Fit and proper person meaning

In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility Planning issues in energy projects Energy disputes Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change International energy New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and materials Daily and weekly news alerts Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem consults on extending ongoing fit and proper requirements across all licences Ofgem has opened a consultation proposing that the continuing fit and proper person obligations should apply to every licence holder. These obligations, which for now cover only gas and electricity suppliers and carbon dioxide transport and storage licence holders, would be broadened so that all Ofgem licensees must ensure senior staff remain appropriate for their posts beyond the initial licence grant. The move recognises that company leadership can change and is intended to preserve enduring benchmarks of suitability. Ofgem is seeking input...

See Q&A: Is there any requirement for the majority of the trustees of a charitable trust registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales to be resident in England or Wales? There is no legal rule requiring most trustees of a Charity Commission‑registered charity to live in England or Wales. Provided the governing document allows it and eligibility is satisfied, you may appoint a trustee based outside the UK, including: non‑British citizens British citizens living overseas people holding temporary visas asylum seekers residing in the UK Every trustee must still be eligible and meet the relevant criteria. Under charity law, a person cannot act if disqualified, for example due to: convictions for specified offences inclusion on the sex offenders register bankruptcy removal from an earlier trusteeship for misconduct Trustees must also meet minimum age requirements and, where applicable, undertake Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks...

In this issue: Key developments Air emissions and climate change Energy efficiency and buildings Energy for environmental lawyers Environmental disputes and proceedings Environmental enforcement and prosecutions Environmental information Environmental permits and consents Environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Marine Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Water, flooding and drainage Waste producer responsibility regimes Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Key developments HMT action plan sets out environmental and planning regulatory reforms HM Treasury (HMT) has issued an action plan setting out the government's stance on regulation and the work of regulators, with proposals to reshape environmental and planning rules. It sets out four priority measures and commitments from regulators including the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat, seeking to build a regime that safeguards the UK’s natural environment and local communities. See: LNB News 19/03/2025... Air emissions and...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO TRUST-BASED OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES This Practice Note considers the Pensions Regulator’s (the Regulator’s) powers to suspend or prohibit trustees of occupational pension schemes, and the statutory bases on which an individual or other legal person can be disqualified from acting as a trustee of an occupational pension scheme. Suspension and prohibition orders—reserved regulatory functions of the Regulator The Regulator’s powers to suspend or prohibit trustees of occupational pension schemes are: reserved regulatory functions exercised by the Regulator’s Determinations Panel and therefore subject to the standard procedure or, in special circumstances, the special procedure As part of the standard procedure, the Regulator must notify those persons who appear to be directly affected by a suspension or prohibition order that such an order is to be made. This will ordinarily include the continuing trustees of the relevant scheme. For further information on the Determinations Panel’s reserved regulatory functions, and on the standard and special procedures, see Practice...

The Francis Inquiry In June 2010, a full public inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire Foundation NHS Trust was launched after concerns about care standards at the Trust and an investigation and report by the now‑abolished Healthcare Commission in March 2009. The worries centred on apparently high mortality among patients admitted as emergencies. Chaired by Robert Francis KC, the Inquiry found that candour is integral to high‑quality healthcare, yet openness, transparency and candour are too often absent. Accordingly, a statutory duty of candour was introduced to deliver a key recommendation of the Inquiry. This duty has also been referred to as Robbie’s Law by the Action against Medical Accidents group, after Robbie Powell, who died in 1990. Statutory framework The regulations were made on 6 November 2014, with many taking effect 21 days later, that is, 27 November 2014, in line with reg 1, with the remaining Regulations commencing on 1 April 2015. The statutory duty of candour has been in force since November 2014, as has the...

The Innovator Founder route Introduced on 13 April 2023, the Innovator Founder route superseded the Innovator and Start-up categories, themselves launched in March 2019 for those looking to establish a business in the UK (which in turn had taken over from Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur)). The Start-up route ran for two years for first-time founders and did not require any minimum investment, whereas the Innovator route demanded at least £50,000 in funds but offered a path to settlement. Both demanded endorsement from a third-party body approved by the Home Office (for Start-up this was often a higher education institution). The 2019 reforms were largely a response to the 2015 Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) routes. The Explanatory Memorandum to the relevant Statement of Changes reflected the Committee’s conclusions, noting the Entrepreneur route needed ‘substantial reform’ and had ‘contributed little or nothing to the UK economy’. It also indicated that the core of the Innovator route would...