Financial support direction meaning

In this issue: Data protection Financial sanctions Other financial crime Cybersecurity Other Risk & Compliance updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content Data protection Model contractual clauses for AI procurement in the EU—key takeaways for AI companies EU Law analysis: The European Commission has issued a refreshed set of Model Contractual Clauses for AI Procurement (MCC-AI), offering additional helpful direction to public-sector purchasers navigating AI buying under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act). These clauses equally function as a practical instrument to assist any private organisation in meeting their legal duties when supplying or sourcing AI systems, especially high-risk AI solutions. Patrick Van Eecke, partner, and Enrique Capdevila, special counsel, at Cooley, outline the principal insights of the MCC-AI for companies. See News Analysis: Model contractual clauses for AI procurement in the EU—key takeaways for AI companies...

The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) stated on 26 February 2024 that the so‑called advice guidance boundary review, initiated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), represents a move in the right direction. The financial watchdog and the government say an advice gap bars people with smaller pots from seeking cost‑effective help. In an August 2023 consultation, the FCA flagged worries that too few adults obtain financial advice and that pension providers shy away from offering any sort of guidance to members. It has proposed three possible remedies which, it says, could enable a larger share of savers to gain from broader, more general guidance across the pensions landscape today...

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Cross border criminal investigations Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Food safety and hygiene offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Money laundering Other Corporate Crime news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Protect study reveals Gen Z are the least likely cohort to raise whistleblowing concerns at work about wrongdoing — including health and safety failings, fraud, bullying or harassment — with findings released on 23 June 2025. See News Analysis: Protect study shows Gen Z are less likely to blow the whistle at work. Cross border criminal investigations Law Commission publishes review on international criminal co-operation. The Commission has issued a scoping...

The Pensions Regulator (the Regulator) The Regulator is an arm’s-length public body set up under the Pensions Act 2004 (PeA 2004). Its authority to impose contribution notices and financial support directions appears in PeA 2004, ss 38–50. Although the Act does not use the label, these provisions are widely known as the Regulator’s ‘moral hazard’ powers. Their purpose is to counter the ‘moral hazard’ arising from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF): the possibility that corporate groups might organise their structures so as to heighten exposure within their pension schemes, comfortable that the PPF would intervene if the employer entered insolvency. The principal moral hazard tools—and the only ones exercised so far—are the power to issue a contribution notice (CN) and the power to issue a financial support direction (FSD). A CN compels the recipient to pay a specified amount into a defined benefit occupational pension scheme. A CN can be issued where the criteria in PeA 2004, s 38 are satisfied. These mechanisms exist to deter behaviour that would...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES ONLY TO DEFINED BENEFIT OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES When performing its functions, the Determinations Panel of the Pensions Regulator follows two distinct procedural pathways that must be observed, and must be followed at all times. These two sequences are known as the Standard Procedure and the Special Procedure. the Standard Procedure the Special Procedure As a reserved regulatory function of the Pensions Regulator, issuing a contribution notice or a financial support direction may only be carried out by the Determinations Panel using the Standard Procedure. The Special Procedure is adopted where there is a need to invoke the Regulator’s powers without delay to safeguard members’ interests or scheme assets. This route does not extend to contribution notices or financial support directions. For more detail on the Special Procedure, see The Pensions Regulator’s Determinations Panel—The Regulator’s procedures for exercising its functions. For additional information about the Panel, see Practice Note: The Pensions Regulator’s Determinations Panel. Stages of...

Mediation has become increasingly prevalent as a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the UK since the Access to Justice Report. It is consistently promoted by the courts as part of the overriding objective under CPR 1.4(2)(e). The courts also now hold explicit powers to direct parties to ADR under CPR 3.1(2)(m), and parties are required to consider it under the Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols. This is further reflected in the Chancery Guide, para 10.1. While the Civil Procedure Rules do not provide a specific pre-action protocol for probate and trust disputes, the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists has issued a Code to support practitioners. It states at 2.18 that parties should at all times evaluate whether ADR is suitable and note that the court may now order participation in ADR. ADR takes various forms, including: Mediation Early neutral evaluation (court-based and private) Financial dispute resolution (court-based and private) Expert determination Arbitration Not...