We have assumed that: • the sponsored worker is not a high earner • the correct figure does not amount to a reduction in salary from what was initially stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), and • the initial salary stated on the CoS is at or above the minimum salary threshold/going rate for sponsorship The implications for a sponsor not reporting a change to the Home Office, or reporting a change outside of the specified timeframes is set out in Practice Note: Skilled Worker and Intra-Company routes: changes of employment. The relevant excerpt from that Practice Note (under the heading Skilled Worker and Intra-Company routes: changes of employment—What happens if a report or a change of employment application has not been made?) is set out below. Sponsor breach will be relevant from the time that the breach

This Q&A considers a scenario where a seller of residential property in England and Wales does not have a UK bank account (contrary to the requirements of the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol (the Protocol)) and the seller’s conveyancer proposes to transfer the proceeds of sale to an overseas bank account following completion. All the parties to the transaction are represented by a solicitor qualified in England and Wales and based in the UK, and the seller is an individual. The Protocol is a series of steps to follow when acting on the sale or purchase of a home for an owner-occupier and is aimed at streamlining conveyancing transactions. Use of the Protocol is mandatory for Conveyancing Quality Scheme accredited practitioners. Step 3 of the Protocol requires a seller’s solicitor to: ‘Obtain instructions for dealing with remittance of gross/net sale proceeds and details provided by the seller of UK bank account for remittance of proceeds. Obtain evidence

Local authority search The local authority (LA) search is a search of the LAs records in respect of the property. It is made up of three forms: LLC1, CON29 and CON29O. Form LLC1 is a search of the local land charges register and contains a list of standard enquiries. The official search certificate, will reveal any entries on the register, including financial charges (eg for highway, drainage or sewerage works). The costs for such financial charges may be general (unquantified) or specific (quantified). The buyer’s solicitor must carefully review any search results, summarise them for its client to ensure that the buyer is fully informed and also confirm instructions as to how it wishes to proceed should potentially adverse results be revealed. What is a notice under section 220 of the Highways Act 1980 and will a purchaser be bound by it? Under

Companies are required to file audited accounts and reports with Companies House unless an exemption applies (such as the small company, subsidiary company or dormant company exemption). Chapter 1, Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) sets out the requirement (and exemptions from the requirement) for audited accounts. See Practice Note: When to audit company accounts and the content of the auditor’s report which summarises the statutory provisions relating to the requirement to audit the company’s annual accounts in accordance with the CA 2006 and other legislation. Assuming that the directors of a company relied on an exemption at the time of signing off the accounts (ie, included an audit exemption statement on the company’s balance sheet) and external accountants did not prepare the accounts in question, the directors of the company may be liable to a fine under different provisions of the CA 2006 in relation to incorrectly relying on an audit exemption. However, some

Where a company fails to comply with certain obligations, such as the filing of annual accounts or returns, the Registrar may strike the company off the register, meaning that the company is dissolved. The effect of the dissolution of the company is that it loses its legal personality, and all property and assets become vested in the Crown as bona vacantia (literally, ownerless goods)—see section 1012 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006). This applies not just to chattels but also to real property including leases. Because the vesting of the lease in the Crown carries obligations such as the payment of rent, it is ordinarily the case that the Crown will disclaim

To be eligible for Right to Buy (RTB), the tenant must have been in a public sector tenancy for at least three years (section 28 of the Deregulation Act 2015), although this need not be continuous (paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985)). Therefore, the fact that the property changes does

The following questions potentially arise: • has there been an increase in risk which the insured is obliged to disclose during the currency of the policy? • must the information be disclosed at renewal? • does it attract the operation of an exclusion for pre-existing conditions? • has there been any non-disclosure or misrepresentation? The insured’s state of health may be relevant to a wide variety of insurance policies, including long-term policies (eg life assurance, income protection or critical illness) and short-term policies (eg private medical, accident, or travel insurance). Some policies may be fully underwritten at the outset by means of a detailed proposal form. Others may only require minimal disclosure at inception but exclude cover for pre-existing medical conditions and/or require notification of changes in the insured’s health. It is therefore difficult to articulate general rules which are universally

Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), a breach of planning control is subject to enforcement action. Such a breach can include failing to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted and carrying out development without the required planning permission. Responsibility for enforcing against a breach of planning control usually falls upon the local planning authority (LPA). TCPA 1990, s 171A defines ‘taking enforcement action’ as the issue of an enforcement notice, or the service of a breach of condition notice. However, there are other formal means by which the LPA can tackle breaches of planning control including: planning contravention notices; enforcement, stop, temporary stop and breach of condition notices; and injunctions. Under TCPA 1990, s 172, an enforcement notice must be issued on the owner and on the occupier of the land to which it relates, and on any other person having an interest in the land which is

For the purposes of this Q&A we have focused on the matters directly relevant to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules as they relate to trade in goods between the remaining members of the EU (EU27) and the UK. This Q&A does not focus on other legal, commercial and operational aspects which may be impacted by a ‘no deal’ Brexit in March 2019, such as the implications for haulage or transportation or product safety or labelling; or the impact on goods which are restricted, subject to export controls, require a licence for import or export, or are otherwise subject to specific rules. Key guidance available focusing on the WTO rules in a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario includes: • Practice Note: International trade hub (in particular News Analyses: Brexit—customs implications for trade in goods and Brexit and the UK’s status in the WTO) • Practice Note: Brexit—UK tax consequences [Archived] • Practice

As set out in Practice Note: Sponsoring a Skilled Worker, the new entrants option (option E) operates so as to lower the minimum salary level for Skilled Worker applicants who are under 26, or are categorised as ‘new entrants’ to their occupations for certain specified reasons, which include (emphasis added): ‘… [where the] following conditions all apply: • the applicant’s most recent permission, other than as a visitor, was as a Student (which will include Tier 4 (General) student, which is either current or expired less than two years prior to the date of application • in that permission or any previous permission as a Student, the applicant was sponsored to study an undergraduate or higher degree, or a Postgraduate Certificate in Education or a Professional Graduate Diploma of Education (not any other qualifications of an equivalent level) • the applicant has completed

In this query, a person, usually a developer, wishes to buy land for development but is concerned that planning permission may not be forthcoming. The developer does not want to be bound to acquire land which may well prove to be worthless for development purposes and so the developer might: • enter into a conventional contract at a price to reflect its current value without planning permission subject to an uplift or overage payment in the event that planning permission is granted within a fixed period, or • enter into a contract conditional upon planning permission being obtained within a fixed or reasonable time, or, as in this case • enter into an

We have assumed that an action under Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) has been commenced before the expiration of six months from the date of a grant to the estate. The scenario raises several issues including: • whether the appropriated assets have actually been distributed to the beneficiary or whether they remain under the control of the personal representatives (PRs) • the availability of other assets in the estate to meet a claim under I(PFD)A 1975 • the role of the PRs and the potential implications for them The implications of the appropriation will depend on all the circumstances of the case and on factors such as the size of the net estate, the value of the appropriation, the entitlement (if any) of the applicant, whether there was notice of the I(PFD)A 1975 claim and