The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that disposable vapes will be banned in the UK, with the aim to tackle the rise in youth vaping and to protect children’s health. The ban is a part of the government’s wider plans to create a smokefree generation. The government has said that the ban will include new powers to restrict flavours, introduce plain packaging and empower trading standards officers to act on the spot to tackle underage tobacco and vape sales. These measure, the government has said, will build on a maximum £2,500 fine that local authorities can already impose.

The Prime Minister’s Office has announced technical education pathways for pupils from age 14 (Year 10), giving them skills training, work experience and employer connections alongside English, maths and science. The routes will sit alongside the academic path and create clearer routes into employment. Regional mayors, local leaders, schools, colleges and employers will work together to shape the pathways around local industries and growth sectors. Ofsted will revise the way it measures and inspects schools so that technical education is recognised.

The Prime Minister’s Office has unveiled a comprehensive Elective Reform Plan aimed at reducing NHS waiting lists and meeting the 18-week referral to treatment standard by the end of the current Parliament. Key measures include expanding Community Diagnostic Centres to operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week where feasible and establishing 14 new surgical hubs by June. The plan targets two million additional appointments in its first year and aims to treat 65% of patients within 18 weeks by the end of next year. This reform is part of a broader 10-Year Health Plan which will focus on shifting care from hospitals to communities, digitalisation and preventative healthcare.

Prime brokerage services are offered by investment banks and securities firms to investment funds, frequently hedge funds, providing a centralised securities clearing facility. The main services offered include: • global custody to include clearing, custody and asset servicing ie clearance and settlement • financing ie short coverage solutions to clients, securities lending, synthetic financing, equity and loan financing • provision of credit/margins to clients • operational and technological support ie portfolio reporting, new account set-up and maintenance, fails reporting, client reporting, client billing • middle office functions ie trade allocation and affirmation, confirmation securities processing, FX, futures and derivatives • risk management including collateral management Some prime brokers may offer additional services such as capital introduction and consulting services.

This Practice Note considers the role of prime brokers and also sets out a brief overview of some of the services prime brokerage firms typically provide to their clients, (including alternative investment funds (AIF) and their managers), with a particular focus on AIFs in the UK and the EU. It also sets out an overview of regulatory areas relevant to prime brokers (for example, material EU changes under Directive (EU) 2024/927 (AIFMD II), including updated depositary, disclosure and reporting requirements; and current UK supervisory focus on disclosure quality, margining, operational resilience and non-bank leverage). What is prime brokerage? ‘Prime brokerage firms’ (investment banks or other financial institutions) may provide ‘prime brokerage services (both terms are defined in the Glossary of the FCA Handbook (FCA glossary) , as further detailed below), for instance to an AIF or other large investment client. As noted in a January 2025 speech published by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) delivered by its Executive Director for Authorisations, Regulatory Technology and International Supervision, Rebecca Jackson on prime brokerage (Rebecca Jackson speech), in practice, prime brokerage

A type of cost reimbursable contract under which the contractor is paid the costs it incurs in carrying out the works, ie labour and materials (including those from sub-contractors), plus a management fee on top to cover its overheads and profit.

What is a prime cost contract? In simple terms, if a contract is agreed on a ‘prime cost’ basis the contractor will be reimbursed the costs it incurs in carrying out the works, ie labour and materials (including those from sub-contractors), plus a management fee on top to cover its overheads and profit. This is distinct from a typical contract agreed on a lump sum basis, where the employer and contractor agree the total contract sum payable to the contractor at the outset (subject to any contractual provisions that allow the sum to change as the works progress) and the risk of any increase in the cost of the works sits with the contractor. Management contracting is an example of where prime costs are commonly used. The management contractor is paid a fee for the services it carries out together with the prime costs it incurs in carrying out its functions. These costs include the amount it pays to the works contractors for the works they carry out. See Practice Note: Management contracting. A

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has announced several key ministerial appointments approved by the King. Sarah Sackman KC MP has been appointed as a Minister of State within the Ministry of Justice, whilst Lucy Rigby MP has been named as the new Solicitor General. Additionally, Ellie Reeves MP, who currently serves as Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office, will now also attend Cabinet meetings. These appointments represent significant changes in the ministerial landscape, potentially impacting the direction and implementation of justice policies in the UK.

Law360, London: Prince Harry settled his legal case against the UK arm of Rupert Murdoch's media empire on 22 January 2025 as the publisher agreed to pay ‘substantial damages’, apologised for intruding into his private life and admitted that unlawful actions were carried out at its Sun tabloid.

Law360: Prince Harry settled his outstanding phone-hacking claims against Mirror Group Newspapers on 9 February 2024 as his lawyer said 'he had uncovered and proved the shockingly dishonest way' in which the UK publisher acted.

The amount inscribed on the face of a security, exclusive of interest or premium, due to a security holder at maturity and it is the amount used in the computation of interest due on such security.

A charge to inheritance tax on relevant property on the periodic ten-year anniversary of the trust's creation. It is also known as the ‘ten-year charge’.