In the Spring Statement 2025 on 26 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, made several announcements relevant to criminal justice, including plans to increase the number of prosecutions for tax fraud, to launch a scheme to reward informants of tax non-compliance and to tackle tax evasion by ‘phoenixism’. Plans to further tackle fraud and error in the welfare system and to implement measures to assist with the recovery of public funds lost to fraudulent coronavirus (COVID-19) activities were also announced.

Dynamic Purchasing Systems A Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) allows a contracting authority to purchase goods, services and works for which they have a regular need, without having to carry out a full public procurement process for each individual purchase. A DPS is intended for procurement of common use items that are generally available on the market and meet the contracting authority’s requirements. For background reading, see: • Practice Notes: Introduction to public contracts procurement—pre PA 2023 [Archived] and Introduction to framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems—pre-PA 2023 • Crown Commercial Service (CCS): Dynamic purchasing system guidance Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102, a contracting authority establishing a DPS must comply with the rules specified and cross-referred under PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 34. In

ARCHIVED: The Tier 1 (Investor) visa was for high net worth individuals who could make a substantial investment in the UK. The route was closed without prior notice on 17 February 2022, meaning it cannot be accessed by new applicants. Those who have already been granted a visa in this route can continue to live and work in the UK on that basis. The facility for those who have held a Tier 1 Investor visa within the past 12 months to apply for entry clearance in this category from overseas still remains. Tier 1 Investor visa extension applications must be submitted before 17 February 2026 and settlement applications must be submitted before 17 February 2028. For further information, see: LNB News 17/02/2022 76. This Practice Note has been retained in archived form for historical interest. The rules for this visa category are contained in paragraphs 245E–245EF of Part 6A of the Immigration Rules and paragraphs 54–65SD of Appendix A of the Immigration Rules.

A nominated adviser (nomad) is a firm or company that: • has been approved by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as a nomad, and • is included on the current register of nomads maintained by the LSE The definitive register of nomads is kept by the LSE, a copy of which is available for public inspection on the LSE's website. The LSE does not itself assess whether a company applying for admission to AIM is appropriate or not; rather it relies on the nomad that has been retained by the company to assess whether such company is appropriate for admission to AIM. Requirement for a nomad The nomad is important; a company seeking to apply for admission to trading on AIM or that is already admitted to trading on AIM must have a nomad at all times. Without a nomad a company will: • not be eligible for AIM, and • where such company is already admitted to trading on AIM, have trading in its securities suspended and if such company fails to appoint

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has published an update regarding the significant backlogs caused by working constraints of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the family justice system. Provisions of the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes (DAPPs) has been impacted due to the necessary face-to-face delivery model and a few DAPP providers have had to reduce or suspend their offers. Cafcass has considered the development of remote DAPPs, however there is a lack of evidence to support the adoption of a remote model. A temporary process has been agreed to which will be applied in England.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured an additional 13-month prison sentence against Dr Gerald Martin Smith for obstructing the confiscation of his assets. Smith, already imprisoned for coronavirus (COVID-19) loan fraud, attempted to prevent the seizure of a Bloomsbury flat by transferring ownership to a British Virgin Islands company he covertly controlled. Smith further impeded the property's sale by changing locks and arranging tenants. The SFO also uncovered Smith's breach of a spending limitation order, as he received funds from his brother and subsequently spent over £53,000 on luxury dining and holidays. This case underscores the SFO's commitment to pursuing hidden assets and enforcing court orders against convicted fraudsters.

The Insolvency Service has reported that Zahid Afzal, director of Phone Bits Ltd and Phones Onn Ltd, received a two-year suspended sentence for fraudulently obtaining £150,000 in coronavirus bounce back loans (BBL). Afzal had already received legitimate loans totalling £52,500 when he applied for three additional £50,000 loans between May and November 2020. The Insolvency Service is pursuing recovery of the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Afzal was charged under the Fraud Act 2006 after transferring the majority of the fraudulent loans to personal accounts.

The Cabinet Office and Public Sector Fraud Authority have reported that government anti-fraud measures prevented £480m in losses between April 2024 and April 2025. The initiative recovered £186m from coronavirus (COVID-19) related fraud and implemented a new artificial intelligence (AI) system to detect policy vulnerabilities. The measures included blocking companies with fraudulent Bounce Back Loans from dissolving, removing 2,600 people from housing waiting lists, and preventing 37,000 fraudulent council tax discount claims. Plans to deploy a new government-developed AI system designed to scan draft policies for fraud risk was also announced, with the intention for it to be used across all departments and internationally.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has successfully prosecuted Mohammed Uddin, who received a 28-month prison sentence at Chelmsford Crown Court on 14 March 2025 for fraudulently obtaining £250,000 in coronavirus (COVID-19) bounce-back loans. Uddin pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud by false representation and was disqualified from acting as a company director for five years. The National Investigation Service (NATIS) investigation revealed that he had submitted five fraudulent loan applications between May 2020 and November 2022, with £66,574.20 recovered to date.

The UK’s first formal tax residency test for individuals known as the statutory residence test (SRT) took effect on 6 April 2013. Before this, whether an individual was tax resident in the UK was determined by a combination of case law, practice and HMRC guidance. The SRT rules are contained in Parts 1–5 of Sch 45 to the Finance Act 2013 (FA 2013). There are a number of circumstances during the application of the SRT when it is necessary to determine whether an individual is working sufficient hours overseas or in the UK. These are for the purposes of: • the third automatic UK test • the third automatic overseas test, and • in the context of the split year treatment: ◦ Case 1—starting full-time work overseas ◦ Case 5—starting full-time work in the UK, and ◦ Case 6—ceasing full-time work overseas There are slight differences in the calculation depending on which test you are applying. The rules for each of

This week's edition of Insurance & Reinsurance weekly highlights includes: Aon launches US$357m insurance programme for Ukraine; a range of insurers deny liability for aircraft detained in Russia; UK sanctions Russian insurer in move against shadow fleet; reinsurers escape US$41m claim over Taliban warehouse loss (Hamilton Corporate Member Ltd and others v Afghan Global Insurance Ltd and others); smaller insurers predicted to benefit from solvency changes; cases & decisions; key dates for your diary; and other news highlights reported over the past week.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has published a report examining housing conditions in the social rented sector. The report reveals that progress in improving the quality of social housing has largely stalled since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, leaving many tenants living in substandard homes. The Committee recommends establishing a new Decent Homes Programme that incorporates pooled funding and a unified housing quality framework for social landlords. Additionally, the report calls for the urgent publication of timelines to extend Awaab's Law to all hazards and advocates for regular ten-year reviews of housing standards.