Nature of an individual voluntary arrangement An individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) is an agreement entered into between an individual and their creditors (and possibly with third parties) for a composition of that person’s debts or a scheme of arrangement (scheme) of their affairs. The relevant provisions are found in Part VIII of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). The type and content of the composition or scheme is open-ended and is a matter for the debtor and their creditors with the assistance of an insolvency practitioner (IP) (described as the ‘nominee’ before the IVA is approved, and usually the ‘supervisor’ thereafter). An IVA has a similar effect to a contract, the terms of which are found in the IVA proposal. A private contractual arrangement would however require the assent of all an individual’s creditors in order to become a globally binding agreement. This would obviously not be feasible in the large majority of cases. An IVA, by contrast, is even binding on those creditors who voted against the proposal (or who

The Pre-Action Protocol for Resolution of Package Travel Claims (the Package Travel Protocol) applies to claims valued up to £25,000. A claim will be subject to fixed costs, see Fixed costs—cause of action accrued before 1 October 2023 and Fixed costs—cause of action accrues on or after 1 October 2023 below. A ‘package travel claim’ is a claim for damages for gastric illness contracted during a package holiday. ‘Gastric illness’ means any gastrointestinal illness: • arising from a breach of contract, statutory duty or common law duty • in respect of services, food and beverages provided in relation to a package holiday ‘Package holiday’ means a package which is regulated by the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992, SI 1992/3288 or Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, SI 2018/634. For further information on the Package Travel regulations, see Practice Note: Package holiday claims. The protocol's objectives are to: • encourage early and full exchange of information about the

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. How does Brexit impact the supply of services? Brexit affects the supply of services to the extent that any such supply is cross-border between the UK and the EU, as there are new arrangements for trade between the UK and the EU from 1 January 2021. Consideration should be given to contracts for the supply of services particularly to the extent that such contracts concern intellectual property, data protection and competition law implications, the implications for access to EEA workers and changes in the VAT regime. There will also be different considerations dependent upon sector. Contracts for the supply of services The law governing the supply of services in business to business transactions is UK derived, as such a contract for the domestic supply of services (ie services traded between two UK based entities) is largely unaffected by Brexit. To the extent that any contracts for the supply or procurement of services have an EU dimension however, they

Why is this immigration law relevant to insolvency practitioners and their staff? Legislation applicable generally In the first instance, employers have a duty to prevent illegal working in the UK by carrying out prescribed document checks before employing someone under a contract of employment, service or apprenticeship, whether expressed or implied and whether oral or in writing. This ‘right to work’ check is to ensure that an individual is lawfully allowed to undertake the work in question. It is also important that the employers establish whether or not individuals are employees, self-employed, contractors or sub-contractors as only employees require a ‘right to work’ check. As the worker status of an individual can sometimes be difficult to ascertain, employers often need to seek legal advice from an employment or immigration practitioner. Should the Home Office discover that an employer is employing an individual who does not have the right to undertake the work in question; an employer may be liable for a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker. In addition

Most private English competition actions are brought on a tortious basis, normally alleging the tort of breach of statutory duty and the focus below is on tortious actions. However, it should be noted at the outset that there are some situations where damages can be claimed in English law in connection with anti-competitive behaviour based on a non-tortious cause of action. Thus for example, a contract may provide for payment of a liquidated sum where a counter-party is found guilty of a relevant breach of competition law. It is the case that some businesses do now include such provisions in their standard form contracts with suppliers. It is also of course possible to claim remedies other than compensatory damages, passing reference is made below to exemplary damages, such damages are not awarded in order to compensate the claimant, but in order to punish the defendant. Also, restitutionary damages which aim to strip away part or all of the gains made by the tort feasor from the tort, rather than to compensate the claimant

The following TMT resources, providing useful practical commentary, legislation, rules and guidance for TMT lawyers, whether in private practice or in-house, are available in Lexis+® UK. They are referenced and linked to in the TMT content in Lexis+® UK. Please note, however, the titles listed can only be accessed with the relevant Lexis+® UK subscription(s). General Title Summary Who should use this resource? Halsbury’s Laws of England volumes relevant for TMT lawyers:—Contract, Volume 22 (2025)—Copyright, Volume 23 (2023)—Broadcasting, Volume 4A (2026)—Information technology law, Volume 57A (2023)—Leisure and entertainment, Volume 67 (2021)—Sale of goods and supply of services, Volume 91 (2024) Halsbury’s Laws of England provides the only comprehensive narrative statement of the law of England and Wales, covering every proposition of English law. The product is divided into alphabetically arranged titles, making it convenient to use and enabling quick and easy research into any area of law. Lawyers needing to undertake research into these topic areas. The New Law Journal An essential weekly reference containing a mix of expert analysis, commentary and key news

STOP PRESS: A revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework was published on 17 August 2026. This content is being reviewed in light of this revised edition. Purchasers, sellers, landlords and tenants should all be aware of the common law principle ‘caveat emptor’ meaning 'let the buyer beware', as the seller is under no duty to disclose material facts to a prospective purchaser. See Practice Notes: Property—enquiries before contract and Misrepresentation, misstatement and non-disclosure in property matters. However, note that if a seller is seeking to rely on the ‘sold with information’ exclusion under the contaminated land regime in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990), information will need to be provided. There are a range of environmental issues that could potentially lead to liabilities for parties involved in property transactions and therefore an appropriate level of environmental due diligence is recommended wherever property is changing hands. This Practice Note explores the role of the environmental consultant in advising clients in property

This Practice Note provides a high-level practical guide for in-house lawyers looking to improve their efficiency and workflow through use of GenAI. It includes steps to take to identify use cases, best practice for prompting, risk management and compliance, review and iteration, and knowledge sharing. Identify the task The first step is to identify your task—the starting point should always be ‘What am I actually trying to do, what will a successful outcome look like, and what are the steps that I need to take to get there’. Consider which part(s) of the task artificial intelligence (AI) can help with, for example: • creating initial drafts of contracts (or individual clauses), policies, letters, emails or other internal/external comms • reviewing contracts and contract clause identification • customising existing precedents, or drafting new templates • creating the initial draft of a project plan • summarising case law, legislation, or internal reports • redrafting existing documents to make legal language accessible to non-lawyers • creating legal research summaries • analysing and interrogating data • acting

The following Dispute Resolution (DR) research resources, providing useful practical commentary, legislation, rules and guidance for commercial disputes lawyers, whether in private practice or in-house, are available in Lexis+® UK. They are referenced and linked to in the DR content in Lexis+® UK. Please note, however, the titles listed can only be accessed with the relevant Lexis+® UK subscription(s). General Title Summary Who should use this resource? Halsbury's Laws of England Volumes relevant for commercial disputes lawyers include (but are not limited to):—Civil procedure (Volume 11–12A)—Conflict of Laws (Volume 19)—Contract (Volume 22)—Contempt of Court (Volume 24)—Courts and Tribunals (Volume 24A)—Damages (Volume 29)—Limitation periods (Volume 68)—Mistake (Volume 77)—Negligence (Volume 78)—Nuisance (Volume 78)—Sale of Goods and Supply of Services (Volume 91)—Settlements (Volume 91)—Tort (Volume 97A)—Unjust Enrichment (Volume 100) Halsbury's Laws of England provides the only comprehensive narrative statement of the law of England and Wales, covering every proposition of English law. The product is divided into alphabetically arranged titles, making it convenient to use and enabling quick and easy research into any

Many documents entered into by local authorities will need to be executed as a deed. For information on the execution formalities for corporations aggregate generally including local authorities, see Practice Note: Execution formalities—non-Companies Act corporations. Section 52(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925) provides that all conveyances of land or of any interest therein are void for the purpose of conveying or creating a legal estate unless made by deed. For further examples, see Practice Note: Deeds. Further, the standing orders of most local authorities will require that for contracts exceeding a certain amount, the local authority must execute the contract by deed. This is ordinarily done by the local authority affixing its seal to the deed, or by such other manner as may be prescribed by its standing orders. Consideration should therefore first be had to the standing orders to determine the manner in which the local authority must ordinarily execute deeds and simple contracts. Section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 (ECA 2000)

To reduce costs and increase efficiency, businesses increasingly sub-contract parts of their work to third parties. This is colloquially known as ‘outsourcing’. Due to the fact that there is no technical legal meaning of the term, there are no specific laws, including tax laws, applicable to outsourcing arrangements. Consequently, each outsourcing arrangement will be specific to its own particular facts and will raise a different mix of tax issues, including VAT issues. This Practice Note summarises the main VAT issues to consider in relation to outsourcing arrangements. For the wider tax issues that will be relevant, see Practice Note: Outsourcing—general tax issues. This Practice Note focuses on contractual outsourcing arrangements. For details on joint venture outsourcing arrangements, see: Joint ventures and tax—overview. VAT liability of outsourced supply One of the most significant issues that may arise in relation to outsourced services is the treatment of the VAT liability of supplies. In principle, unless the outsourced services fall within any of the descriptions of services which are exempt

Every employee is under a duty under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974), while at work, to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other people who may be affected by their actions or omissions. Where there is a legal requirement on an employer to do certain things to ensure health and safety, then the employee must co-operate with the employer to enable the employer to fulfil their legal duty. For information on the duty on employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees and third parties, see Practice Notes: Safety and the risk to safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Failure to carry out health and safety duties under HSWA 1974—offences, Directors’ duties for health and safety and Health and safety law and the self-employed. 'Employee', as defined in HSWA 1974, s 7, means an individual who works under a contract of employment or is treated by HSWA 1974,