The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill was published on 20 May 2020. Our understanding is that this will go through all stages of Parliament on Wednesday 3 June and will become law on or very soon after that date.

The UK Government has announced wide-ranging emergency legislation in response to the Coronavirus crisis, in an attempt to reduce the burden on business and allow them to carry on trading during and after the pandemic. Some of the changes (other than the one on wrongful trading) were already intended following a consultation process that concluded in 2018 but are now being fast tracked.

The government has published a consultation paper looking at ways to improve the framework surrounding companies in or approaching insolvency. The policy objective is to reduce the risk of major company failures and their impact on a wider range of stakeholders, including employees and company pension scheme beneficiaries.