A maintained school owned and run by a voluntary organisation.

A procedure for either a company or an individual to reach a legally binding agreement to pay all or part of their debts.

This Practice Note explains how a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) can enter into a voluntary arrangement (VA). This Practice Note does not apply to Limited Partnerships, for which, see Practice Note: Limited partnerships and insolvency—key principles. Applicable legislation The Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 (LLPA 2000) introduced LLPs and must be read in conjunction with the Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2001 (LLPR 2001), SI 2001/1090. The LLPR 2001, SI 2001/1090 apply the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) and the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024 to LLPs. The LLPR 2001, SI 2001/1090 explain how IA 1986 and IR 2016, SI 2016/1024 apply to LLPs and clarify the following matters: • references to a company include references to an LLP • references to a director/officer include references to a member of an LLP • references to the articles of association of the company include references to the limited liability partnership agreement of an LLP • ‘contributory’ means every present and

In addition to the better-known company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) and individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), the insolvency legislation permits insolvent general partnerships to enter into compromise arrangements with their creditors. These are known as partnership voluntary arrangements (PVAs). When contemplating such a compromise, however, partners must bear in mind that they are personally liable in full for the debts of the partnership. It is, therefore, advisable in most, if not all instances, for the partners to enter into IVAs to fully protect their interests. Applicable legislation Part II of the Insolvent Partnership Order 1994 (SI 1994/2421) (IPO 1994) as amended by the Insolvent Partnership (Amendment) (No 2) Order 2002 (SI 2002/2708) applies the provisions of Part I of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) on CVAs to insolvent partnerships by means of a PVA) (IA 1986, s 420). The IPO 1994, SI 1994/2421 also applies the provisions of what was IA 1986, Sch A1 to insolvent partnerships with amendments, enabling use of the moratorium procedure. IA 1986, Sch A1 (along with IA 1986, s 1A) was

This Practice Note explains the law relating to voluntary attendance at an interview under caution conducted under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984). It also highlights the provisions of PACE 1984 and the relevant PACE Code of Practice, PACE Code C, relating to the interviewing of suspects which do not apply to volunteers, including review of detention time limits, the position in relation to custody records, care and treatment of detained persons, the right not to be held incommunicado, fingerprints, searches, inferences from silence and how to advise a volunteer. For a printable client guide which provides general information about attending a voluntary interview under caution and what to expect, see Precedent: Voluntary interviews under caution—client guide. For information on the conduct of interviews under PACE 1984 generally, see Practice Note: Interview under caution. The Home Office has published a guidance note specifically for those attending police interviews voluntarily, which is to be provided to all interviewees prior to their voluntary interview in order to ensure that they fully understand

Trials in the Crown Court take place ‘on indictment’ and a defendant ‘tried on indictment’ will be tried before a judge and a jury in the Crown Court in England and Wales. An indictment is the formal document accusing one or more persons of committing a specified indictable offence or either way offence and it is generally the responsibility of prosecuting counsel to ensure the indictment for a criminal trial is drafted correctly. There are a number of procedural requirements relating to the drafting of an indictment which are contained in Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909, Pt 10. For further information, see Practice Notes: The indictment and The indictment—content, form, defects and amendments. Very rarely, and only in limited circumstances, an indictment can be served on the Crown Court at the direction of the High Court. This is known as a voluntary bill of indictment. Voluntary bill of indictment An indictment may, exceptionally, be preferred (ie served on a Crown Court) by the direction or with the consent of a High Court judge under

Arbitration analysis: Despite a recent devaluation of the total value of the voluntary carbon markets (for a variety of reasons ranging from technical issues in ensuring carbon credits’ integrity to regulatory issues in determining whether credits are property) the voluntary carbon markets could still rebound and represent an increasing share of arbitrations globally. This article examines voluntary carbon markets and the aforementioned technical and regulatory setbacks. It argues that these setbacks should not be viewed as ending voluntary carbon markets, but as flaws to be addressed. If these issues are addressed, and demand returns, arbitration experts should have an eye on the voluntary carbon markets, as they are likely to be the source of many arbitrations in the future. Written by B Michael Davis, summer intern at P.R.I.M.E. Finance and law student at NYU.

A maintained school where the buildings are largely owned by a voluntary (often religious) organisation.

Trend towards environmental, social governance or sustainability reporting The terms sustainable business, corporate responsibility (CR) or corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environmental, social, governance (ESG) are used by business and lawyers in various different contexts. However, for the most part they are used to convey a business behaving in a responsible manner as part of its day to day activities. CSR has very much been concerned with making a business accountable, but historically, CSR impacts have been hard to measure. This is changing in the ESG context, where impacts are becoming more measurable (and so easier to report on), with CSR seen as a precursor to ESG. Many companies are realising that compliance with laws may no longer provide sufficient protection from legal, regulatory or reputational risk and commitments to voluntary frameworks and reporting mechanisms may assist in this regard. Heightened emphasis on transparency and accountability through corporate governance and sustainability reporting disclosure has renewed the focus on the ‘triple bottom line’—environmental, social and economic impacts. While there is no single definition of

Reasons for reporting greenhouse gas emissions Pressure for companies and governments to report on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has been mounting over the last decade. Reports on the impacts of climate change, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, plus real world weather events, have intensified the pressure by adding urgency to the need to reduce emissions. International agreements such as the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) meetings have also intensified the impetus on businesses and governments to reduce GHG. For more on the Paris Agreement and recent COPs, see Practice Note: The Paris Agreement 2015—snapshot. In the UK, the Climate Change Act 2008 places duties on the government to reduce the country’s carbon emissions, with a requirement that the UK achieves net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Section 4 requires the Secretary of State to: • set for each succeeding period of five years beginning with the period 2008–12 (‘budgetary periods’) an amount for the net UK carbon account (‘carbon budget’), and

This guide provides general information about attending a voluntary interview under caution and what to expect. Your lawyer will be able to provide advice based on your individual circumstances. You have been invited to attend a voluntary interview under caution because an investigating authority believes you, or the business you are representing, may have committed a criminal offence and wishes to ask you questions as part of its investigation. Receiving such an invitation can be worrying, particularly if you have never been involved in a criminal investigation before. This guide explains what a voluntary interview under caution is and what you should expect. What is a voluntary interview under caution? A voluntary interview under caution is a formal interview conducted as part of a criminal investigation under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984). It allows investigators to ask questions about an alleged offence without first arresting you. The interview may be carried out by the police or by another enforcement authority with powers to investigate criminal offences, such as: • the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Liquidation not involving the court, either members voluntary liquidation (MVL) for solvent companies, or creditors voluntary liquidation (CVL) for insolvent companies.