ARCHIVED: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was challenging for employers participating in pension schemes. This archived Practice Note covers the impact of coronavirus on employers participating in pension schemes, including on their automatic enrolment duties and the approach taken by the Pensions Regulator. This Practice Note also describes some government measures introduced to relieve some of the pensions-related pressure on them (eg through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and the Kickstart Scheme), as well as the pensions impact of emergency volunteering leave (EVL) and employers’ responsibility to initiate claims on the death of certain keyworkers under the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme 2020. It is not maintained. The Pensions Regulator’s general approach The Pensions Regulator (TPR) took a proportionate and risk-based approach towards enforcement decisions, with the aim of helping employers to get back on track and supporting both employers and savers. Consistently with this, TPR decided that: • until 30 June 2020, it would not take regulatory action in respect of a defined benefit

This tracker was intended to be used to track key developments, legislation, guidance, parliamentary briefing notes and other sources of interest relating to social housing provision during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic up until so called ‘freedom day’ 18 July 2021. For recent guidance, see Practice Notes: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—local government tracker—post July 2021 and Coronavirus (COVID-19)—implications for property [Archived]. Primary legislation Development When in force Find out more Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020)• CA 2020, s 81 (residential tenancies in England and Wales: protection from eviction) • CA 2020, Sch 29 (residential tenancies in England and Wales: protection from eviction) Came into force on the day on which CA 2020 was passed (25 March 2020) Analysis of the impact of Coronavirus Act 2020 on housing possessions and local authorities Sarah Cummings, senior associate, and Giles Peaker, partner, at Anthony Gold Solicitors analyse CA 2020 in respect of housing possessions, its likely impact on landlords and tenants, and suggest what Property Disputes practitioners should pay attention to when advising clients.See News Analysis: Housing possessions

Background This Practice Note examines the legal and practical issues for employers to consider in relation to remote working arrangements. The concept of remote working has been around for some time, however the experiences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, during which many employees worked entirely, or primarily, from home resulted in a huge shift in work practices. Remote work is emerging as an increasingly common work arrangement. The government introduced the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 to fulfil their obligation to implement Directive (EU) 2019/1158 (the Directive) on work-life balance for parents and carers. For further information on the Directive, see Practice Note: The EU Work-Life Balance Directive. Following widespread criticism of this initial stand-alone bill, and it’s failure to reflect commitments made in Making Remote Work: National Remote Work Strategy (DETE, 2021)—guidance issued by the government in 2021 in relation to remote work, the bill was amended to include a stand-alone right for all employees to request ‘remote working arrangements’. An employee now has the statutory right under Part 3 of the Work

Overview On 27 August 2024, a Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement (the Agreement) was signed by NHS Resolution, the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers (SCIL) and the patient safety charity Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA). The Agreement came into effect on the day it was signed. It replaced the earlier Covid-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol 2020 (the Protocol), which enabled claims to be progressed efficiently during the coronavirus pandemic. The Agreement relates to civil claims under English domestic law (including claims under the Human Rights Act 1998) and to claims under the European Convention on Human Rights. It builds on the success of the earlier Protocol in improving working practices in clinical negligence litigation and intends to continue to encourage positive behaviours from claimant and defendant lawyers and to promote a consistent approach in practice across England. Key aspects of the Agreement include a change to the process that was in place under the earlier Protocol for suspension of limitation periods. It also outlines ways in which parties to clinical negligence litigation should work cooperatively,

Background The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to unprecedented social distancing measures and lockdowns. This in turn had a significant impact on the ability of the courts, and court users, to carry out their normal functions. In response, the courts began operating under new protocols and procedures. See Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Changes to the court process in insolvency proceedings [Archived]. To supplement these changes, and in order to deal with specific challenges relevant to insolvency proceedings, a Temporary Insolvency Practice Direction (TIPD) was introduced on 6 April 2020. This dealt with COVID-19 related issues such as court procedure and the ability to make virtual statutory declarations for the purposes of opening administration proceedings in light of social distancing, as well as miscellaneous issues in insolvency proceedings that were ambiguous under the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024 and subject to conflicting case law. The latter were the validity and effective time of filings made using CE-filing when appointing an administrator using the out of court procedure

This Checklist on remotely accessed mediations summarises the key considerations when deciding whether and, if so, how, to engage in a remotely accessed mediation via video conference (VC). The arrival of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic saw an increase in the use of remotely accessed mediations, ie mediations carried out online by way of VC. VC mediations (also commonly referred to as ‘online mediation’, ‘remote mediation’ and ‘remotely accessed mediation’) are not the only means of conducting a non face-to-face mediation, you can also mediate by telephone. That said, the ease and increased user functionality of the various platforms offering VC have lent themselves well to the process for remote access mediation. For information on the parties’ obligations to consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and the courts’ powers with respect to ordering or encouraging the parties to consider ADR, both before and during any litigation, see Practice Notes: Court powers to order or encourage ADR in civil proceedings and Court powers to order or encourage ADR in civil proceedings—key and illustrative decisions. For information on the potential costs

This Practice Note contains a jurisdiction-specific Q&A guide to banking regulation in Luxembourg published as part of the Lexology Getting the Deal Through series by Law Business Research (Law stated at: 7 February 2023). Authors: Loyens & Loeff—Adrien Pierre; Vanesa Gomez Pena 1. What are the principal governmental and regulatory policies that govern the banking sector? Luxembourg is a major financial centre and the development of the financial sector is, therefore, an important policy consideration. The Ministry of Finance works together with Luxembourg for Finance (the Luxembourg agency for the development of the financial centre) to promote, develop and diversify the Luxembourg financial centre, and identify new opportunities. Current priorities include digitalisation, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), sustainable finance, and financial education. Policies are being adjusted as needed to address the covid-19 pandemic, to which the sector has been quite resilient. 2. What are the defining characteristics of a bank to be caught by the banking laws and regulations? Is non-bank fintech regulated differently? Credit institutions or banks are defined in the

This Practice Note provides guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the CPR. Depending on the court in which your matter is proceeding, you may also need to be mindful of additional provisions—see further in the section Court specific guidance below. Preparing for application hearings in the digital age Traditionally, application hearings involved in-person attendance in a physical courtroom and the use of hard-copy documents. However, particularly since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been a significant shift towards more technology-based methods of disposing of applications. Remote hearings are currently the default position for shorter application hearings in a number of courts. For detailed guidance on remote hearings, see Practice Note: Remote and hybrid hearings in civil proceedings. In addition, documents for use at court are increasingly being submitted electronically, particularly in the High Court. For detailed guidance, see Practice Notes: • When and where is CE-File applicable?—from 1 October 2025 • How to use CE-File—from 1 October 2025 • Electronic bundles in civil proceedings • Electronic communication and

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note is a summary of the key legal developments of relevance to personal injury and clinical negligence practitioners as of June 2020. For the most recent horizon scanner, reference should be made to PI and Clinical Negligence horizon scanning—overview. New special account rate The Ministry of Justice has announced the reduction of interest rates for Court Funds Office special and basic accounts from 1 June 2020. The special account rate has reduced from 0.5% to 0.1% and the basic account has reduced from 0.1% to 0.05%. The Lord Chancellor will further review the level of interest paid to clients should the Bank of England base rate rise in the future. See News Analysis: Changes to interest rates for Court Funds Office special and basic accounts and LNB News 01/06/2020 25. Coronavirus (COVID-19) To stay ahead of the fast-moving changes in the courts’ processes and procedures necessitated by the pandemic and for industry guidance on how

An early insights report published by the Investment Association (IA) with data as of 31 December 2024 shows that the UK investment management industry reached a record £10.0trn in assets under management (AUM) in 2024, marking a 10% increase from the previous year. The IA indicates that this growth reflects strong market performance, improved economic conditions, and a rise in assets managed from the UK for overseas investors. UK funds under management (FUM) rose by 5% to £1.49trn, indicating renewed investor confidence and positive market returns. A notable shift occurred in the composition of AUM, with retail investor assets rising to 28%, surpassing pension assets for the first time, which fell to 27%. This change highlights growing interest in retail investing since the pandemic and aligns with government efforts to encourage investment over cash savings. However, pension assets have declined significantly from their 2018 peak of 45%, driven in part by the winding down of defined benefit schemes, fully funded transfers to insurers, and the lingering effects of the 2022 gilt crisis.

PROCEDURAL ORDER NO. [insert number] Having considered the parties’ submissions, the Tribunal orders as follows: 1 Hearing by video-conference 1.1 The [insert hearing description] (the Hearing) shall be conducted by video-conference, using [insert name of video-conferencing platform] as the video-conferencing platform (the Platform). The Tribunal considers that this will provide the parties with a fair and reasonable opportunity to be heard. 2 [Prior directions concerning the Hearing] 2.1 [This Procedural Order supersedes [insert references to any prior directions to the extent inconsistent with this Procedural Order or no longer applicable].] 2.2 [[Insert references to any provisions of prior Procedural Orders or other directions by the Tribunal concerning the Hearing that are to continue to apply] shall continue to apply.] 3 Hosting [and technical support] 3.1 [[The institutional case manager/tribunal secretary/case monitor/other person] shall act as the host for the Hearing (the Host). The Host shall liaise with the Tribunal and parties to ensure that the Hearing is held in accordance with this Procedural Order and as directed by the Tribunal.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note explains the key changes which were made to the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR) on 5 October 2020 when the old version of the Criminal Procedure rules 2015, SI 2015/1490 were revoked and replaced by the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, SI 2020/759. The CrimPR have since been amended. The CrimPR govern the practice and procedure to be followed in all criminal courts in England and Wales including magistrates' courts, Crown Courts, Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and in extradition appeal cases before the High Court. For further analysis of CrimPR, SI 2020/759, see News Analysis: An overview of the new Criminal Procedure Rules 2020. Reissue of the CrimPR The CrimPR are typically amended twice a year and the changes come into force on the first Monday of April or October annually. Each revision is made by a statutory instrument amending the current consolidated set of rules. The Criminal Procedure Rules Committee (CPRC) consolidate the CrimPR at five yearly intervals