan of £22,000, inflated his company’s turnover from £58,000 to £150,000 during the pandemic to secure an additional £37,500. Connelly has also been disqualified as a company director for six years and entered an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in June 2022 which remains active.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a thematic note comparing provisioning practices in the US and the EU during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including differences in the macroeconomic impact of coronavirus, in banks’ loan portfolios, and in accounting rules that might explain why the cost of risk (CoR) of US banks was much higher compared to their EU peers in the first half of 2020 and fell at a faster pace afterwards.

This week’s edition of PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights includes a Court of Appeal decision which held that it could enforce compliance with the pre-action protocol for low value road traffic accident claims. We also consider a High Court decision where claims by factory workers for contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic were reinstated. In addition, we have our usual round-up of other news, cases, webinars and New Law Journal articles of interest.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Courts & Tribunals Service has launched a new £1m marketing campaign to recruit 4,000 magistrates to help tackle the backlog of criminal cases caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. According to the MoJ, this campaign marks the largest recruitment effort in the 650-year history of the magistracy. Magistrates are expected to dedicate a minimum of 13 days a year service on a voluntary basis.

The Insolvency Service has published its monthly insolvency statistics for June 2024 on company and individual insolvencies. The data shows that 2,361 company insolvencies were registered, 17% higher than in June 2023 and much higher than when government support measures were in place in response to coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as pre-pandemic levels. For individuals, the total number of insolvencies in June 2024 was 10,395, 33% higher than in June 2023.

We have assumed that the question refers to a hypothetical winding-up petition presented as at the time of writing, and not at any earlier date. We therefore do not address the position in relation to a winding-up petition heard as at the time of writing, but having been presented prior to 1 October 2021. As is well-known, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic prompted the passing of legislation which placed (and continues to place) restrictions on the presentation of winding-up petitions. Those restrictions are found in Schedule 10 to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020). So far as

Practice Compliance analysis: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) published its Risk Outlook for 2021/2022 on 23 November 2021. In this latest Risk Outlook, subtitled ‘What is the new normal? Challenges and opportunities for law firms after the lockdowns’, the SRA has looked at what the new normal means for the shape of the legal market as it emerges from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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.

Introduction: emissions from transport Surface transport including road transport is a significant source of environmental emissions including air pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and noise. It continues to be the largest source of GHG emissions in the UK, having overtaken power and industry in 2015. The three most significant sources of surface transport emissions are cars, vans and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Emissions fell sharply in 2020 (by 18%) as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but have returned to high levels: see for example 2024 statistics from the Office of National Statistics which note that GHG missions from the transport sector have increased by 39.6% since 2021, largely driven by increasing activity after the pandemic. The World Health Organisation notes that the transport sector is responsible for a large proportion of air pollution, as well as being a leading source of GHG emissions. An estimated 4.2 million premature deaths are attributed to ambient (outdoor) air pollution. Higher air pollution concentrations increase the risk for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer and adverse birth outcomes, and are associated

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. The government measures to help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) have changed significantly during the course of the pandemic from the national lockdown to taking more nuanced action in areas of increased transmission, so keeping track can be difficult for practitioners and their clients. This Practice Note aims to provide a reference point for the various restrictions that were in force in England for licensed premises. For the national restrictions during the initial response to the pandemic, see Practice Note: Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on Licensing [Archived]. For the current restrictions in force, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—keeping up with restrictions for licensed premises in England [Archived]. National restrictions from 5 November to 2 December Due to rapidly rising coronavirus cases across the whole of the UK and in other countries, the Government says we must act now to reduce day-to-day contact with other people to control the spread of the virus, protect the NHS and save lives. As a result,

UPDATE: The CJRS ended on 30 September 2021. This Precedent has been archived and is no longer maintained. For further information on the extended CJRS, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 May to 30 September 2021) [Archived]. [ To be typed on headed notepaper of employer ] [Date] Dear [insert name of employee], Re: [insert name of employer] (the Company) I refer to our discussions on [date], when I explained that [the significant downturn in our business due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues OR the Company continues to be unable to operate normally due to the restrictions which the government has implemented in relation to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic].[ Set out details of the effect this is having on the organisation, eg whether they are operating at all, or on a much-reduced basis etc.] 1 As I explained during our discussions, having reviewed its position, the Company has concluded that, in order to maintain our workforce and keep the business running for the immediate

Scope of this tracker This tracker relates to the annual general meetings of those FTSE 350 and AIM 50 companies which posted an AGM notice between 1 March and 31 May 2020 in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and is therefore now archived. The two tables in this document track how the coronavirus outbreak impacted the preparations for the AGMs of FTSE 350 and AIM 50 companies which issued an AGM notice between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020. For analysis of the findings included in the tracker see Coronavirus (COVID-19)—impact on the AGMs of FTSE 350 and AIM 50 companies (1 March 2020–31 May 2020). The tracker is no longer updated. In October 2020 the FRC also published a review of the different ways that FTSE 350 companies conducted their 2020 AGMs following the disruption caused by the pandemic. On 24 February 2021 the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI) issued updated guidance (2021 Guidance) which anticipates that general meetings will be required to be held on a closed basis until at least 17 May