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Using data to bring innovative products to the market … and keep them there
There are now more and more opportunities to collect and use health data to innovate, improve efficiency and improve care. The same data could prove very useful in responding to the threat of litigation too
Read moreBawa-Garba case exposes shortcomings in management of medical errors
Urgent government review of medical malpractice underway following conviction of Dr Bawa-Garba and the management of medical mistakes.
Read moreCould Cannabis be the Cure?
With the upsetting case of Alfie Dingley dominating news headlines, the UK Government is being asked to reconsider its approach to medicinal cannabis. But what would this mean for manufacturers, healthcare professionals, and, most importantly, potential patients?
Read moreAn aspirin a day…
Discusses research that suggests aspirin can reduce risk of colon cancer in patients with Lynch Syndrome
Read moreFixed Recoverable Costs: When lawyers come 'cap' in hand
Working group developing a cap on recoverable costs for lawyers in clinical negligence claims
Read moreA game changer for concussion injuries? New study investigating CTE creates a potential headache for defendants and their insurers
A new study shows that repeated hits to the head, not concussions, cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease experienced by American football players, boxers and other athletes.
Read moreBrexit chess game to be played out at Chequers
The Life Sciences industry demands certainty over the Government's approach to regulation after Brexit. It is hoped that Government meetings this month will achieve that.
Read moreMr Justice Langstaff to chair contaminated blood inquiry
Mr Justice Langstaff will lead the public inquiry into how contaminated blood transfusions infected thousands of people with HIV and hepatitis C in the 1970s and 80s
Read moreMonkey See, Monkey Do
Implications for humans and animals of the recent successful cloning of monkeys by Chinese researchers
Read moreDuty calls: What information should be provided to patients following treatment?
Summary of the High Court's recent decision in a case concerning the duty to inform a patient of treatment outcomes and the requirement for follow-up, further treatment, or monitoring.
Read moreOrgan donation: have your say
Organ donation is, for some, a difficult topic of conversation, but a Government consultation is encouraging us to think about it and share our views.
Read moreNew Year, New You? How about joining the virtual reality gym…
Looking to beat the January gym rush? Well, look no further than American based firm Black Box VR who have combined gaming and gyming to create a virtual reality workout using just a resistance machine and headset.
Read moreRoll up your sleeve – CJEU injects some influence in to vaccination case
Summary of Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision in vaccination case
Read moreMaking made to measure medicine: tailored to suit
Summary of key points emerging from MHRA guidance on the importance of human factors in the development of new medical devices.
Read moreIndependent inquiry launched into malpractice of Ian Paterson
The Department of Health has announced the launch of an independent inquiry into the circumstances and practices surrounding the activity of convicted breast surgeon Ian Paterson.
Read moreEngagement news
Manufacturers and insurers may have missed Prince Harry's news on Monday in the general excitement surrounding the Government's Industrial Strategy, announced on the same day.
Read moreBereavement Damages incompatible with European Convention on Human Rights
Consideration of the Court of Appeal decision in Smith v Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation and others that restriction on awards for bereavement damages under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Read moreA Shift in Vicarious Liability (Armes v Nottinghamshire County Council)
Armes v Nottinghamshire County Council [2017] UKSC 60. A review of recent case law extending Vicarious Liability and the impact this will have on organisations and their insurers.
Read moreMedical device concerns and MHRA compliance
Increase in medical devices regulatory alerts and how to respond to concerns
Read moreLandmark ruling on end of life care
Huntington's patient: Court rules Court application no longer necessary in end of life care where patient's family and doctors are in agreement
Read moreThe costs of surrogacy: a valid and separate head of claim
A claimant has been awarded £74,000 for the costs of a surrogacy arrangement, following a hospital's delay in diagnosing cervical cancer.
Read moreWelcoming new red tape
The Medical Devices Regulation 2017 is good news for insurers in the life sciences sector. More data on safety and performance will be collected on products before they get to the market
Read more"Please sir, may I have some more [damages for failure to consent]?" No, says the Court of Appeal.
Shaw v Kovac: Court of Appeal rejects claim for an additional, separate award of damages for failure to obtain informed consent.
Read moreWhat does a new Labour government mean for the management liability market?
We have a new government and the first Labour government for 14 years. What does it mean for the management liability market? We look at what Labour has promised and with that the areas those in the market will want to consider across directors and officers, employment liability and pensions.
Read moreFix up, look sharp: FRC update
What's the latest on fixed recoverable costs in professional negligence claims?
Read moreFCA announces thematic review of retirement income advice
The pension freedom reforms changed the way consumers access their retirement funds. This FCA thematic review will put firms under the spotlight with a focus on how the retirement income advice market is functioning in response to changing consumer needs in the current economic downturn.
Read moreFCA responds to criticism of the Public Accounts Committee when it comes to BSPS with rejection of suggestion it should reconsider a wider defined benefit transfer review
In a July blog I reported on the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report entitled "Investigation into the British Steele Pension Scheme". The blog set out a number of recommendations of the Committee in light of its investigations into the FCA's conduct and regulatory oversight of BSPS and, in particular, the 7,834 members that transferred out of BSPS into a personal pension scheme. We have now had a sneak preview of the FCA's response in the recent Committee minutes. Here's what the FCA had to say.
Read moreFCA Review of AML failings at challenger banks
Throughout 2021, the FCA conducted a detailed review into the financial crime controls of challenger banks as they continued to enter the UK financial industry at a rapid pace. Their surge in popularity is partially linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has prompted significant changes in the habits of service providers worldwide. Whilst the FCA's review indicated some evidence of good practice, it is clear that challenger banks must do more to reduce the significant risks of financial crime occurring both at the time of customer onboarding and throughout the subsequent customer journey.
Read moreFCA consults on British Steel redress scheme
The FCA intends to open consultation on an industry wide redress scheme covering British Steel Pension transfers. This is perhaps the only option left for the regulator, but a redress scheme will heap further pressure on an area of the advice industry that is already under fire.
Read moreFCA looks to tighten up appointed representative regime
On Friday the FCA published a consultation paper on potential changes to the existing appointed representative (AR) regime.
Read moreFOS proposals to clear the back-log - attractive or not?
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has proposed a temporary approach to the classification of certain complaints in an attempt to alleviate their complaints backlog exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach could see firms looking to pro-actively resolve complaints before a defined cut off date before FOS reaches a decision so that the complaint is recorded separately and not as a "change in outcome" (i.e. where a complaint has been rejected by a business and upheld by FOS). The consultation was open for a short two-week period between 4 and 18 October 2021.
Read moreFCA set to expand climate-related reporting rules
The FCA has revealed it will consult on plans to require asset managers, life insurers and FCA-regulated pension schemes to meet climate-related disclosure rules. In doing so, the FCA is expanding the scope of firms required to report on climate-related risks in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).
Read moreFCA set to expand climate-related reporting rules
The FCA has revealed it will consult on plans to require asset managers, life insurers and FCA-regulated pension schemes to meet climate-related disclosure rules. In doing so, the FCA is expanding the scope of firms required to report on climate-related risks in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).
Read morePure Legal interest only mortgage claim – judgment in favour of the mortgage broker on limitation grounds as judge finds the damage was patent not latent
The first judgment following trial in a Pure Legal interest only mortgage claim has now been handed down, with the judge dismissing the claim on the basis that it was out of time, with the claimants having all requisite knowledge of the material facts of the damage from the outset of taking out the interest only mortgage. The judge also found the advice was not negligent.
Read moreWhen is a complaint a complaint under DISP?
A Court of Appeal judgment has recently addressed what constitutes a complaint for the purposes of DISP [Clive Davis v Lloyds Bank [2021] EWCA Civ 557]. It is important to identify when a complaint is made as a regulated firm for two primary reasons: first, a complaint triggers the dispute resolution procedure under DISP of the FCA's Handbook and second, it stops time running for the purposes of time bar when it comes to a complaint to FOS.
Read moreAdditions to FCA DB Transfer Guidance Published
The FCA have published finalised guidance regarding defined benefit pension transfers. The latest publication amends and adds to the draft published in June 2020.
Read moreFCA publishes finalised guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers
In February 2021, the FCA published guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers with the aim of improving their customer experience.
Read moreFOS and the Adams v Carey decision – where are we as the Court of Appeal hearing starts?
Read moreCalls for increased regulation following rise in FSCS bills
The FSCS levy for the 2020/2021 was released earlier this year, causing frustration amongst many advisors in the sector. That frustration continues, with the FSCS making large compensation payments in respect of defined benefit (DB) transfers where many question the lack of earlier FCA intervention, which might have alleviated the problems in this area.
Read moreFCA appoints new CEO
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Nikhil Rathi, the UK head of the London Stock Exchange, as its new permanent chief executive, making him the first BAME leader of the UK's city regulator.
Read moreEquity Release Market Under the Spotlight
Yesterday the FCA published its key findings from exploratory work involving "later life lending". This type of lending is broadly where consumers 55 and over use borrowing to access cash in later life. One of those options is equity release which was the focus of the FCA's work. The FCA's focus on equity release appears to have resulted from an initial review of the broader later life lending market, at which time the FCA identified some "poor outcomes" in equity release sales.
Read moreFCA advice checker – FCA statement on what customers should look out for in DB transfer advice
Wrapping up the documents published by the FCA on 5 June 2020 on the issue of defined benefit pension transfers (DB transfers), we address in this blog the FCA's "advice checker".
Read moreThe future of DB transfer advice - the FCA's policy statement
In part 3 of our blog series on defined benefit pension transfers (DB transfers) we look at the FCA's policy statement on changes to the DB transfer rules. The change that has attracted most press attention is the ban on contingent charging but there are other parts to the policy statement that are likely to have a much more substantive impact on the DB transfer market going forward.
Read moreDB Transfers – the FCA's views on good and bad practice
Continuing our blog series, one of the documents produced by the FCA on Friday was a guidance consultation document intended to meet requests from the industry to help advisers understand the FCA's expectations when advising on pension transfers and conversions. The document includes examples of the FCA's views of good and bad practice in the area of defined benefit pension transfers (DB transfers). The stated aim is to "improve the suitability of DB transfer advice" and "to give advisers confidence to give good advice". The FCA expects firms providing DB transfer advice to read the document and once finalised it is intended that firms use it to identify any weaknesses in their existing processes.
Read moreDB transfers – further findings from the FCA's supervisory review
The FCA produced four documents on Friday addressing defined benefit pension transfers – an update on their supervisory work, a guidance consultation setting out examples of good and bad practice, an "advice checker" for consumers (including helping them consider if they should make a complaint) and a policy statement setting out changes to the defined benefit pension transfer rules which are to largely come into force from 1 October 2020. All are essential reading for an area the FCA continues to fixate on and where it has focussed since the April 2015 pension freedoms.
Read moreUpdate on the FCA's review of Defined Benefit transfer advice
The FCA has been looking to improve the quality of pension transfer advice for some time now. However, despite the crackdown on defined benefit transfers being announced as a strategic priority earlier this year, it appears that factors, such as Covid-19 have put the FCA's investigations into advice suitability on the back foot – for now, at least.
Read moreAdams v Carey – the judgment – over 2 years in the making, where does it leave the SIPP market
More than two years since the trial in March 2018, the High Court has dismissed the claim against Carey Pensions on all counts. The landmark case is sure to have far reaching ramifications for the SIPP industry and beyond.
Read moreFOS complaints and hindsight – categorical statement from the Chief Ombudsman
The FCA has been producing a range of temporary measures with the aim of ensuring that firms can work at pace during the pandemic for the benefit of customers. However, where procedures are bypassed or corners cut what will FOS do in response? The response from FOS to that questions raises another – the use of hindsight when coming to its decisions.
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