The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) creates a number of criminal offences relating to the misuse of personal data in the UK. For information on these specific offences, see Practice Note: Offences under the Data Protection Act 2018. It is however possible for other charges to be brought for crimes involving the misuse or mishandling of personal data. This Practice Note explains those alternative charges which may be brought. Data offences under the Fraud Act 2006 Obtaining personal data on the basis of false representations, eg by purporting to be the person to whom the data relates (commonly known as blagging), could also give rise to the offence of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006). The offence is committed by dishonestly making a false representation with the

The Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (NDRHI) closed to new applicants on 31 March 2021, although there are limited circumstances under which an application for accreditation in the case of installations, or registration in the case of production of biomethane, can be made after that date (as set out in this Practice Note). This Practice Note also provides a detailed overview of the status of the NDRHI in respect of: • scheme closure • ongoing obligations in respect of accredited or registered installations • the role of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) • the interaction of the NDRHI with Contracts for Difference (CfD) and the Capacity Market (CM) regimes, and • the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS), which is the successor subsidy scheme to the NDRHI What is the NDRHI? The NDRHI applies in GB) and is a scheme to provide financial incentives for the uptake of (i) renewable heat and (ii) renewable gas (biomethane) production. The rationale for the scheme was that by providing

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 19 February 2020 the Home Office issued a ‘policy statement’, which sets out its main plans on the post-Brexit immigration system. The policy outlines the key features which will apply to both EU and non-EU citizens from 1 January 2021 (other than those EU citizens and family members who were resident in the UK before that date and therefore will fall within the EU Settlement Scheme). For more information, see Practice Notes: Brexit materials—background to the post-Brexit immigration system [Archived] and The post-Brexit immigration system: what does it look like? [Archived]. Permission to enter the UK Although nationals of countries in the European Economic Area have a right to live and work in the UK (the right of residence), it is generally the case that nationals of countries outside the EEA do not. Those from outside the EEA generally require permission to enter the UK. There are exceptions: • Swiss nationals (see EEA nationals—rights [Archived]) • Commonwealth citizens with a right of abode All other

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Advice for Tier 2, 4 and 5 visa sponsors in the UK who are sponsoring those affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) has been published by the Home Office. The guidance, originally published on 27 March 2020 and being kept under constant review and regularly updated, includes advice regarding reporting requirements for absences of international students or migrant workers due to coronavirus; distance learning for international students; working from home arrangements for migrant workers; and submission by sponsors of scanned documents. For further information, see LNB News 27/03/2020 67 and LNB News 03/06/2020 53. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has also published guidance for seasonal agricultural workers coming to England to work on farms and their employers amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For further information, see LNB News 04/06/2020 56. Until 30 November 2020 the system by which non-EEA nationals were able to come to work in the UK was points-based and had five tiers: • tier 1: graduate entrepreneurs and investors • tier 2: skilled workers

Transaction between either firms operating at different levels of the supply chain (vertical mergers), or firms supplying products/services at the same level of the supply chain but which do not compete (conglomerate mergers).

Arbitration analysis: This case addresses whether a parent company can be compelled to arbitrate when it is a non-signatory to an agreement containing an arbitration clause entered by its subsidiary. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York (the ‘Court’) held that Green Coffee Company Holdings, LLC (GCC) was compelled to arbitrate under contracts executed by its subsidiary, Agrosura S.A.S. ZOMAC (Agrosura), because the third-party to the contracts, Sucafina NA Inc (Sucafina), reasonably believed that Agrosura was acting as GCC’s agent, granting Agrosura apparent authority to bind GCC to the contracts. Although the decision underscores the doctrinal and practical possibility that a parent entity may, in appropriate circumstances, be drawn into arbitral proceedings as a non-signatory, it does not establish any categorical rule that parent companies will be compelled to arbitrate whenever a subsidiary contracts. Rather, it underscores the importance of careful drafting of arbitration provisions, coupled with disciplined corporate governance and transaction structuring that preserves corporate separateness, to materially mitigate the risk that a parent will be treated as bound by a subsidiary’s contractual undertakings. Written by Kabir Duggal, partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld LLP; senior fellow & advisor, Center for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration at Columbia Law School, and Will Bernstein, law clerk at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld LLP (Admission to NY State Bar Pending).

Forthcoming Change—fund liquidity risk management On 13 August 2026, the FCA published PS26/17, Enhancing fund liquidity risk management, setting out final rules and guidance intended to strengthen liquidity risk management for authorised fund managers (AFMs) of UK UCITS schemes and non-UCITS retail schemes (NURS). The changes include enhanced requirements and guidance on anti-dilution measures, assessment of asset liquidity and liquidity stress testing. The principal changes come into force on 1 February 2027, with certain transitional provisions applying until 1 August 2027. For more information, see Practice Note: Developments in the regulation of UK investment funds and asset management—FCA final rules on enhancing fund liquidity risk management. This Practice Note explores non-UCITS retail schemes (NURS) ie authorised collective investment schemes (CIS) that are not undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS). It comments on their investment powers, key investor information documents (KIIDs), promotion and NURS structured as funds of alternative investment funds (FAIFs) or property authorised investment funds (PAIFs). What is a NURS? Alongside UK-authorised UCITS, NURS are another form of UK-authorised

Arbitration analysis: Failure of assignment of right to arbitrate, award set aside. There is no presumption in English law that transfers by operation of law are exempt from clauses prohibiting the assignment of rights. The relevant distinction is whether, when properly analysed, the transfer of rights is truly voluntary or involuntary. A transfer that is given effect by operation of law may be the culmination of a series of purely voluntary acts within the control of the assignor. In such cases, the transfer may have the ‘taint of voluntariness’ and may be caught by a non-assignment clause and invalidated. For those reasons, the Commercial Court held that Mitsui Insurance Co (‘Mitsui’) had not acquired any rights to bring an arbitration claim under a contract between its insured Mitsui Butsan Aerospace (‘MBA’) and Dassault Aviation (‘Dassault’). Written by Lucy Pert, partner, and Jeremy Collins, senior associate, at Hausfeld.

Where a party fails to attend (and is not represented at) the employment tribunal hearing, there is no obligation (1) on the employment tribunal to consider evidence which neither party has made available to it, or to enquire of the party which does attend whether he has copies of the absent party’s evidence, or (2) on the party which attends to make the absent party’s evidence available to the employment tribunal. EAT: Brindle v Fylde Motor Company.

This Practice Note considers the impact of non-attendance by parties at trial under CPR 39.3. For guidance on non-attendance by a party at an interim hearing, see Practice Note: Determination of an application at a hearing—Non-attendance by a party—when will the court proceed in the absence of a party? What can I do if I am unable to attend trial? Where a party is unable to physically attend trial, there are a number of options available to it: • a party may be able to attend remotely. For guidance, see Practice Note: Remote and hybrid hearings in civil proceedings • if the party’s legal representative attends court, the party is deemed to be present at trial—see: When is a party deemed to have ‘attended’ the trial? • the party can make an application to adjourn the trial. For guidance, see Practice Note: Adjourning trial Where a party is unable to attend trial and none of the above options have been used, the court may dispense with that party’s attendance. An example can be

Law360: An employment tribunal has rejected a non-binary National Health Service (NHS) worker's complaint over repeated misgendering at work, ruling that protections under UK equality laws did not apply.

The period during which a loan or debt instrument cannot be repaid/redeemed without payment of a penalty