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R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
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This article reviews the FCA’s recent statements, honing in on the principal reforms tabled, the reasoning behind them, and what they could mean for firms in the UK financial services market. We set out our perspective on the FCA’s direction of travel for the consumer duty and highlight the main practical points businesses should weigh up. Evolution of consumer duty Brought in by the FCA in 2023, the consumer duty represented a major change in the UK’s stance on consumer protection in financial services. It introduced a fresh, outcomes-led and higher benchmark of care, obliging firms to secure good outcomes for retail customers throughout the life cycle of their products and services. Since going live, the duty has prompted wide industry discussion, with worries voiced about its expansive scope, the compliance load placed on firms, and the chance of knock‑on effects – especially for...
In this issue: UK, EU and international regulators and bodies Prudential requirements Operational resilience Financial crime and sanctions Complaints, compensation and claims management Investigations, enforcement and discipline Regulation of derivatives Sustainable finance and ESG Banks and mutuals UK Mi FID II Consumer credit, mortgage and home finance Regulation of insurance Payment services and systems Fintech and cryptoassets Dates for your diary Financial Services Enforcement Database New and updated content Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts Lex Talk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community UK, EU and international regulators and bodies FSCS confirms unchanged levy for 2025/26 and provides early forecast for 2026/27 The Financial Services Compensation Scheme ( FSCS) has issued its latest Outlook levy update for 2025/26, stating the levy will hold at £356m—as...
Consumer group Which Which reported that insurers offering buildings-only policies approved only 63.2% of claims on average. Exercising its legal powers, the group lodged a ‘super-complaint’ with the FCA in September 2025, highlighting systemic failings across home and travel insurance. The regulator has not yet issued a formal reply. Rocio Concha, Which’s director of policy and advocacy, said that with sector-wide claim acceptance rates stubbornly low, many policyholders face gruelling battles with their insurer that can feel more traumatic than the incident that triggered the claim. She added that the watchdog must now clamp down on firms that are letting customers down, and make it plain that weak performance will not be accepted any......
In recent weeks, penalties aimed at Russia’s energy industry have widened markedly, reflecting concerns that Moscow is not genuinely pursuing a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. Designed to squeeze funding for Russia’s war effort, the measures seek to curb income from worldwide sales of fossil fuels. UK actions of 15 October 2025, followed by US steps on 22 October 2025 and EU measures on 23 October 2025, focus on Russia’s two biggest oil producers, Rosneft Oil Co and Lukoil OAO, and extend to entities in third countries that broker or trade Russian energy products. The UK and EU have additionally trailed new trade curbs linked to energy, targeting Russian liquefied natural gas ( LNG) and refined oil produced in third countries from Russian crude. Collectively, these moves mark a notable intensification of sanctions on Russia, with scope to influence diverse...
This development follows the recent snapback of all nuclear‑related sanctions on Iran at UN level, after the United Nations Security Council declined to extend sanctions relief. The EU has revived its restrictive measures through six legal instruments. Four took effect on 29 September 2025: Council Decision ( CFSP) 2025/1978, Council Implementing Decision ( CFSP) 2025/1971, Council Implementing Regulation ( EU) 2025/1980 and Council Implementing Regulation ( EU) 2025/1982. The remaining two entered into force on 30 September 2025: Council Regulation ( EU) 2025/1975 and Council Decision ( CFSP) 2025/1972. Collectively, these acts reinstate measures previously adopted by the UN Security Council and transposed into EU law, alongside additional autonomous EU restrictions. These include targeted sanctions on named individuals and entities—travel bans, asset freezes and a bar on providing funds or other economic...
The High Court dismissed the anonymised company’s judicial review application on 23 October 2025, concluding that the FCA’s decision-making process, and its ultimate outcome in the matter, were reasonable when consumer protection was taken into account. Judge Michael Fordham endorsed the regulator’s choice to name and shame the firm in exceptional circumstances, although he observed that some strands of the reasoning were not especially robust. As the judgment in The King ( CIT (an anonymised company)) v The Financial Conduct Authority explained, the FCA had determined that promptly identifying the company was required to inform and protect its customers at the earliest opportunity. That consideration carried considerable weight with the court. ‘ In-house compliance and legal officers should keep this firmly in mind when handling an FCA investigation and may wish to consider early engagement with affected customers to...head off a similar naming...
Analysts say a statutory complaint lodged in September 2025 by a consumer advocacy organisation, acting for millions of policyholders, has left the FCA in an awkward spot. The submission branded the UK insurance market fundamentally ‘broken’, alleging the regulator has taken a soft‑touch approach while insurers oversee sharply rising claim refusals. It places the regulator under scrutiny from both consumers and firms as it weighs its next steps. Its choices now will be closely watched by many. The previous super‑complaint about malpractice across insurance triggered the most significant shake‑up of pricing practices in a generation. Yet commentators warn that political headwinds might limit how far the FCA can go this time. Branko Bjelobaba, director of insurance regulatory compliance firm Branko, said the watchdog must tread a careful line: safeguarding customers through rules while easing burdens so firms can innovate and compete. That, he added, does not grant the...
Also see: LNB News 17/09/2025 16. Instead of ring‑fencing crypto as a carve‑out dealt with via financial promotions and anti‑money laundering duties, the FCA intends to fold cryptoasset firms into the full Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ( FSM 2000) framework. In practice, the FCA would normalise crypto by delivering like‑for‑like treatment for comparable risks, regardless of the technology. The article is set around four pillars: governance and accountability; market access and distribution; operational resilience and financial crime; and product and disclosure strategy. For businesses that have only sat within the Money Laundering Regulations ( MLRs) boundary and the financial promotions regime, this shift brings a clear step‑up in oversight, responsibility and cost. Fundamentally, the consultation maps the FCA’s existing regulatory blueprint onto cryptoasset activities. That spans high‑level standards such as operational resilience and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime ( SM& CR); business...
The CBI said According to the CBI, defects in Coinbase Europe Ltd’s transaction screening systems meant that over 30 million transactions were not properly monitored during a 12‑month period between 2021 and 2022. These transactions, valued at more than €176bn and representing roughly 31% of all Coinbase Europe activity, resulted in serious suspected criminal conduct — including money laundering, fraud, drug trafficking, cyber-attacks and child sexual exploitation — only being identified after they had already been processed......
Ba Fin announced it had issued a record administrative penalty against the bank, which operates across 15 European Economic Area countries and the UK, citing procedural shortcomings that slowed the reporting of money-laundering concerns. In a statement, the regulator said the credit institution had culpably failed to meet its supervisory obligations relating to internal processes for filing suspicious transaction reports. Financial firms are required to submit a suspicious activity report ( SAR) to the German Financial Intelligence Unit ( FIU), providing details of any suspected money laundering. The FIU then analyses the SARs......
UK developments FCA speech highlights climate risk and UK’s leadership in sustainable finance The FCA has released remarks from its Chair, Ashley Alder, delivered at the Climate Financial Risk Forum’s Symposium on 23 October 2025. He stressed that climate risk is substantial and financially material, and called for industry-wide collaboration to cement the UK as the world’s sustainable finance centre. Alder set out actions the FCA is progressing to strengthen transparency and confidence: embedding ISSB standards into UK requirements; introducing new climate disclosure rules and measures within the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regime; bringing ESG ratings providers inside its regulatory perimeter. He also unveiled a joint pilot with the Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA) and the Green Finance Institute ( GFI) to pinpoint barriers to scaling finance for climate solutions, alongside a technical assistance programme to support...
Appearing before the parliamentary Treasury Committee on 4 November 2025, City Minister Lucy Rigby said the inaugural entry is expected to be placed on the register of critical third-party providers by this point in 2026. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 allows for technology giants such as Amazon and Google to fall within oversight by the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA) where their offerings are deemed essential to the UK economy as a whole......
In this issue: UK, EU and international regulators and bodies Accountability, culture and social governance Prudential requirements Risk management and controls Financial crime and sanctions Investigations, enforcement and discipline Regulation of benchmarks Regulation of capital markets Regulation of derivatives Sustainable finance and ESG Banks and mutuals Investment funds and asset management EU Mi FID/ Mi FIR Consumer credit, mortgage and home finance Regulation of insurance Payment services and systems Regulation of AI in FS Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary New and updated content Financial Services Enforcement Database Lex Talk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community UK, EU and international regulators and bodies Commission sets out provisional timetable for 2025 initiatives The European Commission has outlined a...
Shoib Khan, director for insurance supervision at the Bo E’s Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA), said that draft rules on captive insurance will be published by the summer of 2026. Captives are specialist insurers created solely to underwrite a parent company’s liabilities. Up to now, many UK-based businesses have set up captives in offshore jurisdictions, such as the British dependencies of Guernsey or the Isle of Man. But in July 2025 the government stated it intends to create new regulation that would allow captives to be set up......
Non-financial misconduct Sarah Pritchard, the FCA’s deputy chief executive, wrote in a letter published on 28 October 2025 that probes into so-called non-financial misconduct have climbed over the past three years. She told the House Commons Treasury Committee that conduct such as bullying, harassment or violence is a regulatory concern, and that when the FCA obtains reports or other intelligence indicating this is happening at a regulated firm, it will scrutinise the matter and take action where required. Non-financial misconduct is an expansive term, covering violence, bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination. The FCA has made clear that it intends to tackle this issue decisively......
Introduction by Guy Wilkes, partner and Lexis+ Consulting Editorial Board member It has been an exceptionally active few months for the FCA, both in terms of settled disciplinary cases and a string of successes before the Upper Tribunal. The standout development—at least by media coverage—was the Upper Tribunal decision against Jes Staley, former CEO of Barclays Bank, which drew widespread press interest. In one sense, the outcome felt almost inevitable: Mr Staley was found to have misled the FCA, as with the matter concerning H2O’s former CEO, Lars Windhorst. But the facts here are strikingly different. His misleading statements arose when answering FCA queries about his links to Jeffrey Epstein. That, in turn, poses a difficult question: with no evidence of wrongdoing or improper conduct, should the FCA be probing such personal ground?......
In this issue: UK, EU and international regulators and bodies Prudential requirements Financial crime and sanctions Complaints, compensation and claims management Investigations, enforcement and discipline Regulation of benchmarks Regulation of capital markets Dispute resolution for financial services lawyers Sustainable finance and ESG Banks and mutuals Investment funds and asset management EU Mi FID II Consumer credit, mortgage and home finance Regulation of insurance Payment services and systems Fintech and cryptoassets Financial Services Enforcement Database Dates for your diary New and updated content Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts Lex Talk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community UK, EU and international regulators and bodies FCA speech calls for stronger link between finance and national security The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) has released a speech by its...
In its biannual report, the FCA said that banking and credit card issues were the biggest contributor to the rise, with close to 900,000 complaints, representing a 7.2% uplift on H2 2024. The FCA also noted that complaints about pensions and the withdrawal of retirement funds increased by 5.5% between January and June 2025 to 94,000, up from 89,100 in H2 2024. Investment-related complaints advanced by a little over 10% to 58,300, compared with 53,000 previously. The FCA said the figures are used to evaluate how firms treat their customers and to track changes in their performance over time......
In this issue: Beyond Brexit UK, EU and international regulators and bodies Authorisation, approval and supervision Prudential requirements Operational resilience Complaints, compensation and claims management Financial crime and sanctions Consumer credit, mortgage and home finance Conduct requirements Investigations, enforcement and discipline Regulation of capital markets Regulation of derivatives Sustainable finance and ESG Banks and mutuals Investment funds and asset management UK Mi FID II EU Mi FID II Regulation of insurance Payment services and systems Fintech and cryptoassets Lex Talk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community Dates for your diary Financial Services Enforcement Database Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts Beyond Brexit FCA updates guidance on the financial services contracts regime, temporary permissions regime and leaving SRO or CRO The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) has refreshed its guidance covering the temporary permissions regime, the financial services contracts regime, and how firms exit supervised or contractual run-off. It now confirms that the contractual run-off ( CRO) regime will cease on 31 December 2025. This deadline applies...
In its long-awaited reply to the consultation, HM Treasury ( HMT) confirmed the government will establish a unified supervisor for professional services. HMT has appointed the FCA to monitor compliance for 60,000 regulated law firms delivering legal, accountancy, and trust and company services. According to the government, the best way to supervise AML and CTF is for a public organisation to oversee professional services firms. ' Bringing professional services under the FCA’s AML/ CTF supervision will align them with other sectors covered by the money laundering regulations — already monitored by public bodies — and will streamline an overly complex regulatory landscape,' HMT noted. The government added that new legislation, funding arrangements, and a transition plan are required before full implementation of the......
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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