Recommendations meaning

Checklist The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), a part of HM Treasury, is responsible for communicating, implementing and enforcing financial sanctions in the UK. It also holds powers to grant licences that permit an activity or transaction which would otherwise be prohibited under the UK financial sanctions regime. OFSI may only issue licences connected to financial sanctions. If your application concerns a different sanction, such as trade or immigration, you must send it to the appropriate Department. See further Practice Note: Understanding the financial sanctions regime. This Checklist brings together the requirements for applying to OFSI for a financial sanctions licence, alongside recommendations to help make your application faster and easier. These are drawn from multiple sources, including the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018) and regulations made under it, various OFSI guidance materials, and guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This Checklist also signposts relevant content to support compliance with these requirements and suggestions. A section is provided for you to indicate completion...

The suitability obligation All authorised firms are subject to a suitability obligation, which requires them to take reasonable steps to ensure that any personal recommendations, or decisions to trade, are suitable for their clients. The suitability obligation applies to: firms providing investment advisory services, and firms providing discretionary portfolio management services Firms providing non‑advised investment services will instead be subject to the appropriateness obligation (see Practice Note: Appropriateness). Firms must gather the information ‘necessary’ about their clients in respect of their: knowledge and experience in the investment field relevant to the type of investment or service, financial situation, and investment objectives For more information on the suitability obligation, see Practice Note Suitability. When does the obligation to provide a suitability report apply? In certain circumstances, firms are required to provide suitability reports to their clients under COBS 9.4...

Anti-bribery and corruption Checklist This anti-bribery and corruption Checklist helps you assess whether your systems meet the Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010) and the government’s guidance on bribery and corruption. Read it together with these subtopics: Anti-bribery and corruption—regulatory regime Anti-bribery and corruption—Identifying & assessing risks Anti-bribery and corruption—policy and procedures, or for law firms, Anti-bribery and corruption—policy and procedures—law firms Anti-bribery and corruption—gifts and hospitality Anti-bribery and corruption—agents and intermediaries Anti-bribery and corruption—joint ventures and acquisitions Anti-bribery and corruption—charitable and political donations Anti-bribery and corruption—staff training & awareness, or for law firms, Anti-bribery and corruption—staff training and awareness—law firms Anti-bribery and corruption—monitoring and review This Checklist signposts relevant Precedents you can use or tailor to satisfy these requirements and recommendations. It includes a box to indicate whether each item has been completed and a section to add comments or record action points...

In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility International energy Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing DESNZ launches consultation on regulating TPIs in the retail energy market The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has opened a consultation to bring Third Party Intermediaries in the retail energy market under regulation, bolstering consumer protection and aiding the shift to a cleaner energy system. Triggered by cases of consumers and businesses being targeted by unregulated rogue brokers and other TPIs, this forms part of the government’s ongoing support for Ofgem to develop an effective market for non-domestic customers, alongside implementing recommendations from Ofgem’s July 2023 non-domestic policy consultation. The consultation closes on 15 November 2024. See: LNB News 20/09/2024 36. Ofgem launches statutory consultation on SoLR Levy Offset...

In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation, licensing and taxation Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility Hydrogen, CCUS and emerging technologies Nuclear energy Planning issues in energy projects Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Energy resources on Lexis+® Daily and weekly news alerts Key developments and materials DESNZ announces accelerated measures to boost UK energy security DESNZ has unveiled a suite of actions to reinforce and speed up the UK’s energy security in light of events in the Middle East. For the first time, ‘plug-in solar’ will be permitted in the UK. The department plans to advance the next annual renewables auction to July 2026 and has confirmed that the government will adopt the Fingleton Review’s recommendations to hasten delivery of nuclear power stations. It has also moved to safeguard consumers, working...

In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Renewable energy Conventional power, waste to energy, biomass, and CHP projects International energy Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Key developments and materials DBT publishes UK’s critical mineral strategy The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has released a suite of resources setting out the government’s plan to secure supplies of critical minerals for UK industry and energy security. The Resilience for the Future policy paper explains that the UK will speed up growth of domestic capability, work with international partners, and strengthen global markets so they are more responsive, transparent, and responsible. See: LNB News 10/05/2024 31. Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem launches BAT consultation Ofgem has opened a consultation on lifting the current prohibition on acquisition-only tariffs (BAT). The ban was...

This Practice Note clearly explains the courts’ function within the context of family arbitration. In matters concerning families, any arbitration normally proceeds under the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators (IFLA) scheme. The courts continue to have overall jurisdiction over any family arbitration award or determination and will endorse the award or determination provided it falls within recognised limits, thereby fully respecting the parties’ autonomy. For further practical guidance on, among other things, the conduct of arbitration in family cases, the principal advantages of arbitration, the scope of the IFLA scheme and the arbitrator’s powers, please see Practice Note: Family arbitration—introduction. Acting on Law Commission proposals to reform the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996) and to bring in measures to bolster arbitrator immunity, enhance overall case efficiency and clarify the court’s powers, a draft Bill reflecting those recommendations was formally laid before Parliament and subsequently obtained Royal Assent on 25 February 2025. Accordingly, the Arbitration Act 2025 (AA 2025) modifies AA 1996 from 1 August 2025 by virtue of the Arbitration...

Scope of this Practice Note This Practice Note addresses matters linked to technology used to help firms comply with their regulatory duties—often referred to as ‘regtech’. It reviews how the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE) (including the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)) engage with regtech, highlights industry activity, and records both the proposal and subsequent withdrawal of an FCA ‘Robo Handbook’. It examines these facets of what has come to be known as ‘regtech’: what is regtech? the FCA’s approach FCA TechSprints digital sandbox other regulator-side developments towards a Robo Handbook industry-side developments other initiatives What is regtech? Regtech is a broad label for the use of technology to help firms discharge regulatory requirements more efficiently and effectively than legacy systems allow—and, at times, for the use of technology by regulators to support their own supervisory responsibilities. The expression is used either in contrast to, or as a subset of, fintech....

Text on obligations of directors of enterprise group companies in the period approaching insolvency: status Working Group V, UNCITRAL’s insolvency-focused body, approved the Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency (MLEG) in 2018 at its 54th session in Vienna (10–14 December 2018). In 2019, the UN Commission on International Trade Law (the Commission) endorsed and adopted both the guide to enactment and the text on the obligations of directors of enterprise group companies nearing insolvency (the Directors’ Guide) at its 53rd session in New York (6–17 July 2019) (see A/74/17—Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law fifty-second session (advance copy)). The Directors’ Guide adds an extra section to part four of the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Insolvency law, covering directors’ duties (see Practice Note: UNCITRAL guidance on directors' obligations in the period approaching insolvency). UNCITRAL encourages all states worldwide to consult the Legislative Guide when drafting or updating insolvency-related legislation. Although not automatically binding, these recommendations reflect best practice... Geographical reach The Directors’ Guide could,...

1 General information Report date: [ Enter date ] Previous report date: [ Enter date ] Report submitted by: [ Enter name ] 2 Action points arising from last report Action item: [ Enter action point ], Responsible person: [ Identify person responsible for this action point ], Status: [ Enter status ] Action item: [ Enter action point ], Responsible person: [ Identify person responsible for this action point ], Status: [ Enter status ] Action item: [ Enter action point ], Responsible person: [ Identify person responsible for this action point ], Status: [ Enter status ] Action item: [ Enter action point ], Responsible person: [ Identify person responsible for this action point ], Status: [ Enter status ] 3 Executive summary This report covers the following items: 3.1 overview of business operations; 3.2 account of the operation of competition law compliance systems and controls;...

1 General information Date complaint received [ Enter date ] How was the complaint received? ☐ Email ☐ Letter ☐ In person ☐ Telephone ☐ Other—[ please specify ] When replying to the complainant, choose the most appropriate communication method. Date complaint acknowledged [ Enter a date that should be 30 days from the date you received the complaint. ] Proposed deadline for responding to complaint [ Enter a date that meets the expectation that you will handle the complaint without any delay. ] Person investigating complaint and completing this record [ Provide details of the individual who investigated the complaint and completed this report. This could be your data protection officer. ] Date of report [ Enter date ] 2 Complainant Name of data subject ...

Memorandum prepared by [ Name of Firm ] for the directors of [ insert company name ] (the Company) providing guidance on annual environmental reporting obligations and disclosures 1 Scope This memorandum sets out the principal environmental disclosures the Company must present in its annual report and accounts. It reviews and explains the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) obligation to provide climate-related disclosures in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the need to state greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy consumption and actions to improve energy efficiency under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) regime, and other environmental legislation [ , as well as relevant principles and provisions within the QCA Corporate Governance Code (QCA Code) and the Wates Corporate Governance Principles for Large Private Companies (Wates Principles) ]. It also offers practical guidance for companies when assembling their environmental disclosures for reporting purposes. [ As an AIM company, the Company is subject to continuing disclosure obligations under the AIM...