What is scraping? Web scraping is a process by which website data is extracted (ie copied) using a web scraping program. Websites are typically coded in HTML and a range of different web scraping programs have been created which interface with the HTML code to collect copies of the data for use elsewhere. Another type of scraping relevant to website operators is screen scraping. In very basic terms, this involves deploying a program to complete forms on third party websites and then extract the output/results from those forms. Often the program will simulate a human operator to obtain the outputs (which is why websites sometimes set ‘challenge responses’ such as Captcha, requiring the user to enter a code shown on the screen to determine whether that user is a human operator or a program). Some price comparison websites use screen scraping programs. What is the relevant law? Some of the law in this area is derived from, or is, European Law. Although other laws may be relevant, those of primary

See News Analysis: LinkedIn’s efforts to stop the bots and in particular: What steps can a website take technically and legally, in the UK, to prevent a third party from scraping data? It is ultimately very difficult to stop a determined scraper. From a legal perspective, a website owner could: • if it owns any intellectual property rights in the website (eg copyright or database rights), seek to rely on those rights to obtain an injunction against the scraper, and/or • include

The conversation on EU legal professional privilege (LPP) for lawyers is ongoing, however the Law Society has provided short guidance reflecting the current stage of that conversation. The guidance is relevant to: • UK lawyers based in the EU providing legal advice as a Third Country Lawyer, and • those based in the UK providing advice on cross-border EU operations The Law Society guidance briefly covers three areas: • EU LPP • Third Country Lawyers, and • national LPP EU LPP What is it? EU LPP attaches to communications relating to a Commission administrative or enforcement procedure. It does not concern a company’s right to withhold privileged documents from private parties or relate to other government authorities. National LPP rules will continue to be relevant in all national administrative procedures. Position during transitional period UK qualified lawyers are covered by EU LPP until the end of the transitional period. EU courts and EU bodies retain jurisdiction over judicial cases and administrative proceedings initiated during the transitional

What is the background to the ISDA SIMM? The financial crisis of 2007 exposed significant weaknesses in the resiliency of banks and other financial institutions. As a result of this, the G-20 initiated a reform programme in 2009, including to over-the counter (OTC) derivatives. The suggested reforms in 2009 focused on certain OTC derivatives being subject to central clearing and for non-cleared derivatives to be subject to higher capital requirements. In 2011, they added to their reform programme margin requirements for derivatives that were not subject to mandatory clearing. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in consultation with the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) set up a Working Group on Margin Requirements (WGMR) to address this requirement. In September 2013, the WGMR issued a margin policy framework for non-cleared bilateral derivatives. This framework was updated in March 2015 and is available

The publication known as the ‘Joint Fire Code’ provides guidance on fire prevention on construction sites. It applies to all parties involved in the supply chain, including those responsible for construction on site, as well as those who specify and design. The full title of the Joint Fire Code is ‘Fire Prevention on Construction Sites: The Joint Code of Practice on the Protection from Fire of Construction Sites and Buildings Undergoing Renovation’. It is produced by the insurance and construction industries together and compliance with the code is normally required by insurers for larger construction projects. The objective of the Joint Fire Code is to prevent fires on construction sites. It can be purchased in hard copy form from the Fire Prevention Association, RIBA and others. The Joint Fire Code was first published in 1992 and the most recent edition (the 9th edition) was published in 2015. It was first published following two fires which caused a combined loss of more than £150m and

This Q&A assumes that: • there are three partners, A and B are individuals and C is a company • there is no lease or rental consideration • the partnership in question is one that falls within paragraph 2 Schedule 17 to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 (LBTT(S)A 2013) • the partnership is not a property investment partnership The rules governing the transfer of a chargeable interest in land in Scotland from a partnership are found in LBTT(S)A 2013, Sch 17. The rules apply where a chargeable interest is transferred from a partnership to a person who is or has been of the partners (ie C) (LBTT(S)A 2013, Sch 17 Pt 5, para 20). The chargeable consideration for the transfer is determined according to the method in LBTT(S)A 2013, Sch 17 Pt 5, para 21, ie market value of the interest transferred X (100—Sum of lower proportions)%. The sum of lower proportions (SLP) is calculated

What is the Leverage Ratio? The Leverage Ratio requirement for UK banks, building societies and systemically-important investment firms is set out in the Leverage Ratio (CRR) and Liquidity Coverage Requirement—UK Designated Investment Firms Parts of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) Rulebook, and PRA Supervisory Statement SS45/15 The UK leverage ratio framework. It acts as a non-risk-based backstop to the risk-weighted capital requirements under Assimilated Regulation (EU) 575/2013 (UK CRR). The Leverage Ratio must at all times be at least 3.25%, meaning that a firm must have outstanding Tier 1 capital instruments in amounts equal to at least 3.25% of its Leverage Exposure Measure (LEM). At least 75% of the Tier 1 capital instruments must be made up by Common

This Q&A explains the origins of the Model Services Contract and explores its purpose, use and latest developments. What is the background to the Model Services Contract? In April 2014 the Model Services Contract (MSC) replaced the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Model ICT Contract version 2.3 (which was published by the OGC on 1 October 2009). The government stated its aim was to ‘aid delivery assurance and reduce administration, legal costs and negotiation time' and that it was ‘suitable for use with the range of business services that Government purchases and in particular contains applicable provisions for contracts for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and/or IT delivery services'. Details of subsequent updates are set out on the Cabinet Office MSC website. How is it used? As set out in its guidance documentation, the MSC is intended to be used by

What is the Primary Authority scheme? The Primary Authority scheme enables businesses to choose to work with a single local authority that will provide regulatory advice. It is a means for businesses to receive assured and tailored advice on meeting various regulations through a single point of contact. Primary authorities provide advice to businesses that other local regulators must respect on compliance with the regulations. They can also produce an inspection plan for a business or the members of a trade association to improve the effectiveness of visits by local regulators and underpin better sharing of information. In practice, it means that a business can deal with one local authority, and if, for example, queries come in from other areas about consumer complaints, they are dealt with under the umbrella of the primary authority. Examples of the types of area where advice might be sought include consumer protection, fire

European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (the Act) was introduced to facilitate the ratification and implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement (31 Jan 2020) agreed in principle between the UK and the EU on 17 October 2019. For further details on the Withdrawal Agreement, see Practice Note: Brexit—introduction to the Withdrawal Agreement. The Act contains provisions on various matters, including the implementation period (the term used by the UK or transition period, the term used by the EU; these terms are used interchangeably, see Q&A: In the context of Brexit, what is meant by the ‘transition or implementation period’?). It incorporates several amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018), particularly for the purpose of legislating for transition, deferring several provisions from exit day to the end of the implementation period. During the transition period/implementation period The provisions relating to insolvency are largely unchanged; Article 67(3)(c) of the Withdrawal Agreement (31 Jan 2020) provides that in the UK and Member States: ‘Regulation

Partitioning property is dealt with in paragraph 6 of Schedule 4 to the Finance Act 2003. Where a land transaction is giving effect to a partition or division of a chargeable interest to which persons

Notwithstanding the fact that archived Stamp Taxes Bulletin 1/2014 (Bulletin) (which includes the guidance you refer to in your query) describes this particular scenario (ie where part of the consideration for a lease relating to a renewable energy project includes the right of the landlord to free or reduced rate energy produced as part of the project) as a developing area, we are not aware of any subsequent change in HMRC's SDLT analysis as articulated in the Bulletin. Renewable energy as consideration: