Second stage funding meaning

In this issue: Public procurement Children's social care Education Licensing Social housing Local authority prosecutions Governance Local government finance Social care Environmental law and climate change Planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Public procurement CCS launches new procurement tools for electric vehicle infrastructure Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has rolled out a toolkit to help local authorities navigate procurement for electric vehicle infrastructure (EVI). Developed with the Department for Transport and other collaborators, the package includes configurable template documents for open-market procurement of on-street EVI services, together with draft terms and conditions. The materials are designed to reduce complexity, reflect government guidance and reinforce good practice. In addition, CCS has produced a distinct set of documents to cater for the upcoming Procurement Act 2023 regulations, which will apply from 24 February 2025, enabling compliance with the present and future regimes. See: LNB News 11/02/2025 17 and LNB...

In this issue: Funding and investment Pension fraud and liberation Discrimination Public sector pensions Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Funding and investment Chancellor publishes terms of reference for phase one of pensions review Rachel Reeves MP, the Chancellor, has set out the terms of reference for the initial stage of the pensions review. First trailed on 20 July 2024 as part of the government’s pre-election manifesto, the review will be overseen by Emma Reynolds MP, the joint HM Treasury–Department for Work and Pensions Minister, and will centre on defined contribution workplace arrangements and the Local Government Pension Scheme. Phase one will take a broad look at investment and aims to share early conclusions later in 2024, in advance of the new Pension Schemes Bill being introduced. The second phase will commence later in 2024 and, alongside investment matters, will explore additional steps to improve pension outcomes, including retirement adequacy. As its...

In this issue: Value for money Pension Schemes Bill National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill Collective defined contribution schemes The Pensions Ombudsman Funding, surplus and investment Pensions dashboards Members and benefits Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Value for money Joint TPR and FCA VFM proposals seek to improve transparency and comparability in DC pension schemes On 8 January 2026, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a joint regulatory consultation and accompanying response (CP26/1), outlining a consistent approach for a new value for money (VFM) framework across defined contribution (DC) workplace pensions. Their intent is to pivot the industry away from narrow, price-focused assessments towards a broader, comparable view of the value delivered to pension savers across both trust-based and contract-based arrangements. The proposed VFM framework would enable trustees, providers and governance bodies to evaluate long-term scheme performance for members, enhancing transparency...

This Practice Note This Practice Note explores the principal procedural steps for bringing a statutory derivative claim under sections 260–264 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), covering the permission application and the test the court will apply. It offers guidance on construing and applying the relevant CPR provisions. Depending on the court dealing with your matter, you should also be alert to any additional requirements—see Court-specific guidance below. Practitioners should note that, with effect from 6 April 2023, the CPR provisions concerning derivative claims were amended. In particular, CPR 19 was updated and CPR PD 19C was amended and re-designated as CPR PD 19A. These changes did not materially alter the substance of the approach to derivative claims, but the numbering of the pertinent provisions was changed. Judgments issued before 6 April 2023 may therefore refer to the previous provisions and numbering. For further information, see: LNB News 03/02/2023 9—Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 LNB News 07/02/2023 72—153rd Practice Direction update—changes in force...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES IN RELATION TO DEFINED BENEFIT OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES A scheme’s statutory employer is the employer legally accountable for: achieving the scheme‑specific funding target settling any section 75 liability arising in connection with the scheme initiating entry to a Pension Protection Fund (PPF) assessment period In certain situations there can be uncertainty about whether an employer is, or is not, a statutory employer, and in cases there is a risk a scheme could be left without any statutory employers: where the principal employer of a defined benefit (DB) arrangement is replaced by a new principal employer during a scheme amalgamation where a scheme’s employer is a defined contribution (DC) employer with responsibility solely for DC members This Practice Note explores these three topics in depth, considering each in detail. Meaning of statutory employer The Practice Note Who is the statutory employer? examines the legislative meanings of statutory employer,...

Auction sale timetable—private M&A Sale of [ insert name of company or business ]: Timetable Seller preparations (IM – [ insert number ] days): appoint corporate finance and professional advisers; carry out vendor due diligence; identify and contact potential bidders; prepare the information memorandum and marketing presentation; verify disclosures if required; procure signed confidentiality agreements (Seller/Seller solicitors/Seller corporate finance advisers/Potential bidders/Potential bidders’ solicitors). First round (IM and IM + [ insert number ] days): issue the first round process letter with the IM; receive indicative offers outlining price, structure, funding, conditions and regulatory matters (Seller/Seller corporate finance advisers/Potential bidders/Potential bidders’ solicitors). Second round (IM + [ insert number ] days): shortlist bidders; circulate second round letter, draft sale and purchase agreement and vendor due diligence; open the data room; buyers conduct diligence; arrange management meetings and site visits; submit revised offers with SPA mark-up by deadline (Seller/Seller solicitors/Second round bidders/Second round bidders’ solicitors/Target management). Third round (preferred bidder stage) (IM + [ insert number...