FORTHCOMING CHANGE : On 13 October 2025, the MHCLG launched a consultation on proposed reforms to the LGPS in England and Wales, covering four policy areas. Building on the May 2025 consultation, the proposals include raising the normal minimum pension age to 57 (with protections for existing members), introducing new Fair Deal protections to ensure outsourced workers retain LGPS access (with the proposals including draft regulations), restoring membership for councillors and extending it to mayors, and simplifying fund arrangements for Multi-Academy Trusts. The Fair Deal measures would replace the use of ‘broadly comparable’ schemes under the Best Value Direction with guaranteed LGPS access, make the ‘deemed employer’ route the default for outsourcing, and protect transferred staff through retenders. Bulk transfer provisions would preserve accrued final-salary rights while future accruals move to a CARE basis. On 24 February 2026, the MHCLG published a partial response confirming it would implement the proposals in relation to councillors and mayors. A second response is expected to be published later in 2026 in relation to the remaining

What is the National Health Service Pension Scheme? The NHSPS is an unfunded, public service occupational pension scheme that provides retirement benefits to persons employed as health service workers on a salary-related or defined benefit (DB) basis. Since 1 April 2015, there are two separate NHSPS schemes: • the reformed NHSPS (sometimes referred to in NHS literature as the ‘2015 Scheme’), which was established on 1 April 2015 as a career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme. New joiners have become members of this scheme since 1 April 2015. This scheme is the subject of this Practice Note • the legacy NHSPS (sometimes referred to in NHS literature as the ‘1995/2008 Scheme’). The scheme is composed of two separate final salary sections, the 1995 Section and the 2008 Section, which are closed to future accrual subject to the retention of a final salary link in that scheme. For further information, see Practice Note: The legacy National Health Service Pension Scheme Note that there are separate schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland which are

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Department for Education (DfE) has published a consultation on draft regulations which would amend some rules of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) in England and Wales. The draft amendments are intended to (i) rebalance member contribution tiers following the recent scheme valuation, (ii) clarify and align regulations with established Department policy where the current drafting does not clearly reflect the intended operation of scheme rules, or make corrections to wording to ensure those rules operate as intended (eg in relation to the definition of paternity leave, automatic re-enrolment, ill-health pension, short-term adult and child pension), and (iii) address minor administrative processes and procedural updates. For further information, see Pensions weekly highlights—13 August 2026 — Public sector pensions. What is the Teachers’ Pension Scheme? The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is a statutory, public service pension scheme for members of the teaching profession in England and Wales. Since 1 April 2015, there are two separate TPS schemes: • the reformed TPS (sometimes referred to in TPS literature as the ‘2015 Scheme’), which was established

This Practice Note focuses on the alpha scheme. What is the alpha scheme? The alpha scheme, which is part of the Civil Service Pension (CSP) arrangements, came into force on 1 April 2015 as the reformed public service pension scheme for civil servants. It is a career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme. Before the introduction of the alpha scheme, the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) was the primary pension arrangement for the civil service. The PCSPS is made up of four sections: Classic, Premium, Classic Plus and Nuvos. The first three sections are effectively final salary sections, while the fourth (Nuvos) is a career-average section. For further information on the PCSPS, see Practice Note: The legacy Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). When alpha was introduced, the government took steps to close the PCSPS to future accrual, subject to: • the retention of a final salary link in the PCSPS for active members (whereby benefits built in the PCSPS are based on final salary when leaving the civil service rather than

Manorial rights—customary freehold A custom is a particular rule which has obtained either actually or presumptively from time immemorial in a particular locality and obtained the force of law in that locality, although contrary to, or not consistent with, the general common law of the realm. The most prevalent customs met with in modern practice, at least until 1926, have been those relating to manors. The rights, powers and duties of both the lord and the tenants, freehold and copyhold, of a manor were governed to a considerable extent by special customs which differed from the general common law of England, and frequently varied in different manors. These customs regulated the mode of enjoyment of

The register of overseas entities regime was established by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (EC(TE)A 2022). It came into force in two phases: on 1 August 2022 and on 5 September 2022. The objectives of the EC(TE)A 2022 are to: • prevent the UK’s property market from being used to safeguard, conceal or launder the proceeds of crime and wealth • enable greater transparency of the ultimate owners of properties and assets held in the UK, and • make it easier for enforcement authorities to strip owners of unlawfully obtained assets It was introduced alongside the plans to reform and better resource Companies House to increase the transparency of UK corporate entities which culminated in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023) (see Practice Note: The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023—what Banking & Finance lawyers need to know). EC(TE)A 2022, ss 1–44 (Part 1), which introduced the overseas entities regime,

Corporate transparency reform—duty to maintain an appropriate registered office address The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023) received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. Some key areas of the legislation were introduced on 4 March 2024 via The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/269. The provisions of the ECCTA 2023 will come into force over an extended period to allow companies and Companies House time to prepare for implementation. Many of the provisions in the legislation will require detailed secondary legislation and guidance, and the construction of new technical processes and tools to implement the reforms. For links to the latest legislative and regulatory developments see our legislation and consultation tracker in Practice Note: The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023—tracker. ECCTA 2023, s 28 replaces CA 2006, s 86 (and inserts new CA 2006, s 853CA) such that a company must ensure that its registered office is at all times at an ‘appropriate address’. An address is an ‘appropriate address’ if,

Where property is held on a trust of land, the legal estate and equitable estate are separate. The co-owner trustees must hold the legal estate as joint tenants. A legal joint tenancy cannot be severed and when one joint tenant dies their legal interest in the property automatically passes to the remaining joint tenants. However, co-owners can hold the beneficial interest in the legal estate on trust for themselves (and any additional co-owners) as: • joint tenants, or • tenants in common See Practice Note: Establishing a beneficial interest (joint ownership). Since a Form A restriction has been registered, we have assumed that the beneficial interest is held as tenants in common. A Form A restriction is used where a beneficial

Ownership of mines and minerals Mines and minerals in their original position are part and parcel of the land. The common law presumption is that a landowner owns everything below the surface down to the centre of the earth unless the contrary is shown. Unworked mines and minerals are the property of the surface owner (see: Star Energy v Bocardo). This principle applies even where title to the surface has been acquired by prescription, but it is subject to exceptions (eg gold, silver and petroleum (existing in its natural condition), which belong to the Crown, and

What is a friendly society? There has been a system of registration, and with it regulation, of friendly societies since the enactment of the first Friendly Societies Act in 1793. Two Friendly Societies Acts are currently in force, those of 1974 (Friendly Societies Act 1974 (FSA 1974)) and 1992 (Friendly Societies Act 1992 (FSA 1992)). Until FSA 1992, all friendly societies were unincorporated associations of individual members. While unincorporated societies can continue to exist, all the larger societies have now become bodies corporate under FSA 1992 and any new societies must be formed as incorporated societies. Friendly societies are a form of mutual society and are voluntary associations of individuals subscribing for benefits that are provident in nature (ie benefits which prepare for future needs). Nowadays, all friendly societies must include among the benefits they provide one of the permitted activities listed in FSA 1992, Sch 2 but may also carry on social or benevolent activities and various miscellaneous activities. A friendly society may be: • registered under FSA

Background to the regulated activity of issuing electronic money Under section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000), a person cannot carry out regulated activities in the UK unless that person is authorised or exempt. This is known as the general prohibition. For more information about the general prohibition and its territorial scope, see Practice Notes: The general prohibition and implications of its breach and Territorial scope of the general prohibition. 'Regulated activities' are defined as including specified activities carried on by way of business that relate to ‘specified investments’ or property of any kind to which the specified activity relates. ‘Specified’ for these purposes means specified by HM Treasury. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, SI 2001/544 (RAO) sets out a number of activities and investments which are so specified. For further information on what constitutes regulated activities, see Practice Note: What are regulated activities? For more information about what 'by way of business' means in relation to insurance, see Practice Note: What does 'by way of

This Practice Note considers the regulation of influencer activity and what measures exist to protect influencers from online harms. It includes consideration of: the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code); the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code); and Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024), which revoked and replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, SI 2008/1277 from 6 April 2025. This Practice Note also deals with the regulatory obligations which may be imposed on UK platforms and affect influencers as part of the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023), as well as the circumstances in which Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the EU Digital Services Act (EU DSA) may apply to the activity of a UK-based influencer. Finally, it also considers how influencers may take practical steps to protect their individual ‘brand’ as this is built up through their influencer activity. This Practice Note is designed to assist practitioners who are advising influencers. For practical guidance on issues which may arise