ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): Many arbitral organisations have responded to the coronavirus pandemic with practical guidance and/or changes to their usual procedures and ways of working. This Practice Note introduces the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC (ICC Court) and the 2017 ICC Rules of Arbitration (ICC Rules). It also refers to the guidance in the ICC Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on the Conduct of the Arbitration under the ICC Rules of Arbitration (ICC Note). The ICC Rules apply to any ICC arbitrations commenced on or after 1 March 2017, unless the parties have agreed to submit to the rules in force on the date of their arbitration agreement. The ICC Rules include: • an expedited procedure which automatically applies where the arbitration agreement is entered into after 1 March 2017 and the amount in dispute is below US$2m.

PARTICULARS Date [date] Landlord [name] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Landlord) Tenant [name] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Tenant) [ Guarantor ] [[name] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Guarantor)] Property [description] [as more fully described in Schedule 1, Part 1] [Building OR Centre] [description] [shown [edged OR coloured OR hatched] [colour] on [the [[name]] Plan OR Plan [number]] ] Term the term specified in clause 2.1[to be included only if this Lease will have security of tenure under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (and the period of any statutory continuation of the tenancy created by this Lease)] [to be included only if the Break Date(s) is/are fixed and not rolling—see clause 6.1] [ Break Date[s] ] [[date] [and [date]] ] Rent Commencement Date [date] Annual Rent [(a) from and including [date] until but excluding [date]—nil;] [(b)] from and including [date] until but excluding [date]—£[amount] a year[;] [(c) from and including [date] until but excluding [date]—£[amount] a year] [inclusive of

This Practice Note explains the cash box structure and the principles behind its use in connection with a proposed placing by a public limited company incorporated in the UK admitted to listing on the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (Main Market). This Practice Note is equally applicable to a public limited company incorporated in the UK which is admitted to trading on AIM if a cash box structure for a placing is used. The cash box structure The following diagram illustrates in summary how a cash box structure operates in connection with a placing: The cash box structure works as follows: • Cashbox Co is established as a subsidiary of PLC with two classes of shares—ordinary shares and preference shares. PLC holds just less than 90% of the ordinary shares in Cashbox Co and the Investment Bank holds just over 10% of the ordinary shares. The Investment Bank agrees to subscribe for

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced plans for all schools in England to receive individual minimum attendance improvement targets as part of efforts to restore pre-pandemic attendance levels. The initiative builds on progress made in 2024, which saw 5.3 million more days in school and 140,000 fewer persistently absent pupils under the government’s Plan for Change. The DfE notes that, from November 2025, schools are expected to be issued with AI-powered minimum attendance targets to improve pupil attendance. Each school’s Attendance Baseline Improvement Expectation (ABIE) is intended to reflect its specific circumstances, including location, pupil needs and levels of deprivation, while 36 new Attendance and Behaviour Hubs are planned to provide one-to-one support to pupils. The DfE also intends to provide best-practice toolkits to help schools manage key transitions and expand enrichment activities, breakfast clubs and mental health support to reduce barriers to attendance.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner has called for increased funding and specialist court support after a report by SafeLives revealed that 89% of domestic abuse victims do not receive support going through the family court and 71% do not receive support in any court at all, including the magistrates and crown courts. The government’s statutory duty requires the provision of domestic abuse support services, such as Independent Domestic Abuse Advisors (IDVAs). The report also criticised the lack of understanding surrounding domestic abuse, poor safeguarding, court professionals’ attitudes and the bias towards perpetrators as 20% of IDVAs were prevented from supporting clients in courts. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to increased case lengths, with backlogs running into 2022, and some survivors being sent to courts out of the area.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published findings from its multi-firm review of liquidity risk management at wholesale trading firms, particularly brokers, under the Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR). The review highlights the impact of recent stress events such as the COVID pandemic, the Russia/Ukraine war, and the failures of Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank on firms' liquidity. It identifies both good and poor practices in liquidity risk management, emphasising the need for firms to update their stress assumptions and improve their risk management frameworks. Key findings include firms' failure to identify the full range of liquidity risks, underestimation of liquidity risk exposures, and reliance on immediate access to liquidity facilities. Actions taken by firms in scope of the review to address these issues include implementing remediation programmes and improving risk management frameworks.

Insurance & Reinsurance analysis: The Court of Appeal has given a further COVID-19 business interruption judgment on two important issues. First, whether each insured company under a composite policy was entitled to a separate limit of indemnity or, as insurers contended, the limit was an aggregate limit applicable to all insureds collectively. The Court of Appeal held in favour of insureds on this point. Second, and considered for the first time by the Court of Appeal, whether insureds must give credit for furlough payments received during the pandemic when calculating their business interruption losses. The Court of Appeal held, on the wording of the policies in this case, that they did. The court’s decision on both issues will have significant implications for many businesses seeking to claim COVID-19 business interruption losses. Written by Josephine Higgs KC, 7 King’s Bench Walk.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has published an independent report, prepared by Isos Partnership, which examines the rising needs of children under five and explores how councils and early years providers are responding to these challenges. The report finds that councils and providers are consistently seeing an increase in both the volume and complexity of needs, particularly communication and interaction difficulties, with more children presenting with very limited or no language and social communication skills. It cites poverty, family stress, neurodivergence and pandemic lockdowns as contributing factors, noting that providers are adapting to support these children but often face funding and capacity pressures. Practitioners and councils call for greater funding, a national workforce strategy and curriculum reforms to improve early years inclusion. The LGA urges the government to address these challenges through special educational needs and disability (SEND) system reforms and the Best Start in Life agenda.

This week's edition of Commercial weekly highlights includes: judgment of the Court of Appeal in Orion Shipping and Trading Ltd Llc v Great Asia Maritime Ltd where the court allowed the appeal against the High Court judgment that had overturned an arbitral award granting damages for loss of bargain, judgment of the Court of Appeal in Advanced Multi-Technology for Medical Industry v Uniserve Ltd where the court ruled on appeals arising from disputes over a supply contract and a commission contract signed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and news that the Competition and Markets Authority has published guidance on how to report suspected breaches of competition or consumer law, detailing the process and expectations for complainants.

The House of Commons Library has published a research briefing on the impact of the 2016 EU membership referendum, prepared for a Westminster Hall debate on 2 September 2026 led by Pete Wishart MP of the Scottish National Party. The briefing notes that EU free movement rules ceased to apply to the UK at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. Since the referendum, net migration from EU+ countries has declined steadily and has been negative since the year ending June 2022. Higher non-EU+ migration has more than offset that decline. Non-EU+ net migration peaked at 1.05 million in the year ending March 2023 before subsequently declining. The Migration Advisory Committee identifies increased work visas, particularly in health and social care, increased student visas and new humanitarian routes, including the British National (Overseas) and Ukraine schemes, as the main factors behind the post-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that three individuals have been sentenced following its investigation into fraud involving contracts to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The investigation found that funds received under contracts to supply nitrile gloves were diverted to luxury purchases, debt repayments and home improvements rather than used for their intended purpose. Money was also moved out of an escrow account before the supply agreement was completed, and gloves intended for US hospitals were not delivered. The defendants were convicted at Leicester Crown Court following a five-week trial in July 2026. Jogesh Bhandari was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, while Craig Morris received three years and nine months’ imprisonment. Meenakshi Bhandari received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, and must complete 250 hours of unpaid work.

Immigration analysis: The Health and Care Worker (HCW) visa was introduced in August 2020, to support the recruitment of international health and care professionals into the NHS and adult social care sector. By February 2022 the route was expanded to include care worker and senior care worker roles, ostensibly with a view to fill 165,000 vacancies in a sector that had been ravaged by the joint pressures of Brexit and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This analysis looks at what has happened since then, including the various restrictions imposed on the route and its final closure for new applicants, the increase of enforcement actions against sponsors, the more limited worker-facing response, and the uncertain future introduced by the ‘Earned Settlement’ proposals. Written by Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO at the Work Rights Centre.