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 Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) inserted section 233B into the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) as part of a package of measures intended, among other things, to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The first point to note is that IA 1986, s 233B only applies where a company becomes subject to a relevant insolvency procedure (as defined in IA 1986, s 233B(2)). It therefore follows that there would be no impact upon a parent company guarantee if that guarantee is triggered by, for example, the customer being unable to pay its debts in circumstances where the customer has not (yet) entered any of the insolvency procedures specifically referred to in IA 1986, s 233B(2). This will always be a fact-sensitive

On 17 March 2020, the government published guidance about the emergency coronavirus legislation to tackle the urgent issues that are arising as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19). One of the five key areas covered by the Coronavirus Bill is managing a death of a person with respect and dignity. The legislation will be limited in its application to a two year period and not all provisions will apply immediately. The legislation will include modifications to the current rules and regulations regarding the registration of a death and will take account of the fact that some families may be self-isolating or otherwise house-bound due to coronavirus, as well as the potential impact of the pandemic in terms of the capacity for registration and other arrangements to be made within the usual timeframe. The Coronavirus Bill 2019–21 was introduced in parliament on 19 March 2020 and the relevant provisions relating to registration of deaths and issues relating

This Practice Note is archived and not maintained. This Practice Note explains the modifications and disapplications introduced by the: • Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development and Welfare Requirements) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/444 • Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development and Welfare Requirements) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/939 • Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development Requirements) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Order 2021, SI 2021/234 to the: • Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development Requirements) Order 2007, SI 2007/1772 • Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/938 The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children aged 0 to 5 learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. As part of the national response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, local authorities undertook a wide range of essential and additional functions, while also contributing to local

A break clause allows the landlord or the tenant to exercise the option to bring a tenancy to an end before the expiration of the fixed term. Such clauses allow an element of flexibility and are increasingly common particularly in response both to the financial crash in 2008 and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many tenants wish to afford themselves protection by the ability to exit a fixed term tenancy before the end of the term and thus are likely to insist on such clauses. When considering service of a break notice, first recourse should be had to the terms of the lease. The lease may specify the manner in which notices are to be given including where

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.

First-Tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber President, Judge Alison McKenna, has made directions following an application from the Information Commissioner and in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the temporary closure of the Information Commissioner’s Office. Under the directions, all proceedings under section 48 of the Data Protection Act 1998, section 162 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and section 57 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are stayed for a period of 28 days from 1 April 2020. Parties to any proceedings of the Tribunal may apply with reasons and on notice to the Information Commissioner for the amendment, suspension or setting aside of these directions. The directions shall be reviewed after 28 days.

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is for background information only. STOP PRESS (16/7/21): Legislation has been introduced to initiate Step 4 of the Roadmap. The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps etc) (England) (Revocation and Amendment) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/848, which come into effect at 11.55 on 18 July 2021 revoke various regulations including in relation to limitations on the numbers of people gathering indoors and outdoors, social distancing, the wearing of face coverings and collecting contact details. See: LNB News 16/07/2021 22. STOP PRESS (15/7/21): The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published Working safely during coronavirus: guidance from Step 4 on 14 July 2021. The previous 14 guides have been condensed into six new guides that will apply from 19 July. These reflect that all businesses can open and the government is no longer instructing people to work from home, social distancing will no longer apply (although employers should mitigate the risk by reducing the number of people workers come into contact

UPDATE (30/11/21): The Prime Minister announced on 27 November 2021 new, temporary measures to respond to the emergence of UK cases of the Omicron variant. Travel restrictions have been implemented in relation to arrivals from Southern Africa, with a number of countries being placed on the red list. Furthermore, from 30 November all international arrivals, regardless of where they are travelling from, are required to take a Day 2 PCR test and self-isolate until they receive a negative test result. For further information, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—sickness and other absence [Archived]. Measures to slow the spread of the virus in the UK include the requirements that, from 30 November, (a) face coverings are compulsory in shops and other settings such as banks, post offices and hairdressers, as well as on public transport (but not in hospitality settings)—the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (England) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/1340, and (b) all contacts of suspected Omicron cases must self-isolate for ten days, regardless of their age or vaccination status—the

Arbitration analysis: This case involved a breach of contract claim between a Canadian seller and a US (Minnesota) buyer for the sale of hand sanitisers during the early stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Although the US buyer alleged that the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) constituted an ‘impermissible new theory of liability at the summary judgment stage’, the court held that the CISG applied because the sales contract had been executed between parties of contracting states, Minnesota law governed the contract, and the parties had (neither explicitly nor implicitly) opted-out of the CISG. The court further ruled that an invoice was not a condition precedent in a cash-on-delivery (COD) contract. Finally, repudiating from US case law, the court held that attorneys’ fees were recoverable as foreseeable damages under CISG Art 74. Written by Gizem Alper, independent international legal and ADR advisor.

This week's edition of Corporate Crime weekly highlights includes analysis of the Law Commission’s report recommending the abolition of the historic civil/criminal contempt divide and the reform of the current law of contempt, of the government’s new anti-corruption strategy aimed at tackling bribery, money laundering and insider threats, and of the first wave of enforcement action by the CMA under the new consumer protection regime introduced by the DMCCA 2024. Also included is news of OTSI’s published report on its first year of activity emphasising its role in both enforcement and prevention, of the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner’s independent report highlighting that pandemic support schemes exposed the public purse to significant losses in fraud and error, and of enforcement action taken by the CQC against a care provider for failing to protect a resident from harm. All this, and more, in this week’s Corporate Crime highlights.

The Cabinet Office has published an implementation update detailing progress across ten civil emergency preparedness recommendations from the coronavirus (COVID-19) Inquiry's Module 1 report. The update confirms that two recommendations have been closed. Key developments include the publication of the updated Central Government Concept of Operations for Emergency Response and Recovery (the Amber Book) in April 2025, and a revised National Risk Register released in January 2025, which aligns with the Cabinet Office's new dynamic assessment model. The update also highlights the planned Exercise PEGASUS, a UK-wide pandemic response exercise scheduled to take place between September and November 2025, and the launch of the UK Resilience Academy (UKRA) in April 2025 to strengthen emergency preparedness capabilities. From April 2026, the Cabinet Office will establish expert panels through the UKRA to scrutinise whole-system civil emergency planning.