Framework Directive meaning

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. UCITS is the acronym for undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities. The expression derives from Directive (EC) 85/611 concerning the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (the Original UCITS Directive), which was adopted in 1985. The purpose of the Original UCITS Directive was to establish a single market for open-ended retail investment funds that offered enhanced protection for investors. The UCITS framework has been updated on several occasions, with the Management Company Directive 2001/107/EU adopted in 2002 and the Product Directive 2001/108/EU implemented in 2005 (together referred to as UCITS III); followed by implementation in 2011 of Directive 2009/65/EC (the UCITS Directive, also called UCITS IV), which repealed and replaced the Original UCITS Directive; and Directive 2014/91/EU (UCITS V), which was transposed into national law on 18 March 2016...

This tracker outlines the consultation papers issued by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) from 2008–2013, listed in reverse date order, and includes links to the relevant FSA webpage and/or PDF versions of the papers. For details of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) consultation papers, together with subsequent rules and guidance, see: • FCA consultation paper tracker-2021 [Archived] 2013 Publication date Consultation Paper (including FSA webpage if available) Description March 2013 - FSA webpage: CP13/9: Implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive Part 2; CP13/9: Follow-up consultation on draft rules and guidance for implementing the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). March 2013 - FSA webpage: CP13/8: Publishing information about warning notices; CP13/8: Proposals on how the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would publish details about the subject-matter of a warning notice where it considers publication appropriate. March 2013 - FSA webpage: CP13/7: Consumer credit regulation-our proposed regime; CP13/7: Invites views on the proposed framework and rules for the new consumer...

This timeline has been archived. It summarises the principal milestones for UK, EU and international operational resilience expectations for financial services firms. In the UK, the Authority (FCA), working with the Bank of England (BoE) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), finalised the operational resilience regime in March 2021, with rules taking effect from 31 March 2022. At EU level, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector (the Digital Operational Resilience Act, DORA) and Directive (EU) 2022/2556 modifying selected Directives on digital operational resilience (the Amending Directive) were published in the Official Journal of the EU on 27 December 2022. For developments from January 2024 onwards, refer to: EU operational resilience—timeline for matters concerning EU operational resilience, or UK Benchmarks Regulation—timeline for items relating to UK operational resilience. For further detail on the UK operational resilience regime, see Practice Note: Operational resilience—UK regulatory framework. For further detail on the EU regime, see Practice Note: DORA—essentials...

Purpose of the CBTL flowchart The aim of this flowchart is to support firms in deciding whether they are required to register to carry on regulated activities in connection with consumer buy-to-let (CBTL) mortgages under the Mortgage Credit Directive Order 2015, SI 2015/910 (MCD Order 2015). That Order transposed the EU Mortgage Credit Directive (Directive 2014/17/EU) (the EU MCD) into the UK regulatory framework ahead of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. It should also be read alongside Practice Note: Regulation of consumer buy-to-let lending in the UK. The CBTL flowchart...

In this issue: Air emissions and climate change Contamination and pollution Energy efficiency and buildings Energy for environmental lawyers Environmental information Environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste Water, flooding and drainage Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Air emissions and climate change Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR)-UK government publishes Business Model documentation On 27 August 2025, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) released a suite of papers on its proposed Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR) Business Model and accompanying policy. The Lexis+ Energy team, working with Navraj Singh Ghaleigh, Senior Lecturer in Climate Law at the University of Edinburgh Law School, set out the context for the GGR Business Model; its relationship with the Power BECCS Business Model; the technologies the GGR framework intends to encompass; its legal footing and principal features; and how...

In this issue: Air emissions and climate change Energy for environmental lawyers Environmental disputes and proceedings Environmental permits and consents Environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Marine Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste Waste producer responsibility regimes Water, flooding and drainage Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Air emissions and climate change DESNZ releases quarterly waste data reporting template for the UK ETS. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has issued a template for quarterly waste data submissions under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS). It is designed for waste operators to use when sending quarterly data reports to their regulator during the voluntary monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) period. See: LNB News 19/02/2026 50. AFME responds to European Commission consultation on climate resilience legislative framework. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has provided...

In this issue: Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Litigation Case management Evidence and disclosure ADR Scottish Dispute Resolution New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Dispute Resolution Highlights 2025/2026 Key DR developments Alternative dispute resolution European Parliament adopts new rules to modernise out-of-court dispute resolution for consumers The European Parliament has approved refreshed measures to enhance consumer out-of-court complaint handling, updating the EU’s ADR framework for the digital landscape and cross-border disputes. The reforms delineate ADR’s reach to cover matters arising both before and after contractual agreements, and in specified circumstances enable involvement by traders from third countries. The directive will come into force 20 days following publication and will begin to apply 32 months thereafter. For more, see: Parliament adopts new rules to modernise out-of-court dispute resolution for consumers—LNB News 16/12/2025 Court information HMCTS update hearing...

Resource Note This Resource Note signposts key commentary, analysis and materials to aid interpretation and offer practical direction on using Chapter 2 of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTR 2). Where relevant, it draws on: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook FCA Knowledge Base—Procedural and Technical notes (formal guidance binding on the FCA) FCA consultation and discussion papers, policy and feedback statements, and warnings Primary Market Bulletins and other FCA publications legacy UKLA technical and procedural notes and the UKLA’s newsletter List!, where still pertinent assimilated EU legislation EU Directives and EU Regulations, where helpful to construing a provision Lexis+® UK analysis and resources Setting the scene What it covers: DTR 2 prescribes the framework for issuers to disclose and manage inside information, supporting timely and even-handed release of market-sensitive information. It also identifies specific situations permitting a delay to public disclosure of inside information, together with the safeguards required to keep such information...

This Practice Note sets out the essentials of Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA): its background, timeline, aims, and how it aligns with other EU laws. For details on the CRA’s scope or core duties for economic operators, see the following Practice Notes: The EU Cyber Resilience Act—scope and classification of products The EU Cyber Resilience Act—obligations, compliance and enforcement Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, known as the CRA, is the first EU measure to set mandatory cybersecurity requirements for ‘products with digital elements’ across the EU. From December 2027, products that do not satisfy these requirements cannot be placed on the EU market. Accordingly, compliance will be crucial for market entry for both hardware and software. Manufacturers, importers and distributors will have extensive cybersecurity responsibilities and risk significant fines for non-compliance. The CRA was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 20 November 2024, entered into force on 10 December 2024, and applies in full from 11...

Water pollution Polluted water can kill fish and other aquatic life, harm habitats, threaten drinking supplies, lower water quality and foul beaches. Many kinds of contaminant can enter waters—chemicals, microplastics, petrol, oils and fats, ammonia in sewage, mine waste, nitrates from farming and solid waste. Definitions of water ‘Controlled waters’ Relevant territorial waters (seawater to three nautical miles) Coastal waters (eg tidal waters) Inland freshwaters (rivers, streams, watercourses, lakes and ponds) Groundwaters (water stored in rock layers beneath soil) Section 104 of the Water Resources Act 1991 (WRA 1991) ‘Surface water’ Inland waters (all standing or flowing surface water, except groundwater) Transitional waters (partly saline estuaries substantially influenced by freshwater flows) Coastal waters (water up to one mile seaward) The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/407, Sch 1 ‘Groundwater’ — all water below the ground surface...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE On 19 June 2025, the Data (Use and Access) Bill secured Royal Assent, thereby transforming into the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA 2025) and taking partial effect immediately on that same day. Parts 5 and 6 modify elements of UK data protection and ePrivacy law across the domestic framework, expressly covering the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, the Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, SI 2003/2426, as relevant measures. Some DUAA 2025 measures, addressing issues like handling data subject access requests and granting authority to make further regulations, also commenced straightaway on 19 June 2025 without delay. Other elements, relating to notices from the Information Commissioner and certain facets of law enforcement processing, take effect on 19 August 2025 (two months after Royal Assent was given). Most DUAA 2025 provisions depend on subsequent regulations (as statutory instruments) being made before they commence and, until then, remain dormant...

STOP PRESS: On 19 June 2025, the Data (Use and Access) Bill secured Royal Assent, transforming into the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA 2025) and taking partial effect on that date. A number of DUAA 2025 provisions — covering issues such as handling data subject access requests and the conferral of authority to create further regulations — commenced immediately on 19 June 2025. Other elements, including measures on notices from the Information Commissioner and particular aspects of law enforcement processing, took effect on 19 August 2025 (two months after Royal Assent). The greater part of DUAA 2025’s framework will, however, only come into operation once additional regulations, in the form of statutory instruments, are made to commence them. Parts 5 and 6 of DUAA 2025 introduce amendments to aspects of UK data protection and ePrivacy law, including the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, SI 2003/2426...

The Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 (FTE Regulations 2002), SI 2002/2034 The FTE Regulations 2002 state that, unless an employer can objectively justify continuing to use fixed-term contracts, a fixed-term worker who has been employed on an uninterrupted basis—under one fixed-term contract or a succession of fixed-term contracts—for four years or more and is subsequently re-engaged on another fixed-term contract without any break in continuity will have that further contract treated as permanent. For information on fixed-term employees generally, see Practice Note: Fixed-term employees. In specified circumstances, the FTE Regulations 2002 include a mechanism, derived from the Fixed-term Work Framework Directive, for turning fixed-term contracts into permanent contracts (FTE Regs 2002, SI 2002/2034, reg 8)...

UK Within the UK, Defra leads the development of new regulations arising from initial studies that prioritise gains in energy efficiency. These rules are policed by the National Measurement Office (NMO). EU Ecodesign and energy-using requirements The European EuP Directive 2005/32/EC acted as a framework, with precise performance benchmarks and test methods defined in accompanying implementing measures and regulations. It was later replaced by the Eco-Design Directive 2009/125/EC. In the UK, the 2005 Directive was transposed via the Ecodesign for Energy-Using Products 2007, SI 2007/2037, which was in turn revoked by the Eco-Design for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010, SI 2010/2617. The 2010 Regulations transpose Directive 2009/125/EC into UK law, aiming to enhance product environmental performance across the whole life cycle by embedding environmental considerations at the earliest stages of design. The EU is setting minimum energy and environmental performance standards for more than twenty product groups, including lighting. Detailed technical provisions appear in the regulations, while the Market Transformation Programme (MTP) offers further information and the evidence...