Impact assessment meaning

HMRC guidance on compromises using Part 26 schemes and Part 26A restructuring plans In corporate insolvencies, HMRC commonly ranks as a secondary preferential and/or unsecured creditor (see Practice Note: Waterfall of payments—a comparative guide), a status that often serves as the relevant comparator or alternative to a Part 26 scheme or a Part 26A restructuring plan. On 1 November 2023, HMRC issued guidance covering compromises under Part 26 schemes (see: Schemes of arrangement—overview) and Part 26A restructuring plans (see: Restructuring plan—overview) (see: HMRC publishes guidance on using debt management schemes to restructure finances—LNB News 15/11/2023 13). Practitioners should take account of this guidance whenever a proposed scheme/plan includes HMRC as a creditor. HMRC will only back a restructuring where it considers there is a realistic prospect of success. If HMRC does not consider success realistic, it will engage with the scheme/plan proponent to explore other means of repaying HMRC’s debt, which may involve a formal insolvency process. The debtor must have submitted all outstanding...

The moratorium in administration Central to administration, the moratorium operates as the principal device that enables a company rescue, a restructuring, or the disposal of the business. Its objective is to afford the company and its administrator a period of breathing space to shape and carry out proposals, and to scrutinise the position of the company, its business and its assets. That pause creates room for careful assessment and orderly planning. The consequence of the moratorium (and any interim moratorium) is that proceedings, enforcement and other steps cannot be taken against the company or its property while it remains in force. Claims or actions may only be commenced or continued with the administrator’s consent or the court’s permission. For further detail on the moratorium and its impact, refer to Practice Note: The moratorium in administration. The process of applying to lift the moratorium Before issuing any application requesting the court’s permission to lift the stay, the applicant should first seek the administrator’s agreement. The administrator may consent,...

This checklist outlines the steps a developer should follow when conducting due diligence on rights of light, and the approaches a developer can take to reduce the risk of an injunction being secured. A right of light is an easement that permits a property owner to receive natural light through an opening in a building on their land. The owner of land encumbered by a right of light must not impede it without permission. Accordingly, for any intended development it is vital to establish: whether any nearby building benefits from a right of light—see Practice Note: Establishing and maintaining rights of light the effect of the planned works on those rights of light—see Practice Note: Rights of light claims the remedies available to the holder of the right of light—see Practice Note: Rights of light claims A plan must be devised to manage any such rights, in collaboration with a specialist rights of light surveyor. Do any rights of light exist?...

This Flowchart This Flowchart supports your decision on whether a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) is necessary when initiating a new project that involves personal data from the outset, helping you decide effectively. It sets out: three scenarios in which a DPIA is mandatory under Article 35(3) of Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679, UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR); and ten further processing activities for which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) requires a DPIA to be carried out Where a DPIA is not needed, you should think about using a simpler form of review, which we call a privacy impact assessment (PIA) instead. The Flowchart enables you to determine which assessment—DPIA or PIA—best fits your project in practice. For additional guidance on DPIAs and PIAs, see Practice Note: How to complete a data protection impact assessment—DPIA...

This flowchart shows how to determine whether you need to carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) for a specific project, and the steps to complete one if required. It also outlines post‑DPIA tasks, including weaving the DPIA’s findings into your project plan and keeping the assessment under review. See also Precedents: Data protection impact assessment—DPIA and Data protection impact assessment—DPIA—short form, which draws on a template issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO’s comprehensive Data Protection Impact Assessments guidance sets out seven steps to running a DPIA. This flowchart is designed to cover those seven stages, and it also mirrors the ICO’s expectations for post‑DPIA activity, namely: integrating the outcomes of your DPIA into your project plans, and monitoring the ongoing performance of the DPIA Note 1: Identify the need for a DPIA If you have a data protection officer (DPO), seek their advice. For further information, see Practice Note: How to complete a data protection impact...

Flowchart No pharmaceutical product can be marketed without prior authorisation. This Flowchart describes the steps to obtain such approval, termed a marketing authorisation (MA), via the EU centralised route as set out by the procedure...

This data protection impact assessment (DPIA) relates to view and prove, one of three online services that lets people with an immigration status confirm and share their status online. This DPIA relates to ‘view...

In this issue: New technologies Internet Data protection Media Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Reputation management Telecommunications LexTalk®TMT: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information New technologies DSIT releases report and impact assessment on copyright and artificial intelligence DSIT, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Intellectual Property Office have jointly issued a report and an impact assessment exploring the use of works protected by copyright in the training and development of AI systems. These have been published pursuant to sections 135 and 136 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. See: LNB News 18/03/2026 44. EDPS unveils Compass on supervision and enforcement under the EU AI Act The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has released its Compass setting out its expanded role under the EU AI Act as a market surveillance authority...

Pearce v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2021] EWHC 326 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? While the facts are specific to this matter, multiple offshore schemes along England’s east coast are moving through consent, and each must robustly account for cumulative effects. The case also underlines mounting pushback from local communities against sizeable onshore infrastructure in the area, coinciding with BEIS’s programme reviewing offshore transmission and different approaches to linking offshore wind schemes and landing renewable power. The court further made clear that, even where a proposal aligns with government policy and helps deliver low‑carbon, renewable generation consistent with legal duties towards ‘net zero’ and tackling climate change, that alignment does not displace the requirement for any application to evaluate every impact properly and in accordance with the law. All such proposals therefore need to demonstrate, through the application process, that cumulative and project‑specific effects have been considered with sufficient rigour, rather than assuming policy support or climate objectives will...

National policy 25-Year Environment Plan —the 25-Year Environment Plan outlines the government’s commitments to enhance the environment within a generation. The Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 (EIP 2023) for England was the first statutory update to the 25-Year Environment Plan under the Environment Act 2021 (EA 2021). On 1 December 2025, it was replaced by the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 (EIP 2025), now the current environmental improvement plan for EA 2021 purposes. EIP 2025 renews the long-term framework for achieving environmental outcomes, revises the interim targets in EIP 2023 and adds two new interim targets. EIP 2025 is pertinent to waste planning as part of the broader policy to improve resource efficiency and drive the move to a more circular economy, complementing the Resources and Waste Strategy and the Waste Management Plan for England (see below). Resources and Waste Strategy The Resources and Waste Strategy sets out how the government intends to conserve material resources by cutting waste, promoting resource efficiency and moving towards a circular economy in...

Breach of planning control and enforcement action Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), any breach of planning control can be met with enforcement measures. For these purposes, a breach of planning control is understood to mean: undertaking development without the requisite planning permission — this presumes that an unauthorised operation or a material change of use has occurred which amounts to development within TCPA 1990, s 55, that such development requires planning permission, and that no permission has been secured When determining whether a breach of planning control has arisen in this context, the applicable guidance and case law on the meaning of ‘development’ must be applied; see Overview: Is planning permission required?...

The Planning Act 2008 (PA 2008) establishes the consent framework for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) across energy, transport, water, waste water and waste. Decisions on development consent order (DCO) applications may be taken by reference to any relevant National Policy Statements (NPSs), which articulate national policy for NSIPs. See Practice Note: National Policy Statements. While the Secretary of State (SoS) is legally accountable for the decision, in practice the government entrusts acceptance and examination of applications to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). See Practice Note: Examination of nationally significant infrastructure projects—general. The government has issued a ‘Collection: National Infrastructure Planning Guidance Portal’, containing guidance on NSIP pre-examination, the examination itself, the fast-track route for NSIPs, and awards of costs relating to the examination of DCO applications. Collectively, these provisions define the route by which nationally significant schemes are assessed and authorised, with guidance set out in practice notes and the collection. Fast-track process Under PA 2008, s 98(1), the Examining Authority (EA) must conclude examination of the application...

1 Management and organisational information security ICO expectation and current status Further details: LexisNexis® Precedents Your business identifies, evaluates and controls information security risks Not yet implemented or planned Partially implemented or planned Successfully implemented Not applicable Before deciding the right level of protection for your organisation, audit the personal data you hold and gauge the threats to it. Review every stage of handling: collection, storage, use, sharing and disposal. Weigh the sensitivity or confidentiality of the data and the potential harm or distress to people, alongside any reputational impact on your business, if a breach occurred. With this understanding, select security controls proportionate to your needs. Embedding data protection by design also means undertaking a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) in defined scenarios to evaluate privacy risks. You must complete a DPIA prior to initiating any processing that is ‘likely to result in a high risk’...

We have conducted a review to identify where our business faces the greatest risk of either: creating or adding to negative human rights impacts through our own operations, or having our activities, goods or services directly tied to adverse human rights impacts via our business partners. [ We were supported by [ name of external consultants ] in completing this review. ] [ During the review we engaged the following stakeholders through [ insert brief details of method(s) of stakeholder engagement used, if any ]: [ insert details of first internal and external stakeholders engaged with during the assessment ] [ insert details of next internal and external stakeholders engaged with during the assessment ] ] [ We followed the impact assessment approach set out in [ eg The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), working with...

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The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) The MCA 2005 established a new assessment of mental capacity, which should generally serve as the primary point of reference when determining a person’s capacity. It consolidates the common law and does not explicitly overturn it...