The Insolvency Service has published an update on the work being done to tackle coronavirus (COVID-19) loan abuse. According to the Insolvency Service's Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24, more than 830 directors have been banned following abuse of coronavirus loans, steps have been taken to recover almost £3m of taxpayers' money and 22 criminal prosecutions were carried out. The report also confirms that work will continue in the 2024-2025 period

An employer has certain legal responsibilities in relation to a reservist’s mobilisation and reinstatement at work afterwards. An employer can claim for financial assistance to cover certain costs during a reservist’s mobilisation, and can also claim incentive payments of up to £500 per month for an employee who is mobilised. For full details and further information in relation to reservists generally, see Practice Note: Military reservists. Time off If the reservist is called out for whole-time service with the Reserve Forces, call-out papers are issued to both the reservist and their employer, which will detail the date the reservist must call for duty at a specified mobilisation centre and the anticipated duration of the mobilisation. There is no minimum statutory notice requirement, but the Ministry of Defence (MOD) aims to give at least 28 days’ notice for short operations and at least between three

Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 (WA 1837) provides that a Will is not valid unless it is in writing, signed by the testator or by some other person in their presence and by their direction, and the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time and each witness either attests and signs the Will or acknowledges his signature in the presence of the testator. Although the Law Commission on Electronic Execution of Documents (Law

The formal requirements for signing a Will are found in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 (WA 1837). The Will must: • be in writing • be signed by the testator or by some other person in their presence and by their direction • give the appearance that the testator intended by their signature to give effect to the Will • have a signature made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time • be witnessed and each witness must attest and sign the Will or acknowledge their signature, in the presence of the testator (but not necessarily in the presence of any other witness) See Practice Note: Requirements for a valid Will for further guidance. In writing At the moment, no alternative to the requirement that a Will be in writing is available. For example, oral or video recorded (audio or audio-visual) statements

A break option allowing a tenant to determine its tenancy before the contractual expiry date will often require the tenant to comply with various pre-conditions in addition to the service of a break notice, such as payment of rent and providing vacant possession. Where the landlord and tenant have agreed a rent concession due to the coronavirus

The Institute for Government (IfG) has published a report summarising the outcome of roundtable talks it held with several participants on coronavirus (COVID-19). The roundtables were held to discuss the future of coronavirus, which included discussion about rapid antigenic evolution and how to avoid worst case scenarios moving forward. The report also considers the policy implications of the virus, such as policymakers coming to terms with a ‘new normal’ and the need for a significant increase in global vaccine sharing.

Dispute Resolution analysis: The court allowed a defendant local authority to set aside judgment in default so as to defend a claim for damages grounded in breach of data principles where the losses claimed were principally for personal injury. In so doing, the court considered the interplay between the discretion to set aside judgments in default and the principles applying to relief from sanctions, reapplying the orthodox view (relying on Dexi Crediop v Regione Piemonte) that the Mitchell/Denton principles will be relevant to whether the discretion should be exercised in favour of an applicant. Written by Lauren Godfrey, barrister at Hardwicke Chambers.

Under the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996), the courts of England and Wales have wide powers to support arbitration. These include measures to support the commencement of an arbitration or a pending reference (eg, applications to appoint arbitrators, anti-suit injunctions and other interim measures under AA 1996, s 44) and challenges/appeals or other applications after an award has been issued. With the ever-increasing impact of coronavirus, the first question is whether a court application is necessary at all. Consistent with the policies of limited court intervention and party autonomy underpinning the AA 1996, the tribunal should be the first, and increasingly the last, port of call. Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) will doubtless become increasingly stretched and many applications can and should be dealt with by the tribunal. Tribunals are well positioned

UPDATE: This Q&A was first published before the HMRC published its guidance for employers: Claim for your employees’ wages through the coronavirus job retention scheme and guidance for employees: Check if your employer can use the coronavirus job retention scheme on 26 March 2020. These two sets of guidance were updated on 4 April, 9 April and 15 April 2020. The government also published a Treasury Direction on 15 April. For information on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (original version to 30 June 2020) [Archived]. For information

The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (the Bill) was introduced to the House of Lords having passed the House of Commons, on 13 January 2022. As such as at the time of writing the Bill has not passed into law and may be subject to further amendment. The purpose of the Bill is to enable the matter of relief from payment of protected rent debts due from a tenant to a landlord under a business tenancy to be resolved by arbitration, if not resolved by agreement (section 1). A ‘protected rent debt’ is by section 3 defined as a debt under a business tenancy consisting of unpaid protected

It is assumed that the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols (the Practice Direction) applies to the claim in question, rather than any of the specific pre-action protocols. The Practice Direction sets out the conduct usually expected of parties prior to the issue of proceedings. It includes provisions that will apply in all cases, but is specifically stated to apply if none of the other more specific protocols are relevant to your claim. For details of all the pre-action protocols, see Practice Note: The pre-action protocols and when they apply. As set out in paragraph 6 of the Practice Direction, the claimant should usually write to the defendant before commencing proceedings to set out the details of their claim, including: • the basis on which the claim is made • a summary

The Cabinet Office has reported that it met with the UK’s key intelligence allies to help coordinate the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) fraud. It said that Cabinet Office Minister, Georgia Gould, will lead the meeting with top officials from the UK's key intelligence partners Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States to share strategies for combating coronavirus-related fraud. This Five Eyes alliance meeting intends to exchange best practices on detecting, recovering, and prosecuting pandemic-related fraud. The insights gained will inform the Public Sector Fraud Authority's ongoing efforts to enhance fraud prevention, detection, and recovery across government departments. This meeting is the main event of the International Public Sector Fraud Forum's fourth summit, currently taking place in London.