This Practice Note provides practical guidance for a local authority charged with producing a threshold document for care proceedings. It covers the purpose of the document, statutory requirements, the information that should be contained and suggests ways of avoiding common pitfalls in preparation of such documents. What is the function of a threshold statement in care proceedings? It is for the local authority to prove, on a balance of probabilities, the facts upon which it seeks to rely. The threshold statement is the form in which the local authority briefly summarises the acts or omissions of the child’s carers (usually parents) that it says have led to the child suffering or being at risk of suffering significant harm. See Practice Note: Public children—threshold criteria. Harm is defined as ‘ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another’. There is no statutory definition of ‘significant harm’. Case law has clarified that significant means ‘considerable, noteworthy or important’. Ward LJ ruled

What is a section 106 agreement? Agreements made under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) (formerly section 52 agreements), also known as ‘section 106 agreements’ or ‘planning obligations’, are agreements between developers/landowners and local planning authorities (LPAs) that require developers/landowners to contribute towards a range of infrastructure and services, such as community facilities, public open space, transport improvements and/or affordable housing, usually to mitigate the impacts of their development. They are usually, but not always, entered into in connection with a planning application. They bind land and are enforceable against successors in title. See Practice Note: Planning obligations—key points and Checklist for drafting a section 106 agreement. Are standard form section 106 agreements available? LPAs (or their lawyers) usually provide the first draft of the section 106 agreement based on their standard agreements or model clauses. Lawyers acting for the landowner/developer then amend it and negotiations are undertaken to come to an agreed form. However, in some cases the LPA will be happy for the landowner/developer’s

This Practice Note considers the process of an inexperienced advocate drafting a skeleton argument in advance of a hearing in civil proceedings. It addresses the general requirements for this important document, as well as indicating court-specific guidance. It also discusses who should review the draft before the skeleton argument is filed at court. What is a skeleton argument? A ‘skeleton argument’ (abbreviated in this Practice Note to ‘skeleton’) is written advocacy leading in to oral advocacy. As the name indicates, its purpose is to outline the arguments that a party’s advocate intends to make on the points in issue and for determination at the hearing to which the skeleton relates. It is not an elaboration of every point, nor the provision of substantial detail about a party’s case. It will usually set out the issues, limited background relevant to them so that they are quickly comprehended, the propositions that the party submitting the skeleton intends to prove to the court at the hearing, the evidence to be used to do so and the authorities

This Practice Note provides guidance on drafting witness statements for use in interim applications. It discusses when a witness statement is required to support an application as well as the contents of such a statement. It also deals with witness statements in opposition to an application and witness statements in reply. Do I need a witness statement in support of this application? Not every application requires a witness statement in support. It is important to question whether it is necessary to prepare a witness statement every time you prepare an application. In order to work out whether you need a witness statement you need to understand the purpose of a witness statement in an application and the circumstances in which witness statements will assist an application. What is the purpose of a witness statement in an application? A witness statement in an interim application provides factual evidence upon which the court is asked to determine the application. The evidence contained in the witness statement(s) in an application supplements any

A witness statement is a document recording the evidence of a person which is signed by that person to confirm that the contents of the statement are true. All witness statements in criminal proceedings in England and Wales are generally recorded in the format prescribed by section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 (CJA 1967) and must comply with Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909, Pt 16. This is because if the statutory requirements are met, the witness statement (known as a ‘section 9 statement’) may be read at trial with the agreement of the other party. The witness will therefore not need to attend court to give evidence orally. Witness statements are most commonly used at trials but can also be used at bail hearings and for interim applications. There is a prescribed CrimPR form to be used for section 9 statements. For information on the use of witness evidence in criminal proceedings, see Practice Note: Witness evidence during a criminal trial. For information on

An environmental, social, governance (ESG) policy is the centerpiece of an organisation’s ESG strategy. This is its concise statement expressing its intentions from an ESG perspective; it should detail, at a high level, its areas of focus and the commitments it will be making. Some of these will be about the processes it will follow, for instance that it will ensure ESG considerations are integrated into business decision making and, if a financial institution, investment decision making or Responsible Investment Policy. Some might be commitments on specific ESG issues or topics, such as setting a Net Zero, Zero Waste or Zero Harm target or similar. It may also highlight the organisations, frameworks and/or regulations that have guided its approach or it is committing to. For more on ESG, see Practice Notes: • ESG—new starter guide • Sustainable business and environmental, social, governance (ESG)—introduction for companies and advisors • ESG and sustainability collection A Responsible Investment Policy is a specific requirement of being a Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) signatory. There is

This Practice Note adds to our series of ‘how to’ guides, focusing on how to draft and negotiate a Loan Market Association (LMA) investment grade term sheet. It includes a summary of when to use this form of term sheet, the different perspectives that borrowers and lenders typically bring to the process, an overview of some key areas and points for negotiation as well as some practical considerations when negotiating or drafting the document. For a detailed commentary of the LMA investment grade term sheet, including pro-lender and pro-borrower approaches to certain points, see Practice Note: Loan Market Association investment grade term sheet—commentary. For more detailed guidance on the use and purpose of term sheets generally in loan transactions and the types of provisions typically included in them, see Practice Notes: • Term sheets in lending transactions, and • Term sheet and mandate phase in loan transactions The Banking and Finance Glossary provides additional explanations and detail on commonly used and technical terms in

This ‘How to’ guide provides an introduction to drafting and negotiating a facility agreement for those new to lending transactions. It contains a table of useful precedents, guidance on how a facility agreement is structured, and some key areas to focus on when drafting and negotiating a facility agreement, together with links to more detailed materials. See also Practice Note: Introductory guide to lending which explains the role of the facility agreement in the context of a loan transaction. For a more detailed discussion on negotiating the terms of a facility agreement, including the aims of the parties, analysis of the structure of the agreement and commonly negotiated clauses, as well as common pitfalls, see Practice Note: Negotiation guide—facility agreement. Finding a precedent facility agreement The lender's lawyers will usually, but not always, prepare the first draft of the facility agreement. What kind of precedent is needed? When looking for a suitable precedent facility agreement, it is important to understand the nature of the loan transaction, as this will influence what precedent

This Practice Note is a ‘how to’ guide on drafting and negotiating a good faith obligation in a commercial business-to-business (B2B) agreement which signposts relevant content. It includes links to potentially relevant issues, including what does good faith mean, preliminary considerations, implied and express obligations of good faith, agreements to negotiate, remedies, other clauses to consider and practical drafting points. Unlike the position in some other jurisdictions, in English law, there is no general duty of good faith that applies to commercial transactions. Parties may sometimes expressly agree a provision in their contracts that obliges one or both parties to do something in good faith. This may be incorporated into an agreement as an obligation on both parties or just on one party to do something. Where no express duty of good faith is agreed, one party may argue that there was an implied duty of good faith. The position is governed by case law which continues to evolve. There are a number of considerations to bear

This Practice Note is a ‘how to’ guide on drafting and negotiating a term sheet in a real estate finance (REF) transaction which signposts relevant content. It includes a brief overview of some typical forms of REF, identifies certain precedents that may be a good starting point for a REF term sheet, considers the different perspectives that borrowers and lenders typically bring to the process, and sets out an overview of some key areas, provisions and points for negotiation as well as some practical considerations when drafting or negotiating a REF term sheet. For more detailed guidance on the use and purpose of term sheets generally in loan transactions and the types of provisions typically included in them, see Practice Notes: • Term sheets in lending transactions • How to draft and negotiate a LMA investment grade term sheet, and • Term sheet and mandate phase in loan transactions The Banking and Finance Glossary provides additional explanations and detail on commonly used terms

A guarantee can take the form of a separate guarantee document or form part of the facility agreement in a guarantee clause. Irrespective of which option is chosen, the principles of drafting and negotiating guarantees will be the same. Parties The parties to a separate guarantee document, whether executed as an agreement or as a deed, will be: • in a bilateral transaction—the guarantor and the lender, and • in a syndicated transaction—the guarantor and the security agent as agent for the lenders Where a guarantee forms part of the facility agreement, each guarantor must also be a party to the facility agreement along with the other parties to the facility agreement. Drafting the guarantee The lender's lawyers will usually prepare the first draft of the guarantee provisions (whether in a separate guarantee document or in the facility agreement). Finding a suitable precedent When looking for a suitable precedent guarantee, it is important to consider: • who is granting the guarantee?—if the guarantee is being granted by an individual, see

Intercreditor arrangements—initial considerations Do I need an intercreditor arrangement? An intercreditor arrangement should be put in place in any situation where two or more creditors of the same person or entity wish to vary or confirm the position at law as regards creditor issues. These may include: • in what order the creditors should be repaid on insolvency • in what order the creditors should be repaid out of enforcement of security proceeds • any restrictions on repayments or payments to a creditor prior to insolvency • any restrictions on a creditor enforcing its security or pursuing a debt claim against the entity, and • any restrictions on a creditor making additional debt available to that entity On insolvency, without a contractual intercreditor arrangement in place, secured creditors will, subject to certain exceptions for floating charges, rank ahead of unsecured creditors, who will rank pari passu (subject to priority debts). As between themselves, the order of repayment of the secured creditors will depend on rules relating to the priority