Month: April 2012

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted April 4th, 2012 in legislation by sally

The Town and Country Planning (Trees) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2012

The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2012

The National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2012

The Employment Tribunals Act 1996 (Tribunal Composition) Order 2012

The Unfair Dismissal and Statement of Reasons for Dismissal (Variation of Qualifying Period) Order 2012

The Schools (Specification and Disposal of Articles) Regulations 2012

The Town and Country Planning (Compensation) (Wales) Regulations 2012

The Thurrock Development Corporation (Dissolution) Order 2012

The Designation of Schools Having a Religious Character (Independent Schools) (England) (No. 1) Order 2012

The Education (Charges for Early Years Provision) Regulations 2012

The Licensing Act 2003 (Premises licences and club premises certificates) (Amendment) Regulations 2012

The Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) (No.2) Order 2012

The Localism Act 2011 (Commencement No. 2 and Saving Provision) (Wales) Order 2012

The Land Compensation Development (Wales) Order 2012

The National Assistance (Sums for Personal Requirements) (Assessment of Resources and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2012

The Authorised Officers (Meat Inspection) (Revocation) (Wales) Regulations 2012

The Commons Act 2006 (Commencement No. 2) (Wales) Order 2012

The Pembrokeshire (St. Mary Out Liberty and Tenby Communities) Order 2012

The Planning Act 2008 (Commencement No. 1) (Wales) Order 2012

The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Wales) Order 2012

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Miners’ leader guilty of stealing £150,000 from union care home – The Guardian

Posted April 4th, 2012 in compensation, fraud, miners, news, theft, trade unions by sally

“A miners’ leader once feted for opposing Arthur Scargill has been convicted for stealing nearly £150,000 from his own union’s charity.”

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal Services Board concedes ‘no big bang’ in five years since LSA – The Lawyer

Posted April 4th, 2012 in alternative business structures, competition, legal services, Legal Services Board, news by sally

“The Legal Services Board (LSB) has admitted that the 2007 Legal Services Act (LSA) has not resulted in sweeping changes to the profession, stating in a five-year progress report that it is ‘early days’ to judge its impact.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 4th April 2012

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Child abductor handed new jail term – The Independent

Posted April 4th, 2012 in child abduction, news, sentencing by sally

“A former insurance salesman who abducted his daughter on her third birthday more than two years ago and refuses to reveal her whereabouts was today handed a fourth consecutive jail term by a High Court judge.”

Full story

The Independent, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

“Reinvigorated” Right to Buy in force – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 4th, 2012 in housing, local government, news, right to buy by sally

“The Government’s ‘reinvigorated’ Right to Buy scheme is now in force and will apply to social housing tenants, following a consultation at the end of last year.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Haircut attacker banned from carrying scissors – The Guardian

Posted April 4th, 2012 in ASBOs, assault, community service, news, sentencing by sally

“A man has been banned from carrying scissors in public after he sneaked up on two unsuspecting women and cut their hair.”

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Sarah’s Law reveals identities of 160 sex offenders with access to children – The Independent

Posted April 4th, 2012 in child abuse, children, criminal records, news, police, sexual offences by sally

“The identities of more than 160 child sex offenders have been exposed during the first year of the ‘Sarah’s Law’ scheme, which allows worried parents to check on anyone who has regular access to their children.”

Full story

The Independent, 4th April 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Facebook ‘live murder’ taunt: Chepstow siege man Greg Searle jailed for two years – BBC News

Posted April 4th, 2012 in affray, firearms, internet, news, sentencing, threatening behaviour by sally

“A 35-year-old man who claimed he was going to commit a ‘live murder on Facebook’ during an eight-hour police siege has been jailed for two years.”

Full story

BBC News, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Damning verdict on ill-thought-out secret justice proposals – The Guardian

Posted April 4th, 2012 in civil justice, closed material, disclosure, human rights, inquests, media, news, public interest immunity by sally

“Parliament’s joint committee on human rights (JCHR) has produced a unanimous report on the government’s justice and security green paper that is as precise and persuasive as the green paper itself is unfocussed and unconvincing.”

Full story

The Guardian, 4th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal fight over high-speed rail – BBC News

Posted April 4th, 2012 in compensation, consultations, environmental protection, judicial review, news, railways by sally

“Campaigners against the HS2 rail scheme have confirmed they will make two court bids to halt the £33bn project.”

Full story

BBC News, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Surrey library volunteer decision ruled unlawful by High Court – BBC News

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in libraries, news, volunteers by sally

“Surrey County Council’s decision to run 10 libraries by volunteers in a move to keep its 52 libraries open has been ruled unlawful by the High Court.”

Full story

BBC News, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ex-paratrooper Anthony Malone jailed over torture – BBC News

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in armed forces, false imprisonment, kidnapping, news, sentencing, torture by sally

“A former paratrooper has been jailed for eight years for taking part in the kidnap and torture of two brothers after a property deal collapsed.”

Full story

BBC News, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Online privacy: Big Brother will be watching you – but he’ll have his hands full – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in intelligence services, internet, news, privacy by sally

“It’s pretty hard to do anything these days without someone knowing what you’re up to. The minutiae of our lives can be pieced together by hundreds of different agencies tracking our health, spending habits, travel, requests for credit checks, presence at work, absence from work, arrival at the gym, our children’s education – the list is extensive. So why is it that the current proposals for government monitoring of email and web use are causing such a fuss?”

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Former soldier Aaron Wilkinson cleared of murder – BBC News

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in armed forces, diminished responsibility, homicide, news, post-traumatic stress disorder by sally

“A former soldier who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when he shot and killed his landlady has been cleared of her murder.”

Full story

BBC News, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Wife and daughter given life sentence for murder – The Independent

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in murder, news, sentencing by sally

“A retired tax inspector has been jailed for life for murdering her husband who disappeared without trace 11 years ago.”

Full story

The Independent, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

5th Anniversary

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in news by sally

This week Current Awareness celebrates its 5th anniversary. Here are a few facts about the blog:

  • our first ever post in April 2007 was about legal aid
  • we now have a searchable archive of over 23,000 posts
  • all posts are indexed using a controlled vocabulary: there are now over 1,000 categories
  • over 4,000 people subscribe via email or RSS
  • the blog receives over 20,000 visits per month

Thank you for your support.

We welcome your comments smclaren@innertemple.org.uk

Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in parliamentary papers by sally

Malware and cyber crime, Cm 8328 (PDF)

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

Union pickets seek to quash 40-year-old convictions – The Guardian

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in affray, conspiracy, Criminal Cases Review Commission, news, trade unions by sally

“A group of trade union pickets who were jailed nearly 40 years ago in a famous case are seeking to have their convictions overturned on the grounds that the then Conservative government interfered with the judicial process.”

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judgment over extradition case is victory for open justice – The Guardian

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in disclosure, documents, extradition, media, news by sally

“Three senior judges have issued a groundbreaking judgment that strengthens the media’s right to see documents used in criminal cases.”

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Real time communications monitoring legislation would need privacy safeguards to comply with EU laws, expert says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in EC law, electronic mail, intelligence services, investigatory powers, news, telecommunications by sally

“New legislation that would enable a UK intelligence agency to monitor data from internet communications in real time without a warrant could be challenged at EU level unless other privacy safeguards limit the scope of that monitoring, an expert has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com