Headlines in today’s Daily Mail stated that “2.4M Caught in Covid Cancer Backlog”. It claimed that ‘screening checks, hospital appointments and vital treatment lost during the pandemic’ and was based on figures from Cancer Research UK.

On 20 May 2020 the Government published the eagerly awaited Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill which includes measures that have been developed over a two-year consultation period and others which are going to be introduced specifically to cater for the current pandemic.

Anyone involved in bringing possession proceedings at the moment must be reeling from the number of changes and the amount of new legislation that is being pushed through. You will find yourselves juggling new law, new forms, and new procedures at Court.

As 2020 passed the baton to 2021, any optimism we may have been harbouring about a gradual return to normality, as the vaccination programme began its rollout, was badly dented by another lockdown and the inevitable economic disruption that entails.

Podcast from Caroline Benfield and Elizabeth Taylor on the Corporate Insolvency & Governance Bill 2020.

The response from insurers to claims for business interruption has largely been to decline cover, adopting an argument, amongst others, that it was not the intention of the policy of insurance to cover a pandemic scenario of the severity we have experienced.

We have been following the travails of the high street for over 12 months where changing shopping habits, business rates and rent increases have been contributing to a growing strain on many landlord / tenant relationships.

Our 2021 spring / summer edition of Law & Land features a round up of news including latest furlough news and statutory wage rates, and updates on the slurry investment scheme, rights of way, seasonal workers and the Countryside Stewardship mirror agreements.

It is important that employees are supported during long Covid, including being signposted to potential internal and external support systems to assist with but also encourage them to be proactive in their recovery.

In our Housebuilders Campaign, we explore the problems and concerns of this sector in conversation with five regional developers. We highlight some of the champions of this industry and discuss the innovative approaches they are taking to alleviate some of the sector’s biggest headaches.