The Department for Education (DfE) has published updated guidance on high needs funding arrangements for 2025-2026, following the closure of the Education and Skills Funding Agency on 31 March 2025. The revised operational guide includes information about the methodology for compensating employers for increased national insurance contributions (NIC), commissioning and contract implications for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) education placements and services, following the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023, which took effect from 24 February 2025, and updated guidance for local authorities and schools on alternative provision.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published the government’s response to the House of Lords committee’s report titled, 'Patients at the centre: integrating primary and community care'. The response has welcomed the committee’s recommendations and addresses recommendations concerning structure and organisation, contract and funding, system and data sharing and, lastly, workforce and training. The DHSC has said that it will continue to monitor progress of integrated care systems (ICSs) through collaboration with organisations including the NHS and Care Quality Commission, and has emphasised progress of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. The government’s response also highlights continued support for better integration of health and care.

Arbitration analysis: The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s finding that Libya’s agreement in a Swiss-law governed contract, that an arbitral award would be ‘final, binding and wholly enforceable’, constituted written consent for the purposes of section 13(3) of the State Immunity Act 1978 (SIA 1978). This waiver of execution immunity allowed an interim charging order against Libya’s property in London to be made final. The decision re-affirms the importance of contractual wording in arbitration agreements involving state entities and provides guidance on the construction of state immunity waivers under English law. Written by Brandon Malone, advocate, barrister and arbitrator at Ampersand Advocates.

Private Client analysis: Following a quantum-only trial, the court awarded the claimant £127,500 for 850 days of care provided to her late mother under an informal contract for payment of a reasonable price. The court treated comparable commercial care costs as the appropriate starting point, rather than applying the approach to gratuitous family care used in personal injury claims. A daily rate of £150 was reasonable in light of the claimant’s continuous supervision, personal and dementia care, management of medical conditions, board, lodging and travel. The decision illustrates the broad evaluative exercise required when fixing reasonable contractual remuneration for informal family care.

This Precedent is drafted in contemplation of arrangements where the parties wish to insert data processing provisions within a Schedule rather than as clauses in the main body of the agreement, for example due to the length of legally compliant provisions. It is based on Precedent: Personal data processing clause—short-form—pro-controller. It uses the additional defined terms ‘Agreement’, ‘Business Day’, ‘Customer’, ‘Services’, ‘Supplier’ and ‘Supplier Personnel’, which are not specific to data processing and which it is assumed are separately defined in the relevant agreement. The Schedule Part A: Operative provisions 1 Definitions 1.1 In this Schedule: applicable law • means applicable law of the United Kingdom (or of a part of the United Kingdom); Controller • has the meaning given in applicable Data Protection Laws from time to time; Data Protection Laws • means all applicable law relating to the processing, privacy and/or use of Personal Data, as applicable to either party or the Services, including: (a) the GDPR; (b) the Data Protection Act 2018; (c) any laws that supplement, replace, extend, re-enact, consolidate or amend any of the foregoing; and (d) [all guidance, guidelines and codes of practice issued by any relevant Data Protection Supervisory Authority

Defending a claim of copyright infringement A defendant in copyright infringement proceedings will usually begin their defence by attacking the claimant’s copyright, either by arguing that no copyright subsists in the claimed work, or that the claimant is not the owner of any copyright that does subsist (or both). Next, the defendant is likely to claim that, even if copyright subsists, there has been no infringement. This will involve arguments that the claimed work and the allegedly infringing material is not sufficiently similar, or presenting evidence to support a claim that the allegedly infringing work was independently created, ie that no actual copying took place. Finally, there are a number of specific exceptions to copyright infringement, the majority of which are laid down by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). These are known as permitted acts. The permitted acts which apply to copyright are numerous, with many also applying to protected rights in databases. If other causes of action apply, such as a claim for breach

A: Regulatory status and registration Requirement Compulsory or recommended? Comments (if any) ☐ Establish whether and to what extent you undertake insurance distribution activities, ie are you:—engaging directly in insurance distribution activities in relation to insurance-based investment products (or creating, developing, designing and/or underwriting a contract of insurance)—engaging indirectly in insurance distribution activities acting as an ancillary insurance intermediary—simply introducing clients to third party insurance providers, or—satisfied that none of the above apply, ie you do not undertake insurance distribution activities in any capacity (in which case you can disregard this checklist) Compulsory You need to determine the nature of your insurance distribution activities, so you can be clear on what regulatory requirements apply, if any (insert any comments you may wish to make regarding your firm’s arrangements) ☐ If you engage directly in insurance distribution activities in relation to insurance-based investment products (or create, develop, design and/or underwriting a contract of insurance) ensure you are properly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Compulsory Firms wishing to engage directly in insurance distribution

Collateral warranties are some of the most important documents in real estate finance development facilities. They are provided by the key members of the development team to each of the lender and the borrower. They provide a contractual link were there wouldn't normally be one and often include important step-in rights for a lender or borrower (as applicable). This Practice Note explains: • what collateral warranties are • how collateral warranties are used in real estate development facilities, and • the rights conferred by collateral warranties What is a collateral warranty? A collateral warranty is a contract which is collateral to (or sits alongside) an underlying contract. In the context of real estate development facilities, collateral warranties typically sit alongside the key development documents (see Practice Note: Real estate development finance—introduction to the development documentation). The collateral warranty creates a contractual link where there wouldn't normally be one, thereby enabling a third party to have a direct contractual relationship with the key members of the development team. The third party

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note considered the key legal developments during 2025 for dispute resolution practitioners in Scotland. This Practice Note provides a summary of the key legal developments that are expected to impact Scottish dispute resolution lawyers during 2025 and beyond. It also summarises the key developments which have already taken place in 2025. Key primary legislation Information on primary legislation and the progress of UK government bills relevant to the field of dispute resolution that have been tabled in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords in the UK Parliament (and that may contain provisions applicable to Scotland), can be found in Practice Note: Tracker—legislation, consultations and other developments—Dispute Resolution. This tracker is designed to assist Scottish dispute resolution practitioners keep up to date with Acts of the Scottish Parliament and Bills being examined by the Scottish Parliament that will impact Scottish civil litigation Bill/Act Subject Analysis Further material Contract (Formation and Remedies) (Scotland) Bill The Bill aims to modernise and clarify contract law in Scotland.

Documents for a typical project finance transaction can be split into three broad categories: • finance documents—the finance documents govern the debt financing for the project including the senior debt and any related facilities (eg a cost overrun facility or other standby facility) or ancillary facilities (eg a letter of credit facility or a working capital facility) • project documents—the project documents are the contracts which underpin the project itself and they typically include the concession agreement (if any), construction contract, the operation and maintenance contract and any supply and offtake contracts (for more information, see: Project documents—issues for lenders—overview), and • shareholder or equity documents—the shareholder or equity documents govern the terms of the equity investment and the relationship between the investors in the project (for more information on equity support in project finance, see Practice Note: Equity support in project finance) This Practice Note examines the first category of documents, the finance documents. It explains what they are and some of the key terms in them. Overview of the

This Checklist sets out the key issues to consider when drafting or reviewing step-in (or ‘substitution’) provisions in a collateral warranty. See Practice Note: Step-in rights in a collateral warranty. The terms ‘contractor', 'beneficiary' and ‘building contract’ are used, but the principles apply equally to a collateral warranty from a sub-contractor or consultant provided pursuant to their sub-contract or appointment. • Which collateral warranties typically have step-in rights? Step in rights are a standard feature in the following warranties: ◦ collateral warranty provided by a contractor to a funder or, in some circumstances, to a forward purchaser ◦ collateral warranty provided by a sub-contractor or consultant to the employer ◦ collateral warranty provided by a sub-contractor or consultant to a funder • Is this the only collateral warranty for this project which grants step-in rights? If step-in rights will be included in more than one collateral warranty relating to the project, each must contain a provision setting out an order of priority to determine whose step-in rights take precedence. An additional provision is also required

This Checklist sets out a list of questions that may be relevant to determining the tax implications of an asset sale. This Checklist should be used in conjunction with Practice Note: Key tax considerations in an asset sale. For more information on pre-contract enquiries, see also Practice Notes: Capital allowances on property sales—pre-contract enquiries and Commercial Property Standard Enquiries—CPSE (the CPSEs, prepared by members of the London Property Support Lawyers Group and endorsed by the British Property Federation, provide standard questions relevant to a sale of commercial real estate). Key tax considerations in an asset sale Questions Answers obtained by the adviser General questions Are the parties companies, individuals or other types of entities, such as a partnership, trust or charity? Are there multiple sellers? Are there multiple buyers? Does the seller own legal and beneficial title to the assets? Will the buyer acquire both the legal and beneficial title to the assets at actual completion? Are the parties connected with one another for tax purposes? If