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On 17 November 2022, the ICO revised its guidance on international transfers, created a new section on transfer risk assessments (TRA) and released a new TRA tool.  The new TRA tool can be used to undertake a transfer risk assessment, which is required where there's a restricted transfer of data outside the UK (not covered by UK "adequacy regulations") that relies upon an "appropriate safeguards" mechanism in Article 46 of the UK GDPR, such as standard contractual clauses.  

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Travers Smith Infrastructure newsletter.

As COP27 drew to a close on the afternoon of Friday 18 November, following two weeks of the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, the first drafts of the COP27 agreement were published, but getting the deal finalised looked to be a difficult task.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

Find the latest news, views and our analysis of all the key announcements.

On 9 November 2022, the Investment Association (the "IA") published its latest version of the IA Principles of Remuneration (the "Principles") and Letter to Remuneration Committee Chairs (the "Letter").

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is consulting on guidance that would require mid-contract price rises in consumer contracts to be more prominently stated in telecoms advertising. As we explain below, this may also be of interest to other B2C businesses outside the telecoms sector.

With COP27 starting earlier this week, all eyes remain on what progress governments and international organisations are able to make to meet climate critical finance targets. Climate finance is a major issue at COP27, as it has been since developed countries initially agreed to mobilise $100 billion per year at COP15 in 2009 by 2020 (later extended to 2025). However, this annual target has never been met.

The UK's Prime Minister may have changed but the Growth Plan unveiled in September remains in place - at least for now. Armed with new powers to repeal and replace EU law under the so-called Brexit Freedoms Bill, the Plan appears to envisage an ambitious programme of regulatory reform.

Our regular round-up of recent and forthcoming developments in law and practice for in-house counsel.

Most businesses would agree that better regulation is a desirable goal – but how do you actually achieve it? In the first of a series of briefings on regulatory reform across a range of different sectors, we look at the implications for business of the UK Government's approach to regulation and how far it is likely to succeed.

Having previously been expected earlier this year, the FCA has now published its consultation paper on the proposed new sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR) regime and a set of consumer-friendly sustainability labels. This is, in effect, the UK's answer to the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (EU SFDR), although the proposed UK regime goes further in terms of having formal product labels and is bolstered by rules already in force that require many firms to report climate-related risks and opportunities in accordance with the TCFD guidelines (covered in our 2022 New Year Briefing).

On 7 October 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) that seeks to address the concerns set out in the Schrems II decision about US intelligence agencies’ access to EU individuals’ personal data. The EO is a significant step towards an EU-U.S. adequacy decision (expected in Spring 2023, if approved by member states) but, if granted, will that adequacy decision be sufficiently robust to withstand a likely legal challenge? 

The UK's Subsidy Control Bill received Royal Asset on 28 April 2022 , becoming the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the "Act"). The new regime will come fully into force on 4 January 2023. The Act has been hailed by the UK Government as a major departure from the EU State aid rules.

This update provides a brief overview of some notable events that have occurred in recent weeks, including the UK Government's increasing ability to target activities considered to be problematic from a circumventing Russian sanctions perspective.

The UK Government is proposing greater regulatory oversight of financial services outsourcings involving "Critical Third Parties" (CTPs). If implemented, these changes will result in CTPs – some of which may not regard themselves as part of the finance sector - being regulated directly by financial services supervisory authorities. This would represent a major shift in approach.

Find the latest news, views and our analysis of all the key announcements.

The EU recently revealed its proposal for a new Regulation to combat the use of forced labour in the production of goods. A key aim of this new Regulation is that it will be used alongside other initiatives within both the EU and externally, in order to further eliminate modern day slavery from supply chains.