The Office for Students (OfS) has launched a consultation on new guidance regarding the free speech duties of universities, colleges and students’ unions. The consultation aims to gather views on proposals relating to the free speech duties imposed on higher education institutions, amendments to the OfS regulatory framework and the recovery of costs in connection with the new free speech complaints scheme and regulation of students’ unions. The OfS is seeking views from anyone with an interest in freedom of speech in English higher education. The consultation closes on 26 May 2024.

The Office for Veterans' Affairs and Ministry of Defence (MoD) have updated their guidance on veterans' access to social housing in England. The revision removes the previous five-year post-service time limit on veterans' exemption from local connection tests when applying for social housing. The change means veterans can now apply to any local council in England for social housing regardless of how long ago they left service, provided they meet other relevant criteria.

A generic term for an insolvency practitioner or official receiver holding office by acting either as a trustee in bankruptcy, a liquidator, a provisional liquidator, an administrator, an administrative receiver or a supervisor of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) or an Individual Voluntary Arrangment (IVA).

A person who is engaged by the employer as an office holder, for example a Director of a Board.

1 Introduction This Office manual is intended to contain a high level summary of office procedures. It does not set out all relevant employment and health and safety policies. A full list of policies can be found [Insert, eg on our intranet]. 2 Office days and hours 2.1 Normal office days and hours are [insert details of your office hours eg 09:00–17:30 Mondays to Fridays inclusive]. 2.2 [If you are a hybrid office worker, your office attendance should be recorded via the [insert platform name, e.g. OfficeSpace/Outlook/HR Portal] in accordance with the firm’s hybrid working policy.] 3 Office closure over bank holidays/public holidays 3.1 There are usually six permanent bank holidays each year and our office will be closed on these days. The dates these bank holidays fall on vary from year to year so please ensure you familiarise yourself with when these fall in any calendar year. 3.2 Christmas Day and Boxing Day are designated public holidays and our office will be closed on these dates. 3.3 [In addition, the office will close for the Christmas

The SRA does not require you to have an office manual, but it is important to ensure that your staff can access general information about how the office operates and know where to find compliance, human resources and health & safety policies. Firms that have or wish to achieve the Legal Aid Agency Specialist Quality Mark will need to have an office manual and other firms may consider it to be good practice. Legal accreditation schemes Lexcel Lexcel is the Law Society's voluntary practice management standard. The requirements of the Lexcel standards should be considered compulsory for firms that have or are working towards Lexcel accreditation. They are not compulsory for other firms although they provide an indicator of good practice. Version

The current regulator of competition and consumer law legislation in the UK.

The US Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs has announced that Raytheon Company (Raytheon) has agreed to pay over $US 950m to settle allegations of defective pricing, foreign bribery and export control violations, following two investigations by the US Department of Justice, one involving a government fraud scheme and the other on violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Arms Export Control Act. Raytheon admitted to engaging in two separate schemes to defraud the Department of Defence, specifically involving PATRIOT missile systems and a radar system. Raytheon was also charged with conspiring to bribe a government official in Qatar and violating export control regulations. Raytheon has entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).

The Office of Public Affairs has reported that a federal jury has convicted Javier Aguilar, former Vitol Inc employee, for playing a role in a scheme to bribe government officials of Ecuador and Mexico and launder money to secure contracts worth millions of dollars for Vitol Inc. Based on evidence presented, Aguilar paid more than $US 1m in bribes to Petroecuador officials and PEMEX Procurement International. Between 2015 and 2020, Aguilar, along with various co-conspirators agreed to bribe officials to obtain a $US 300m contract and used a middle eastern state-owned entity to circumvent Petroecuador’s contract restrictions. When the officials that had been bribed were replaced after the 2017 Ecuadorean presidential election, Aguilar and the co-conspirators agreed to bribe the new officials. Aguilar had used shell entities and sham invoices to launder bribe payments to officials at PEMEX Procurement International. Seven of Aguilar's co-conspirators have pleaded guilty and have agreed to forfeit more than $US 63m.

Corporate Crime analysis: The Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation’s (OTSI) Annual Review 2025-2026 reveals some interesting trends, but that are in many ways not surprising. OTSI has not yet taken any enforcement action, but decisions are expected on a number of ‘advanced’ investigations this coming year. Of course, the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/855 dominates their outlook and focus, both with regarding to licencing, and investigations and enforcement. Much of their investigative and enforcement work is generated through mandatory reporting (62%), in particular from the financial services industry. Regarding OTSI’s licencing function, 50 of the 51 licence applications related to Russia, however whilst they are approving more licences, they are taking longer to do so. Whilst OTSI has been heavily Russia focused to-date, it is highly likely that the expansion of sanctions on Iran will seek a marked increase in OTSI’s caseload. Written by Liam Lane, Associate at Peters & Peters.

The Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation has revised its guidance on trade sanctions licence applications, with the most recent update on 10 February 2025 clarifying the circumstances under which an import licence cannot be granted. The guidance outlines three distinct licensing bodies within the DBT: the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) for standalone services, the Import Controls and Sanctions team for import licences, and the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) for strategic export licences. Notably, import licences must be obtained before goods are transported to the UK, and cannot be granted for goods already at the UK border or in storage prior to customs declaration. The document emphasises the importance of obtaining the appropriate licence prior to undertaking any prohibited activity under UK trade sanctions.

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons (OLHC) has published an updated version of the 'Guide to Parliamentary Work' as of 19 November 2024. This document serves as a resource for civil servants, particularly those in parliamentary teams across Whitehall, offering guidance on providing accurate advice to ministers and the Civil Service regarding parliamentary matters. The guide is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to parliamentary practice and procedure. It is a living document, subject to periodic updates, and the office welcomes feedback from departmental parliamentary teams to ensure its continued relevance and accuracy.