March 2021 – Page 6 – Current Awareness

‘Stephen Williams, Barrister, St Mary’s Chambers, calls for reconsideration of the restrictions on the acquisition of parental responsibility by fathers.’

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Family Law Week, 17th March 2021

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Half of women have little or no faith in CPS to prosecute crimes against them, poll finds – The Independent

Posted March 22nd, 2021 in criminal justice, Crown Prosecution Service, news, prosecutions, rape, sexual offences, statistics, victims, women by tracey

‘Half of women have little or no faith in the authorities to prosecute crimes against them, according to a new poll. Almost a quarter have “no trust at all” in the Crown Prosecution Service, the research by Savanta ComRes found.’

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The Independent, 21st March 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Clapham vigil policing investigator is suing Home Office for sex and race bias – The Guardian

Posted March 22nd, 2021 in demonstrations, employment, employment tribunals, equality, government departments, inquiries, insanity, news, police, race discrimination, remuneration, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘The investigator helping coordinate the official inquiry into the Metropolitan police’s handling of the Sarah Everard vigil and concerns over women’s safety is suing the Home Office for sex discrimination over claims that he has been penalised for being a “white man”, the Observer can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 21st March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Government’s decision to cut international aid budget ‘was unlawful’ – The Independent

Posted March 22nd, 2021 in budgets, government departments, international law, news by tracey

‘The government’s decision to cut the international aid budget below its legal target was unlawful, a former director of public prosecutions has said. Lord Macdonald of River Glaven said new legislation would have been required to ditch the target of spending 0.7 per cent of international income on aid.”

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The Independent, 21st March 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Bar regulator “struggling to keep pace” with rising volume of work – Legal Futures

Posted March 19th, 2021 in barristers, budgets, coronavirus, disciplinary procedures, news, statistics by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has admitted it is struggling to keep pace with a rising volume of incoming reports, authorisations and disciplinary cases.’

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Legal Futures, 19th March 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Fixed universal credit cuts are unlawful, high court in UK rules – The Guardian

Posted March 19th, 2021 in benefits, charities, fines, government departments, homelessness, housing, news, vagrancy by sally

‘A group of former rough sleepers who were left destitute after the Department for Work and Pensions automatically deducted a third of their universal credit allowance to pay off court fines have won a high court victory.’

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The Guardian, 18th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

British nationality law reform aims to remove Windrush anomalies – The Guardian

Posted March 19th, 2021 in citizenship, colonies, deportation, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘British nationality laws are to be reformed to remove a number of anomalies that have recently led to people from the Windrush generation being refused citizenship – despite the Home Office admitting that its own errors led to them being ruled ineligible.’

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The Guardian, 18th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sexual assault: ‘One in 40’ young women experience it each year – BBC News

Posted March 19th, 2021 in news, sexual offences, statistics, victims, women, young persons by sally

‘One in 40 women aged between 16 and 24 in England and Wales experience rape or assault by penetration, including attempts, each year, Office for National Statistics estimates suggest.’

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BBC News, 18th March 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hendon murder: Drill rapper who blamed identical twin found guilty – BBC News

Posted March 19th, 2021 in DNA, families, forensic science, murder, news by sally

‘A drill rapper who tried to deflect the blame on to his identical twin after a new father was stabbed to death has been convicted of murder.’

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BBC News, 18th March 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Right to challenge government in courts overhauled – BBC News

Posted March 19th, 2021 in courts, government departments, judicial review, Ministry of Justice, news, parliament by sally

‘Plans to change how government decisions are challenged in the courts have been announced by the justice secretary.’

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BBC News, 18th March 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Imprisonment for Public Protection jail terms ‘a death sentence’ – BBC News

Posted March 19th, 2021 in imprisonment, news, sentencing, sexual offences, time limits, violent offenders, young offenders by sally

‘Karl Maroni, 33, has spent all his adult life in jail.’

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BBC News, 19th March 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Key figures and findings in football’s sexual abuse report – The Guardian

Posted March 19th, 2021 in abuse of position of trust, child abuse, children, news, sexual offences, sport by sally

‘The findings of Clive Sheldon QC regarding the FA and eight coaches including Barry Bennell and Bob Higgins.’

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The Guardian, 17th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Online court may need only one procedure rule, says Briggs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 19th, 2021 in bills, civil procedure rules, internet, judges, news, remote hearings by sally

‘Legislation this year could introduce radically simplified procedure rules for the proposed online civil court, Supreme Court justice Lord Briggs has revealed. Addressing a Cyprus conference on civil procedure rules, Lord Briggs said the online court – whether for civil, family or tribunal cases – might have only one rule: “Do what it says in the electronic form.”’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th March 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘A lot are sceptical’: Uber drivers’ cautious welcome over worker status – The Guardian

Posted March 19th, 2021 in contract of employment, employment, holiday pay, minimum wage, news, pensions, remuneration, taxis by sally

‘On Wednesday Uber, the taxi hailing app, began offering 70,000 UK drivers a minimum hourly wage, holiday pay and pensions after years of legal battles.’

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The Guardian, 18th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid: Blind woman forces government action in shielding case – BBC News

Posted March 19th, 2021 in coronavirus, disability discrimination, disabled persons, equality, government departments, human rights, judicial review, news by sally

‘A blind woman who was sent a shielding letter she could not read has won “promising” commitments from the government after a legal challenge.’

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BBC News, 19th March 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Does a Compulsory Retirement Age Infringe Human Rights Law? – by Hugh Collins – UK Labour Law Blog

Posted March 19th, 2021 in age discrimination, employment, employment tribunals, equality, human rights, news, retirement, unfair dismissal by sally

‘An employer’s compulsory retirement scheme requires the dismissal of an employee for no other reason than the employee has attained a specified retirement age. The retirement age may be fixed in the terms of the contract of employment, a staff handbook, a collective agreement, or other regulations that determine the rules governing a particular retirement age. Although compulsory retirement used to be lawful, since 2011 the position in the United Kingdom (UK) is that an employee dismissed in accordance with an employer’s policy of a compulsory retirement age can bring a claim either for unfair dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996 or (for workers as well as employees) for age discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Following Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes [2012] UKSC 16, an employer can justify the age discrimination of a compulsory retirement age as a proportionate measure in pursuit of a legitimate aim, such as preserving the promotion prospects of younger staff or the avoidance of intrusive surveillance of the job performance of older staff.’

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UK Labour Law Blog, 17th March 2021

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

Pandemic NHS workers should be granted indefinite leave to remain — Aaron Gates-Lincoln – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 19th, 2021 in bills, coronavirus, doctors, fees, government departments, hospitals, immigration, news, nurses, visas by sally

‘Migrant workers have been essential to the operations of the NHS ever since its inception in 1948. Over the decades, many programmes have been used to encourage and find overseas workers and help them migrate to the UK to be employed in the healthcare system, demonstrating our governments acknowledgment of how important they are. As early as 1949, campaigns were made by the UK government in the Caribbean to recruit NHS staff, through advertisements in local newspapers.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th March 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com