STOP PRESS: On 19 June 2025, the Data (Use and Access) Bill received Royal Assent, becoming the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA 2025) and coming partly into force on that date. Certain provisions of DUAA 2025, concerning matters such as responding to data subject access requests and the conferring of power to make further regulations, came into force immediately on 19 June 2025. Other provisions, concerning notices from the Information Commissioner and some aspects of law enforcement processing, came into effect on 19 August 2025 (being two months from the date of Royal Assent). The majority of DUAA 2025’s provisions require further regulations (in the form of statutory instruments) to be made to bring them into force. Parts 5 and 6 of DUAA 2025 serve to amend aspects of data protection and ePrivacy law in the UK, including the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, SI 2003/2426. The majority of the provisions

This Practice Note provides a toolkit for employers and advisers for the management of long-term ill health or chronic sickness absence. Dealing with an employee who is off sick for several long periods, or for one long, continuous period is complex and requires a particularly careful procedure, which must be well documented by the employer. Particular care will be required to minimise the risk of disability discrimination claims if the employee has a long-term condition meeting the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010)—see Practice Note: Disability. The existence of any permanent health insurance (PHI) scheme or a pension scheme providing for ill-health retirement will be relevant. Achieving a fair dismissal for long-term ill health can take some time. The process must also be undertaken against the background of the legislative and case law requirements for fair dismissals relating to capability—see Practice Note: Reason for dismissal—capability. This Practice Note assumes there is no issue with employment status and that the employee is truly an employee—see Practice Notes: Employee status and Worker

This week's edition of Construction weekly highlights includes a Supreme Court decision rejecting the ‘Mackay v Dick principle’ and confirming wrongful prevention gives rise to damages and not debt, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)’s consultation on proposals to strengthen the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the Welsh Government’s updated guidance on transitional provisions for the new infrastructure consenting process, the European Commission’s call for evidence on its proposed Construction Services Act, a joint letter from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) setting expectations for the next phase of the Connections Reform programme, the European Commission’s consultation on the future development and deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Europe, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)’s Sustainability Report 2025, Better Buildings Partnership (BBP)’s Carbon Credit Procurement Guide, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)’s construction client survey into key priorities and challenges faced across all construction sectors and publication of S&P Global’s October 2025 UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index report.

Under CPR 3.4(2)(a), the court may strike out a statement of case if it appears to the court ‘that the statement of case discloses no reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the claim’. It is evident from this that an application to strike out a statement of case on this ground may be brought by: • a claimant in relation to a defence or a counterclaim • a defendant in relation to a claim • a third party defendant (Part 20 defendant) in relation to a claim against it As seen in Practice Note: Strike out—court’s inherent jurisdiction and discretion, the court may also determine to strike out a statement of case of its own initiative under CPR 3.4(5). For guidance on the other grounds on which the court may strike out a claim, see Practice Notes: • Strike out for abuse of process (civil) (CPR 3.4(2)(b)) • Strike out for failure to comply with a rule, practice direction or order (CPR 3.4(2)(c)) • Strike out—strategic litigation against

This week's edition of Banking and Finance weekly highlights includes: (1) Our cases round-up from February 2026; (2) EU Sustainability Omnibus Directive published in Official Journal; and (3) AFME and ISDA respond to Commission’s SFDR 2.0 proposal.

This Practice Note focuses on the enduring regime aspects of the TMO4+ grid connection reforms, which is the long-term basis on which electricity grid connections are applied for and determined in Great Britain (GB). It covers: • the key features of the post-TMO4+ enduring grid connections regime • how in-scope projects apply for a grid connection in the enduring regime • how the enduring regime differs from: ◦ the pre-TMO4+ grid connections regime, and ◦ the one-off ‘Gate 2 to Whole Queue’ (G2TWQ) exercise, another key aspect of TMO4+ which, broadly, re-orders the contracted connections queue prior to TMO4+ through to 2035. The G2TWQ evidence submission window closed at 23:59 on 26 August 2025 (see: LNB News 28/08/2025 2), with revised connection offers being issued to applicants in batches until (at least) March 2027 (see: Connections reform timeline) • complementary reforms to TMO4+ and practical issues that energy developers, funders and other stakeholders should be aware of in terms of grid connection applications This Practice Note is part of

This week's edition of Property weekly highlights includes: the latest HMLR updates and guidance on reporting rules for the forthcoming contractual control obligations, MHCLG plans to cap leaseholder fees, regulate property agents, refer homeless households to the private registered providers of social housing, assist in preventing social housing stock being sold out of the sector and bring long-term empty homes back into use and cases on conditional contracts, dilapidations, SDLT multiple dwelling relief and business rates.

This Practice Note considers when, why and how you can apply to court for declaratory relief (a declaration from the court) and what factors the court will take into account when exercising its discretion. This Practice Note considers the current position and 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: Court specific guidance below. For guidance on the use of declarations in cross-border disputes, see Practice Note: Cross-border injunctive and declaratory relief—a guide for dispute resolution practitioners. Certain claims for damages that include a claim for declaratory relief may need to be issued using the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) under CPR PD 51ZB, which is an online claims process. This Practice Note does not deal with claims issued in the DCP. For information on the eligibility requirements for the DCP and guidance on how to issue a claim using the DCP, see Practice Note: Damages claims pilot scheme—CPR PD 51ZB. What

In brief Data protection laws in the EEA (the EU plus Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein) seek to ensure information about living individuals (within the definition of ‘personal data’) is used fairly and responsibly. To help ensure that, data protection laws impose a large number of obligations on those ‘processing’ personal data (and on the controllers of such processing). The data protection regime expressly recognises that the processing of children’s personal data requires specific protection, and provides enhanced protection for children’s personal data. This is because children may be less aware of the risks, consequences and safeguards concerned, and their rights in relation to the processing of personal data. Those additional protections are also relevant to organisations which aren’t actively seeking to process children’s personal data (eg designing a service aimed at adults) since they will need to consider whether they may inadvertently end up processing children’s personal data (eg if a child accesses that service). Organisations that do not adequately protect children’s data protection rights and privacy face particular scrutiny. For examples of enforcement

This Agreement is made on [date] Parties 1 [insert name of supplier company] a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under number [insert registered number] whose registered office is at [insert registered office] (Supplier); and 2 [insert name of reseller company] a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under number [insert registered number] whose registered office is at [insert registered office] (Reseller), each of the Supplier and Reseller being a party and together the Supplier and Reseller are the parties. BACKGROUND (A) The Supplier wishes to appoint the Reseller as an authorised reseller of certain of its software applications in the United Kingdom. (B) The Reseller agrees to market and distribute the Supplier’s software applications in accordance with this Agreement. STOP PRESS: From 1 October 2026, section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (inserting sections 14A and 15A of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) extends right to work civil penalty liability in certain contractual arrangements, including where a supplier which, having contracted to provide services to a customer, engages a subcontractor to perform all or part of those services. Although the subcontractor

Mechanical and Electrical works.

Partial breach describes a situation where a party fails to perform some, but not all, of its contractual obligations, or performs them defectively, without fully repudiating the contract. It is a descriptive expression used in contract law across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, rather than a term usually defined in legislation.In practice, a partial breach often involves breach of an intermediate or “innominate” term, or a minor breach of a non-essential obligation. The contract generally remains in force, and the innocent party is usually confined to a claim in damages, rather than a right to terminate, unless the breach is sufficiently serious in its consequences to justify treating it as repudiatory.Courts assess whether a breach is partial or repudiatory by examining the nature of the term broken and the impact on the contract as a whole. In all four jurisdictions, common law and case law guide this assessment. The concept is important in advising on available remedies, risk allocation, drafting termination clauses, and deciding whether continuing performance might amount to affirmation of the contract.