Plenty of announcements in today’s autumn budget. The Chancellor took an hour to outline all his proposals to the House of Commons, in which he said the government would prioritise ‘Stability, growth and public services’.

The Government Legislation Programme for the Spring 2025 session has been published. The Cabinet has approved 21 bills for priority publication and 29 bills for priority drafting. Priority legislation includes the EU Data Regulation Bill, the Media Regulation Bill and the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill.

Two significant European laws have recently come into force which have a significant impact on how bidders from outside the EU, or subsidised by third countries, participate in public procurement processes within the EU.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has published its final guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (the “Guidelines”).

In the February edition we looked at: ESMA, individual accountability, T+1 Settlement cycle

Stay ahead of upcoming deadlines and key dates with our legal & regulatory tracker.

The interim period of the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid-19) Act 2020 (Act) related to the holding of virtual meetings, including AGMs, was further extended to 31 December 2024 following Government approval.

The Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid-19) Act 2020 (the “Covid Act”) amends the Companies Act 2014 (the “Companies Act”) and the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1893 (the “1893 Act”), each on a temporary basis, so that, notwithstanding challenges posed by the pandemic, entities can continue to operate in compliance with relevant provisions of those Acts.

The Data Governance Act (DGA) is another prong in the European Union's (EU) strategy for data. The DGA sets out a legal framework to facilitate and enable the safe access to, and sharing of, certain categories of public-sector data for commercial and non-commercial use, other than the original purpose for which data were generated.