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Brexit does not spell the end of the GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR) is due to become law on 25 May 2018. As this will be before “Brexit” (Britain’s exit from the EU) takes effect, the GDPR will apply in the UK from that date.
Read more18 months on - the ICO reflects on Google Spain
The ICO has recently blogged on the cases it has received in the year and a half since the Google Spain decision last May.
Read moreApps: regulators globally push for data transparency
“Not in front of the telly: Warning over ‘listening’ TV”.
Read moreBrand & Khan obtain continuing "anti-harassment" order against masseuse
The High Court has recently granted an extension to an anti-harassment injunction taken out by Russell Brand and Jemima Goldsmith, otherwise known as Jemima Khan (the Claimants), against a masseuse (the Defendant).
Read moreA Chinese lesson for private investigators
Those engaged in the investigation business – whether sniffing out personal or corporate intelligence – are well aware of the need to comply with laws that protect personal information.
Read moreCan schools take pupils' fingerprints?
The Times reported last week that parents at an independent school in north London had protested when fingerprints were allegedly taken from pupils without consent with a view to the fingerprints being used for the automated lunch payment system.
Read moreA former editor’s view on the naked Royal
There’s an interesting view on the naked pictures of Prince Harry from a former tabloid editor.
Read moreAccess to Documents in Criminal Proceedings – Guardian Challenge Secures Change
The Court of Appeal has ruled that where documents have been placed before a judge and referred to in the course of open proceedings, the default position should be that access should be permitted on the open justice principle.
Read moreCabinet minister's 17-year-old son gets privacy injunction but not anonymity
The son of Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, has obtained an injunction against the publishers of the Daily Star Sunday.
Read moreAutomatic numberplate recognition: is it legal?
A report in the Guardian last week reminds readers of the strong likelihood that local police forces have tracked their movements with the use of automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR).
Read moreA "tenuous claim to privacy": Hutcheson v News Group
Can you expect to keep a second family private? That was the ambitious hope of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson.
Read moreA former judge reflects on privacy injunctions
Mr Justice Eady's interview last month by Joshua Rosenberg -
Read moreA digest of recent news (1) - UK judgments
For one reason and another, the blog has been unable to report on much of the recent news. This entry is an attempt to remedy the situation. Normal service should be resumed shortly.
Read moreAre privacy injunctions too restrictive?
Has privacy law gone too far? It’s not just the editor of the Daily Mail who thinks so.
Read moreAnother ruling on privacy injunctions
Judgment was handed down today in a case where a privacy injunction was made in 2008.
Read moreCan employers spy on their employees?
The US media have reported a number of instances in which companies have hired private detectives to spy on workers taking "sickies".
Read moreAnonymity order lifted in marital privacy case
A High Court judge has lifted an anonymity order protecting the identity of a formerly married couple involved in a privacy dispute.
Read moreAnonymity proposed for teachers accused by pupils
The controversial Education Bill was published on 26 January 2011.
Read moreBlanket reporting restriction set aside by Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal has discharged an order the effect of which would have been to postpone the reporting of an important criminal case for several months.
Read moreA mass outbreak of anonymity: CDE and FGH v MGN and LMN
It is not unusual for claimants in privacy cases to be anonymised. It is less common for defendants and distinctly unusual for non-parties.
Read more7/7 footage withheld from public to protect privacy of victims and their families
The Coroner conducting the inquest into the terror attacks in London on 7 July 2005 has ordered that certain footage shown in court of the aftermath of the 7/7 attacks should not be released to the media.
Read moreAnonymity of egg and sperm donors
A survey by Manchester Fertility Services highlights issues of privacy concerning egg and sperm donation.
Read moreApplications for privacy injunctions – when notice need not be given
In DFT v TFD [2010] EWHC 2335 (QB) Sharp J made an order to restrain publication of allegedly private and confidential information without notice having been given to either the respondent or the media.
Read moreAnonymisation of parties in matrimonial proceedings
The Court of Appeal has lifted an order by a family court judge which directed that the parties to the proceedings should be anonymised.
Read moreAs EU's new sustainability directive is agreed, UK companies warned 'not to rest on their laurels'
Following the news that agreement has been reached on the EU's new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, Environment and Climate Change Practice Lead Sophie Tuson, a Senior Associate who specialises in climate and environmental sustainability at international law firm RPC
Read moreHong Kong Courts – In with the old and the new technology
In Re Cyberworks Audio Video Technology Ltd,(1) the High Court of Hong Kong decided that it can, as part of its case management powers and of its own volition, order that a directions hearing take place by means of a telephone conference without the physical presence in court of the parties or their legal representatives.
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 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 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 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 moreAdams v Carey – where does the Court of Appeal's decision leave the SIPP market?
The Court of Appeal has today dismissed Mr Adams' appeal against Carey in respect of COBS 2.1.1R. However, the appeal in relation to s.27 FSMA has been upheld. We discuss the background to the proceedings, the Court of Appeal decision and where it takes the SIPP (and wider financial services) market.
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.
Read moreThe Financial Ombudsman Service's response to COVID-19
A few weeks ago, the FOS announced it was closing its office in response to government guidance but was continuing to receive and respond to complaints both old and new. The FOS' latest newsletter offers useful further insight into the FOS' response to the current crisis.
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