The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published its updated guidance on operating principles for night shelters, effective from 3 January 2025. The revised document reflects evolving best practices in supporting rough sleepers, incorporating lessons learned from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Key updates include a continued emphasis on providing single room accommodation where feasible, whilst acknowledging that communal models may be necessary in certain circumstances. The guidance outlines public health principles for shelter operations, including ventilation, hygiene practices and vaccination support. It also stresses the importance of partnership working with local authorities and health services and provides recommendations for maintaining high-quality shelter provision with a focus on outcomes and strong governance.

The Welsh Government has announced that a mental health support scheme for doctors, free of charge, is to be expanded in order to support and advise all front-line NHS staff in Wales during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The health crisis has led over 2,000 former health and social care professionals to return to work, and 60,000 NHS staff in Wales are expected to receive free support and advice through the scheme. The Welsh Government is also supporting the Health for Health Professionals Wales service via a supplementary £1m contribution, in an effort to employ more psychiatrists and medical advisers, to run additional counselling sessions and to conduct additional PTSD interventions. NHS Wales staff will have access to a confidential helpline run by healthcare professionals, as well as face-to-face counselling sessions, online resources, and self-help tools.

This week's edition of EU Law weekly highlights includes the publication of new Regulations governing F-gases and ozone depleting substances in the Official Journal and provisional political agreement being reached on the prolongation of an interim measure to tackle online child sexual abuse, revisions to the Ambient Air Quality Directive and on new EU carbon removals certification rules. In addition, the European Commission has opened its first in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 (the FSR), the European Artificial Intelligence Office (EAIO) has been formally established, and the European Association of Medical devices Notified Bodies (Team-NB) has released a position paper with its recommendations on the classification of devices intended to detect the presence or the exposure to SARS-CoV-2 post-pandemic. Notable decisions in the courts this week include rulings on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (the Air Passengers Rights Regulation) and the validity of a Lego toy brick design.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that Jogesh Bhandari, Craig Morris and Meenakashi Bhandari were convicted at Leicester Crown Court on 15 July 2026, following an investigation into a series of fraudulent personal protective equipment (PPE) deals carried out during the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2020 and 2021, Jogesh Bhandari, who owned and controlled a company involved in the scheme, fraudulently obtained millions of US dollars by falsely claiming he could supply PPE. The offending involved the use of forged financial documents and a fraudulent escrow arrangement operated by co-conspirator Frank Labruzzo, who was previously convicted in the US. According to the NCA, the proceeds of the fraud were used to repay personal debts and fund luxury purchases, including vehicles, jewellery, travel and home improvements. Meenakashi Bhandari was convicted of money laundering for handling the criminal proceeds, while Craig Morris was convicted for his role in the fraudulent transactions. The three defendants are due to be sentenced on 21 August 2026.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: Cineworld was one of the largest cinema chains in the world, with hundreds of sites and thousands of screens. It suffered a steep decline in ticket sales due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the loss of revenue resulted in the reduction in the liquidity of the group. Although creditors were initially prepared to support the cinema chain, in due course the creditors wanted to see a restructuring. Following the approval of the US Bankruptcy Court to a reorganisation plan, a condition of which was that Cineworld Group plc (‘the Company’) would be placed into administration, the directors of the Company applied for an administration order. The court was required to consider its jurisdiction to make an administration order. Written by Katie Farmer, partner at Trowers & Hamlins LLP

The European Commission has launched two initiatives under its Preparedness Union Strategy: the EU stockpiling strategy and the medical countermeasures strategy. The Commission notes that these strategies are intended to improve access to essential goods and medical countermeasures for citizens, businesses and economies across the EU. They are designed to ensure continuity of supply during crises such as major energy blackouts, natural disasters, conflicts or pandemics. The strategies aim to address vulnerabilities in supply chains, reduce dependency on external sources and reinforce the EU’s ability to respond to all-hazard threats. They are informed by recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and promote a more coordinated and anticipatory approach across Member States. Implementation is to be supported by the EU Stockpiling Network and the Preparedness Task Force, with a review scheduled for 2026.

Arbitration analysis: This case involved a dispute between Garuda Indonesia’s French subsidiary, Garuda Indonesia Holiday France (Garuda France), which faced financial difficulties due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and one of its aircraft lessors, Greylag Goose Leasing 1446 Designated Activity Company (Greylag). Greylag sought US$43,635,485, for unpaid rent and most of the maintenance reserves owed. While the dispute was subject to arbitration proceedings conducted under the rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Greylag sought to initiate parallel recovery proceedings against Garuda France. This application was however dismissed by the Paris Commercial Court on 25 November 2022. The Paris Court of Appeal rejected Greylag’s appeal from this decision on 14 December 2023. Considering the requirement, under French law, that a claim must be certain for a creditor to commence recovery proceedings, the judge inferred from the ongoing arbitration proceedings that Greylag’s claim remained uncertain. Written by Sara Nadeau-Seguin, partner at Teynier Pic.

The Council of the EU has adopted its position on the Regulation for compulsory licensing for crisis management. The Regulation aims to construct an EU-wide framework which will serve as an alternative in crises (eg a pandemic or natural disaster) when voluntary agreements are not available, and will ensure an appropriate territorial reach of compulsory licensing to cover cross-border supply chains. The Union compulsory licence will be linked to crisis instruments, such as the internal market emergency and resilience act  and will only be granted after the activiation of an emergency. The Council's negotiating mandate also restructures the process of granting a compulsory licence to protect intellectual property rights-holders and ensures that a right-holder is remunerated  when a license is granted to a licensee during a crisis.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published data on deaths reported to coroners in 2020 in England and Wales. As the dataset spans the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the MoJ warns that caution should be exercised when comparing the statistics to those from previous years as the Coronavirus Act 2020 introduced temporary easements to death management and affected the way deaths have been reported to coroners. The data shows that, in 2020, the number of deaths reported was lowest since 1995, deaths in state detention were up by 18% as compared to 2019, 7% more inquests opened, and 34% of all registered deaths were reported to coroners. In addition, it has taken on average 27 weeks to complete and inquest, while 30,900 inquest conclusions were recorded, amounting to a 1% decrease from 2019.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its Occasional Paper 67 which evaluates liquidity in the UK corporate bond market. The report utilises updated MiFID II (Directive 2014/65/EU)transaction data from 2018 to 2024 to examine market liquidity, dealer inventory risk, and yield spreads during a period of significant economic disruption. It documents a marked deterioration in liquidity immediately following the onset of coronavirus restrictions in 2020, followed by a prolonged phase of persistent challenges from mid-2021 to mid-2023 amid rising inflation and increased interest rates. Despite these adverse conditions, the analysis indicates a strong recovery in 2023 and 2024, as reflected by rising transaction volumes, enhanced liquidity measures, and reduced yield spreads. The study also addresses the impacts of Brexit, pandemic-related disturbances, and central bank interventions, providing a basis for informed regulatory policy designed to improve market transparency and resilience.

UPDATE (22/2/22): As announced by the Prime Minister on 21 February 2022, the Cabinet Office has published the government’s COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19, which sets out the government plan to remove the remaining coronavirus (COVID-19) domestic legal restrictions in England from 24 February 2022. For more information, see: LNB News 22/02/2022 8 and News Analysis: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—How should employers respond to the scrapping of self-isolation rules?. For information on the position from 24 February, see Practice Note: Living with coronavirus (COVID-19) in the workplace from 24 February 2022 [Archived]. This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. It reflects the position under the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021 and the Cabinet Office guidance on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread before the 24 February 2022 changes. For information on the position from 24 February 2022, see Practice Note: Living with coronavirus (COVID-19) in the workplace from 24 February 2022 [Archived]. This

UPDATE (22/2/22): As announced by the Prime Minister on 21 February 2022, the Cabinet Office has published the government’s COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19, which sets out the government plan to remove the remaining coronavirus (COVID-19) domestic legal restrictions in England from 24 February 2022. For more information, see: LNB News 22/02/2022 8 and News Analysis: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—How should employers respond to the scrapping of self-isolation rules?. This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. It reflects the position under the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021 and the Cabinet Office guidance on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread between 30 November 2021 and 23 February 2022. For information on the position from 24 February 2022, see Practice Note: Living with coronavirus (COVID-19) in the workplace from 24 February 2022 [Archived]. See also Precedents: • Policy—Coronavirus (COVID-19) workplace safety [Archived] • Coronavirus (COVID-19) safety—policy schedule—offices and contact