Insights: Tim Wright

To download the article as a PDF, click here. The opportunities for e-learning providers and other Educational Technology (EdTech) businesses looking to scale their businesses continue to look very promising, with the EdTech sector on track to reach £3.4 billion by 2021 in the UK, and £128 billion globally. According to the Tech Nation Report […]

The rise in prominence of the EdTech sector in recent years is undeniable. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to this more recently, as most educational institutions have either adopted a fully virtual educational experience or a hybrid model with a mix of virtual and in-person learning. EdTech inevitably uses personal data of its […]

HMRC confirms change to VAT position when terminating an outsourcing or supply agreement for convenience Termination for convenience Outsourcing and other long-term supply agreements often contain termination for convenience provisions. These allow customers the option of exiting before the expiry of the full contractual term which is often 3 to 5 years and sometimes longer. […]

Contractual consent: when is it reasonable to attach conditions when giving consent? Contracts often require a party to seek consent from the other party before it can do something. For example, a party to a contract may not be permitted to assign the benefit of a contract, appoint a subcontractor, or move to a new […]

Are your outsourced Facilities Management arrangements Brexit-ready? The UK left the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community on 1 February 2020. However, the Withdrawal Agreement concluded between the UK and the EU is intended to provide for an orderly departure by the UK and includes a transition period during which EU law continues […]

Contractual consent: when is it reasonable to attach conditions when giving consent? Contracts often require a party to seek consent from the other party before it can do something. For example, a party to a contract may not be permitted to assign the benefit of a contract, appoint a subcontractor, or move to a new […]

The importance to enterprises of having accurate and up-to-date HR Systems was brought to the fore by a recent Sunday Times article. Sabah Meddings, who writes the Databank ‘Inside the City’ column, reported that Capita, the FTSE 250 outsourcer, had reported a non-cash charge of £42.6m in its August 2020 interim results. A significant component […]

Background In April 2019, the UK Government published the AI Sector Deal policy paper[1] which placed machine learning, AI and big data at the heart of the UK’s Industrial Strategy[2]. Other Sector Deals announced at same time include life sciences, construction, and the automotive sector. Recognising the need to make sure AI benefits everyone in […]

In March 2020, as part of the Cabinet Office-led Ventilator Challenge, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published a specification[1] for a “Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System” setting out the clinical requirements for a ‘minimally acceptable’ ventilator for use in hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak (the RMVS Specification). The RMVS Specification is designed to enable […]

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, recently published a consultation paper[1] on guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers. The guidelines, which are expected to be introduced in [. ], set out the regulator’s requirements when financial market participants outsource to cloud service providers, with a particular focus on […]

Over the last decade, the UK Government has introduced a variety of measures to support the transition to meet the 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emission target – from providing grants to increase the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and the installation of charge points in individual homes to establishing a Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund […]

Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice, recently announced plans for new laws requiring EU companies to carry out mandatory cross sectoral corporate due diligence on their operations and global supply chains for all environmental, human rights and governance impacts. Speaking at a European Parliament webinar[1] hosted by the European Parliament’s Responsible Business Conduct Working Group […]