‘An appeal in a trial that has been postponed three times will be the first to be livestreamed under a new service from the Scottish courts.’
BBC News, 26th August 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Employment Rights Bill is nearing the final stages of the UK parliamentary process, meaning significant changes to employment law in England, Scotland and Wales are close to being enacted.’
OUT-LAW.com, 22nd August 2025
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘Law and policy concerning personal decision-making increasingly recognizes a role for support to enable greater autonomy and legal recognition for adults whose decision-making ability may be limited. Support for decision making (SFDM) is embedded in England and Wales under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). It has also gained traction internationally through the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), to which the UK is a signatory. However, these two legal reference points diverge in their understanding of SFDM, which presents challenges for putting it into practice. A pragmatic review methodology identified 40 resources containing SFDM guidance, providing insight into its implementation and conceptualization in England. An analysis indicates the need for authoritative guidance that provides more multifaceted advice, recognizing key variables including: the nature of the decision, source of decision-making difficulties, and the relationship of the supporter. Gaps in guidance provision are also identified for decision-makers, third parties, and the mental health context. The resources largely conceptualize SFDM as a means to enable mental capacity. However, recent developments propose a CRPD-aligned approach that includes SFDM in the context of substituted decisions. This generates a dualistic model of SFDM in England, raising new questions in this area.’
Medical Law Review, 31st July 2025
Source: academic.oup.com
‘A respected fisher who met King Charles and government representatives to discuss the future of the industry has been jailed for taking part in a sophisticated plot to smuggle £18m of cocaine into the UK.’
The Guardian, 21st August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Birmingham City Council has agreed to pay a resident compensation after she was forced to hire a skip to clear non-collected waste.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st September 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘An executive with ADHD who was sacked after spending the night sleeping in a sauna when she lost her room keys during a team-building event has won a disability discrimination case.’
The Guardian, 21st August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘An American “hitwoman” who attempted to murder a business owner before going on the run in Armenia has been jailed for 30 years at Birmingham crown court.’
The Guardian, 21st August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been granted permission to intervene in an upcoming judicial review examining whether the Metropolitan Police’s use of live facial recognition technology (LFRT) complies with human rights law.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st August 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘It is “quite likely” that the High Court’s decision to grant Epping Forest District Council an interim injunction blocking the use of a hotel to accommodate asylum seekers will be cited in support of similar applications by other councils, Andrew Fraser-Urquhart KC has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th August 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The income of equity partners at law firms increased by 42% in the five tax years to 2022/23, more than twice as fast as barristers and that of the rest of the UK workforce, new figures show.’
Legal Futures, 21st August 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) must take “a more proactive stance” in making the Legal Ombudman (LeO) publish complaint outcomes in full, the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) has argued.’
Legal Futures, 21st August 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A 32-year-old man has been warned he is likely to be jailed after he admitted killing a woman in a high-speed car crash in north London on Christmas Day 2022.’
BBC News, 19th August 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A prolific rail fare dodger who was caught without a train ticket more than 100 times has had his sentencing delayed after a judge raised concerns over the legal process.’
BBC News, 20th August 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A former vicar who led an evangelical movement between 1986 and 1995 has been found guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women.’
The Guardian, 20th August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Nearly half of staff at the Bar Standards Board (BSB) are now from ethnic minority backgrounds but it is looking at targets to improve the diversity of its management.’
The Guardian, 21st August 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘An asylum seeker staying at a hotel that has been the flashpoint for anti-migrant protests has described being called a “scumbag” and treated like a criminal by local people.’
The Guardian, 21st August 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Southwark Council has confirmed that drivers who were wrongly charged for bus lane penalty notices due to an administrative error are to be refunded.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th August 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A man who shot a policeman in the leg with a crossbow after officers were called to a neighbour dispute has been jailed for nine years.’
BBC News, 20th August 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Reducing public spending on legal aid was central to the rationale for the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Despite repeated calls for the government to assess the full impact of LASPO on public finances, little progress has been made on this. Qualitative evidence suggests that costs have shifted across government rather than reduced, but more needs to be done to understand the economic costs and benefits of LASPO. The existing qualitative evidence is significant because it demonstrates the serious personal consequences for individuals who are unable to access legal advice, but there is insufficient quantitative data to assess how broadly applicable the qualitative evidence is. Responding to the lack of quantitative data, this article argues that improved data gathering across government must be a priority. This would enable future research to understand the wider economic impact of the legislation. To assess the costs of LASPO we propose a framework synthesising existing qualitative and quantitative data. We also identify quantitative data that can be collected in the future. The article identifies six key hypotheses to be tested, as well as which data are required for this and who could collect them if not currently available.’
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 18th August 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘A local authority (LA) applied for care orders for six children in March 2025. At the case management hearing (CMH) I attended in April, and wrote on here: ‘Completing care proceedings in less that 26 weeks’, a strict timetable was set out by the judge to ensure that all assessments were completed by mid August when an Issues Resolution Hearing (IRH) would be listed. Interim care orders were made for all the children, then living at home with parents Mr and Mrs A, with a safety plan in place.’
Transparency Project, 18th August 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2025