ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This practical guidance relates to the pre-Procurement Act 2023 regime This Practice Note contains guidance relevant to public procurement exercises commenced before the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) came into force on 24 February 2025. In-scope procurements begun on or after this date are governed by PA 2023. Under the transitional and savings provisions for PA 2023, the previous public procurement regimes continue to apply to the extent necessary to allow contracting authorities to complete and manage procurements commenced before PA 2023 came into force. This Practice Note should be read in that context. For background reading, see Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023. Further practical guidance on PA 2023 is set out in a separate subtopic, see: Procurement Act 2023—overview. Stakeholder engagement in public procurement The engagement of stakeholders, often representing a wide variety of interests, is critical to the success of major procurement projects and investment programmes. Each stakeholder will evaluate from its own perspective the merits or otherwise

To gain a better understanding of your business and to play a key role in its success, it is vital for the legal department to know who its stakeholders are. Once identified, these stakeholders need to be managed, both in terms of understanding their needs and in nurturing your relationships with them. It is not enough just to know who your stakeholders are though, they should be categorised according to their power, influence and interest so that you can identify which ones are your key stakeholders. This exercise is known as stakeholder mapping. This Practice Note explores stakeholder mapping, why it is important to identify and map your stakeholders and provides guidance on how to draw up a stakeholder map. By identifying your key stakeholders and regularly monitoring and reviewing your relationships with them you can ensure your services remain relevant. If you understand your key audience, you can tailor your work and allocate your resources so that the legal department’s work remains aligned to the business and its goals. Ignore your stakeholders at your peril. If you overlook

A type of money purchase personal pension scheme established in 2001 as a consequence of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999. Aimed at individuals with a low to moderate income to encourage saving for retirement. They have to meet a number of standards, which include: • a 1.5% limit on annual management charges • they must accept contributions as low as £20 • a member can stop, start and change contributions at will

A type of defined contribution personal pension plan, which must comply with requirements laid down in legislation.

The obligation on employers to designate and facilitate access to a stakeholder pension scheme (as set out in section 3 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (WRPA 1999)) ceased to apply from 1 October 2012, when the obligation to enrol workers automatically into a qualifying scheme (introduced by the Pensions Act 2008) came into effect. However, unless a relevant exception applies (eg where an employer is notified that a designated stakeholder pension scheme has commenced winding up), employers are under a continuing duty in respect of relevant employees to deduct employee contributions to an existing stakeholder scheme from their remuneration and pay them to the trustees or managers of the schemes. In addition, any existing or new stakeholder pension schemes must continue to be operated in accordance with the statutory requirements in relation to such schemes eg in relation to registration and cost. This Practice Note provides an introduction to the statutory framework and operation of stakeholder pension schemes after 1 October 2012. For further information

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. With effect from 8 October 2001, the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (WRPA 1999) introduced an obligation on employers with five or more employees to designate and facilitate access to a stakeholder pension scheme. The obligation on employers to designate and facilitate access to a stakeholder pension scheme (as set out in the WRPA 1999, s 3) ceased to apply from 1 October 2012, when the obligation to enrol workers automatically into a qualifying scheme (introduced by the Pensions Act 2008) came into effect. However, unless a relevant exception applies, employers are under a continuing duty in respect of relevant employees to deduct employee contributions to a stakeholder scheme from their remuneration and pay them to the trustees or managers of the schemes. In addition, any existing or new stakeholder pension schemes must continue to be operated in accordance with the statutory requirements in relation to such schemes eg in relation to registration and cost. This

The obligation on employers to designate and facilitate access to a stakeholder pension scheme (as set out in section 3 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (WRPA 1999)) ceased to apply from 1 October 2012, when the new obligation to enrol workers automatically into an automatic enrolment scheme (introduced by the Pensions Act 2008) came into effect. However, unless a relevant exception applies (eg where an employer is notified that a designated stakeholder pension scheme has commenced winding up), employers are under a continuing duty in respect of relevant employees to deduct employee contributions to an existing stakeholder scheme from their remuneration and pay them to the trustees or managers of the schemes. In addition, any existing or new stakeholder pension schemes must continue to be operated in accordance with the statutory requirements in relation to such schemes. A continued understanding of the legal requirements relating to the establishment, maintenance and eventual winding-up of stakeholder pension schemes is therefore important and the purpose of this Practice Note is to set out a basic

The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper with the responses from stakeholders to the government’s policy statement on a 'new points-based system' for immigration. The abolition of the resident labour market test, the decrease of the skills and salary thresholds and the suspension of the cap on the number of work visas available are proposals that have all been welcomed. However, concerns have been expressed regarding other areas, such as the absence of a transitional visa category to help employers adapt to Brexit, the impact on sectors with multiple low-paid or low-skilled jobs and the continuation of a national salary threshold without regional variation. Concerns were also expressed regarding the costs and administrative burdens surrounding sponsoring work visas and the ‘ambitious timetable’ for the system’s implementation.

Law360, London: A landmark tribunal ruling that upheld the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) ban of ex-Barclays CEO James 'Jes' Staley from banking—but slashed his fine—could ultimately lead other executives with back-loaded pay packages to dispute the FCA's decisions, lawyers say.

This Practice Note explains the offence of stalking under section 2A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA 1997), as well as the aggravated stalking offence under section 4A where stalking causes fear of violence or serious alarm or distress. The Practice Note also sets out the procedure and test for obtaining a Stalking Protection Order (SPO) under the Stalking Protection Act 2019 (SPA 2019), which provides preventative protection against stalking-related risks, including where criminal proceedings have not commenced. Stalking is a form of harassment characterised by a course of conduct involving acts or omissions associated with stalking. The offences of harassment and stalking overlap but are distinct. For information on the offences of harassment under PHA 1997, see Practice Note: Harassment offences. There are two specific stalking offences under PHA 1997: • stalking contrary to PHA 1997, s 2A, and • stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress contrary to PHA 1997, s 4A The basic offence under PHA 1997, s 2A is summary only. The aggravated offence under PHA 1997,

The Stalking Protection Act 2019, provides the police with the power to apply to a magistrates’ court for a stalking protection order to protect members of the public from risks associated with stalking. Applications for stalking protection orders can be made from 20 January 2020. Stalking protection orders can be made against a person who has carried out acts associated with stalking, poses a risk associated with stalking to another person where the order is necessary to protect another person from those risks.

Stamp duty land tax is chargeable on land transactions, which are acquisitions of chargeable interests, ie legal or equitable interests in land located in the England and Northern Ireland, for chargeable consideration. The equivalent tax in Scotland is ‘land and buildings transaction tax’ and in Wales is ‘land transaction tax’.