Key changes from the Spring Immigration Rule changes: insights and tips
The key changes include a raised minimum English language level for settlement in many categories, a visa brake on certain nationalities, and a tightening of Skilled Worker pay arrangements. The changes do not implement the earned settlement proposals. The Home Office published updates to the Immigration Rules on 5 March 2026. We take a look …
Bates Wells advises animal rights campaigners on challenge to Public Order Act regulations
On 12 February 2026, new regulations came into force which classify the life sciences sector – including animal testing sites – as “key national infrastructure” under the Public Order Act 2023, alongside transport and energy sites. Protestors who “interfere” with such facilities could face severe criminal sanctions, including up to a year in jail, though …
Founders Series: Emily Taylor, Oxford Information Labs and Global Signal Exchange
We recently sat down with Emily Taylor, Co-founder and CEO of Oxford Information Labs and Global Signal Exchange. Oxford Information Labs specialises in digital governance, cybersecurity, and internet technologies. They aim to tackle complex challenges in the digital envrionment – from internet standards and threat analysis to inclusive digital safety.Their mature data-sharing platform led them …
Bates Wells advises on the first investment into Social Tech Ventures
Bates Wells has advised Friends Provident Foundation, Barrow Cadbury, The Clothworkers Foundation and the Linbury Trust on their investment into Social Tech Ventures (STV) venture fund, the UK’s first impact-focused early-stage venture fund explicitly designed around a revenue-first investment strategy. The new fund will invest at pre-seed and seed stages, in technology companies, addressing social …
Gender identity, protected beliefs, and single-sex facilities in the workplace: a review of Peggie v (1) Fife Health Board and (2) Dr Upton
The end of 2025, and start of 2026, saw four Employment Tribunal (“ET”) judgments being handed down in cases relating to gender identity, protected beliefs, and the use of single-sex facilities in the workplace. These are the first few ET cases to grapple with the Supreme Court’s landmark April 2025 ruling in For Women Scotland …
Global Instability and UK Immigration Options
In recent times, the world stage has been marked by significant upheaval, with political and economic tensions brewing across several continents. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and now the war with Iran, which is being felt throughout the Middle East, have all contributed to a sense of greater global instability, not least through rising …
Resources and guides for B Corps
Click here to see the full library
