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Thinking - Blog
Procurement Policy Note on EU Directives
The Cabinet Office has issued a Procurement Policy Note (“PPN”) which summarises the main outcomes of the new EU Directives relating to public procurement, utilities procurement and service concessions. The PPN also outlines the next steps in finalising and implementing the Directives.
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Thinking - Blog
HELP TO BUY: BOOM OR BUST?
The Help to Buy initiative forms part of the Government's Funding for Lending scheme.
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Thinking - Blog
SDLT group relief anti-avoidance – good news from HMRC
Last week saw some (much needed) good news on the topic of SDLT avoidance, that should clarify HMRC's approach to the common commercial practice of transferring a property intra-group, following the acquisition of a property-owning company (PropCo).
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Thinking - Blog
SDLT avoidance - HMRC victorious regardless of taxpayer 'motive'
HMRC has scored a resounding victory in the first case[1] to consider in any detail the wide-ranging SDLT anti-avoidance provision (section 75A of Finance Act 2003).
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Thinking - Blog
Insurers as lenders: what borrowers need to know
Insurers are the new show in town The make-up of providers of debt secured against UK real estate has changed dramatically.
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Thinking - Blog
When the levee breaks
Whilst the stalled talks between ABI and Government have recently re-started, in less than 8 weeks a substantial number of properties may suffer significant loss of capital value if their owners are no longer be able to obtain flood risk insurance.
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Thinking - Blog
Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013
The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 (the Act) was given Royal Assent on 25 April 2013.
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Thinking - Blog
Outsourcing Health & Safety – a step too far?
Michael Scott & Danielle Lodge question the wisdom of outsourcing health and safety responsibilities
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Thinking - Blog
Adjudicator's Fees
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an Adjudicator is not entitled to any of his fees in circumstances where his decision is unenforceable.
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Thinking - Blog
Property Rental Business Transfers and Leases – Reclaiming VAT and SDLT
Last November, following the decision in the case of Robinson Family Limited, HMRC announced that a transfer of a property rental business can qualify as a "transfer of a going concern" (TOGC) – and therefore not attract VAT – even if the transferor retains a reversionary interest in the property.
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Thinking - Blog
Court of Appeal's opinion on good faith clauses
In our February blog we reported on Compass Group UK and Ireland Ltd (trading as Medirest) v Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust [2012] EWHC 781 (QB) and the implications of the decision on the duty to act in good faith.
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Thinking - Blog
Costs overruns in Target Costs contracts
Who is liable for costs overruns in a Target Cost contract, and to what extent? AMEC Group recently went to the TCC to appeal against an arbitration decision which found the Secretary of State for Defence ("the Authority") would only be liable for actual costs which were reasonably and properly incurred.
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Thinking - Blog
NPPF – 1 year on: smooth transition or wasted opportunity?
Given that over 50% of Britain's local councils are still to adopt Local Plans, is the window of opportunity for local residents to take control of development in their local area about to close?
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Thinking - Blog
New Kids on the Block : alternative funders in the real estate lending market
Over the last couple of years, there has been a surge in real estate lending by non-bank lenders as traditional banks started withdrawing from the market.
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Thinking - Blog
What are the potential risks associated with BIM?
This is the second of three blogs about Building Information Models, or BIM. This blog will consider the potential risks associated with BIM, but don't worry we provide some practical advice on how these risks can be tackled in our final BIM blog.
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Thinking - Blog
Good Faith Clauses
There is no general doctrine of good faith in English law and it is not therefore implied into contracts.
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Thinking - Blog
Rights to Light Reform: Law Commission Consultation
On 18 February 2013 the Law Commission announced that it was beginning a consultation process regarding possible changes to the law governing "rights to light".
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Thinking - Blog
JCT Insurance Options: what's the right fit for fit-out?
Where a tenant is fitting out premises within a multi-occupied building, the JCT's standard insurance options are not always appropriate and, left unaddressed, place unintended and severe risks on the tenant.
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Thinking - Blog
Government property, Kirstie and Phil style?
Ok, so Ms Allsopp and Mr Spencer haven’t quite been called in yet, but almost.
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Thinking - Blog
The End of the British High Street?
2012 was a hard year for the retail sector but 2013 is shaping up to be an even tougher year for High Streets in the UK.
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Thinking - Blog
Is the Green Deal a great deal?
There is no denying the Green Deal has many advantages but consider the deal in relation to short term leases and it may not be as great as it initially seems.
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Thinking - Blog
NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract "Guidance Notes": more important than you realise for interpreting the ECC
Certain terms of the NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract ('ECC') are open to interpretation, and the recent case of E-Nik Ltd v Department for Communities & Local Government [2012] EWHC 3027 (Comm) has cast into doubt whether even something as routine as VAT is crystal-clear under the ECC.
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Thinking - Blog
Development incentives – but at what cost?
In light of what is starting to appear to be a wholehearted failure to persuade local communities to meet requisite housing targets, Nick Boles last week proposed self-proclaimed "bungs" to local communities.
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Thinking - Blog
Will Planning Performance perform?
On 22 November 2012, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published a consultation entitled 'Planning performance and the planning guarantee' setting out, amongst other things, how the Growth and Infrastructure Bill's proposals to enable planning applications to be made directly to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) would operate.
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Thinking - Blog
Leaving customers without signal: the task of re-building the Telecoms Code
Now almost 30 years old, the Electronic Communications Code (the 'Code'), falls far short of representing the needs of a swiftly developing communications network.
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Thinking - Blog
H&M: Brave New World?
We have all been involved in lease negotiations where there are differences of opinion as to what is or is not institutionally acceptable.
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Thinking - Blog
End of the line for Village Greens?
Nothing can be more frustrating for a developer to see its scheme delayed or worse still derailed by an application for the registration of land as a town or village green ("TVG").
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Thinking - Blog
Rights of Light
Rights of light are an easement and are commonly acquired simply by a neighbour having enjoyed the light over a neighbouring building owner’s land for a period of 20 years without interruption.
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Thinking - Publication
Data Dispatch - March 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of Data Dispatch from the Data Advisory team at RPC. Our aim is to provide you on a regular basis with an easy-to-digest summary of key developments in data protection law.
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Thinking - Publication
Cyber_Bytes Issue 72
Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.
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Thinking - Publication
AI-as-a-Service – Key Issues
Artificial Intelligence-as-a-Service (AIaaS), in the same vein as Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service, refers to cloud-based tools that allow businesses to gain access to an AI model hosted by a third party provider.
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Thinking - Publication
Procuring AI – Commercial Considerations Checklist
Many companies will no doubt be considering using AI within their business to take advantage of the massive opportunities for increased productivity and cost efficiencies promised.
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Thinking - Publication
AI and Privacy – 10 Questions to Ask
We set out in this section 10 key questions to ask yourself at the outset when developing or deploying AI solutions in your business.
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Thinking - Publication
The Ethics of AI - The Digital Dilemma
This is Part 6 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'
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Thinking - Publication
Part 5 – AI Regulation Globally
On 30 October 2023 the G7 published its international guiding principles on AI, in addition to a voluntary code of conduct for AI developers. The G7 principles are a non-exhaustive list of guiding principles aimed at promoting safe, secure and trustworthy AI and are intended to build on the OECD's AI Principles, adopted back in May 2019.
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Thinking - Publication
Part 3 - AI regulation in the US
Back in October 2022, the White House published federal guidance – a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights identifying five principles aiming to guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems. It was designed to operate as a roadmap to protect the public from AI harms and was followed in October 2023 by the US President's Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. The Executive Order sets out eight "guiding principles and priorities", detailing how those principles and priorities should be put into effect, and reporting requirements
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Thinking - Publication
Part 2 - AI regulation in the EU
The EU AI Act, the main elements of which are covered in our previous article, entered into force on 1 August 2024. Most provisions apply from August 2026 but some apply earlier, or later.
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Thinking - Publication
Part 1 - UK AI regulation
There has been consistent messaging from the UK Conservative-led government that the UK has decided to adopt a light touch approach to regulating AI. This was evident in the AI white paper published in March 2023 which outlined a principles based framework (see ['The Ethics of AI – the Digital Dilemma'] for more information about the principles themselves and see here for additional coverage of the AI white paper). The UK government held a consultation on the AI white paper in 2023 and published a response on 6 February 2024 that adds slightly more flesh to the bones of the UK framework.
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Thinking - Publication
Generative AI – Addressing Copyright
When it comes to the interaction of AI and IP rights, bar a flurry of activity surrounding the inevitable outcome by the courts in the Thaler, Dabus case (see here) and the Court of Appeal's ruling on the potential for exclusion from patentability of artificial neural networks in the Emotional Perception case, most attention has been focused on copyright issues. There are three main potentially thorny issues and all have been extensively covered by the mainstream media.
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Thinking - Publication
Regulation of AI - introduction
As with any new technology, existing data protection and privacy, intellectual property, competition, product liability, data security and consumer laws apply to its application in each jurisdiction. This has thrown up a number of important and newsworthy issues and considerations for AI developers and providers, legislators, consumers and rights holders. There are also several sets of high profile legal proceedings both decided and ongoing in several jurisdictions. These issues and legal proceedings are discussed in other sections of this AI Guide.
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Thinking - Publication
Cyber_Bytes Issue 71
Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.
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Thinking - Publication
Data Dispatch - January 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of Data Dispatch from the Data Advisory team at RPC. Our aim is to provide you on a regular basis with an easy-to-digest summary of key developments in data protection law.
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Thinking - Blog
Key cyber developments: looking back over 2024
For the cyber market, 2024 brought with it many legislative and regulatory changes, as well as sophisticated cyber-attacks and ground-breaking law enforcement activity.
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Thinking - Publication
Cyber_Bytes Issue 70
Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.
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Thinking - Publication
New guidance on balancing data protection with the FCA's Consumer Duty and the TPR's Code of Practice
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have published welcome guidance (Joint Statement) aimed at retail investment firms and pension providers on how to ensure their customer communications comply with the FCA's Consumer Duty (Consumer Duty) and the TPR’s Code of Practice (Code of Practice), whilst ensuring they follow the rules on direct marketing and data protection.
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