Glasgow is hosting the 26th ‘Conference of the Parties’ from 31 October until 12 November this year, following last year’s cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 190 World leaders are travelling to Glasgow to participate in discussions with a view to reaching agreement on plans to achieve a global Net Zero economy. In addition to its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, having recently been recognised as a ‘global green city’ by the Global Forum on Human Settlements, Glasgow is a fitting host for this year’s Summit.
Michael Cox considers why some EU distributors are refusing to act in the same capacity as they did pre-Brexit and he provides options and recommendations for addressing this scenario.
The Dormant Assets scheme was originally introduced by the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 (“2008 Act”). The aim of the Scheme was to allow social and environmental causes in the UK to benefit from ‘dormant assets’ of which Banks and Building societies had been unable to reunite with their owners. The Dormant Assets Bill proposes to significantly expand the current scheme by allowing assets from additional sectors to be transferred to the Reclaim Fund (“RF”), to be subsequently distributed to British charities. The Government reports that “estimates suggest that an expanded Scheme has the potential to make around £880million available for social and environmental causes in the UK”, of which 8.4% would be attributed to Scotland.
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the “Agreement”) concluded with the EU on 30 December 2020, ensures that UK companies can continue to access the EU market. While the Agreement sets out the level of access to each Party’s domestic market, there are important changes to be aware of now that UK businesses no longer operate under European Economic Area (EEA) regulations relating to cross-border services.
