The government has issued a response to its proposals to introduce a register of beneficial owners of overseas companies that own property in the UK in an attempt to tackle corruption. The government is proposing that all legal entities that hold property or wish to acquire property in the UK in the future will have to provide details of beneficial ownership to Companies House.

The Supreme Court in the recent case of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood held that a new term is to be implied in all employment contracts in relation to terminating employment. It was held that notice to terminate employment will only start to run from the date that an employee has received a letter and has had a reasonable opportunity to read it.

Last week (18 - 22nd June) we welcomed students from Greenhead College as part of the Project and Work Placement Week (PaWS) put in place for the A1 students. "Greenhead College operates one of the most extensive work placement schemes in the country, with over 700 students gaining first-hand experience of the world of work across the UK and abroad. Students can apply for College organised placements, or may arrange their own. Many students' career aspirations have been confirmed following their work placement experience."

Surrogacy is an expanding area and can be the only option for some who have fertility issues, or who are in same sex relationships, but long for a genetic link to the baby. However, issues surrounding surrogacy are difficult and the UK has been slow to develop the law. It is therefore imperative that we have the right laws in place to protect all involved, especially as surrogacy is becoming more common.

You may have seen the highly reported matter in the media relating to Gosport Hospital. In brief, an independent panel have undertaken an investigation in relation to treatment at Gosport War Memorial Hospital and have found that there was a disregard for human life for a large number of patients between 1989-2000. It has been found that 456 lives were shortened by inappropriate and dangerous levels of painkillers being prescribed and that, taking into account records which are missing, a further 200 patients may also have been affected.

New regulations set to come into force in summer 2018 will allow company Directors and individuals to remove details of their residential address filed on the public register at Companies House. Currently under the Companies Act 2006, company Directors and Secretaries are able to provide a service address for correspondence to ensure that their residential address is not shown on the public register. Whilst the 2006 Act allowed a service address to be provided it did not provide for the removal of any existing residential addresses that had previously been filed at Companies House.

Ramsdens Solicitors announced three new Partners in its latest annual promotions round. They also promoted nine staff to associate and senior associate roles. These promotions will significantly bolster the firm's Family, Private Client, Corporate and Commercial and Commercial Property teams.

In the first instance no they are not! The law in England and Wales concerning dividing assets and liabilities on divorce is exactly the same whether the respective spouses are living in suburbia or the countryside. The starting point or “yardstick” is equality with consideration given to a number of factors in order to help in determining what is “fair”.