‘Police have lobbied the government for the power to view the internet browsing history of every computer user in Britain ahead of the publication of legislation on regulating surveillance powers.’
The Guardian, 30th October 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Intellectual Property Office has opened a consultation to assess whether there would be sufficient stakeholder support to introduce our Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Bill into Parliament using the special procedure reserved for uncontroversial Law Commission Bills.’
Law Commission, 23rd October 2015
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
‘A proposed blanket ban on legal highs is too broad and fails to adequately define what a psychoactive substance actually is, an influential committee of MPs has said.’
The Guardian, 24th October 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Those who want change should have to make the case for it, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC challenged her fellow panellists, at a recent event jointly organised by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and British Institute of International and Comparative Law, and hosted by Bindmans. The panel was one of the most stimulating contributions of the year to the debate over the proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act and its replacement with a British Bill of Rights, featuring contributions from three members of the 2012 Commission on a Bill of Rights, a number of comparative perspectives including one from Australia, and even a call for what appears to be a written constitution.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd October 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The Government was accused of risking the creation of a “disunited kingdom” after the Commons approved an historic change to give English MPs a veto over laws which affect only England.’
Independent, 22nd October 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Legislation to ban new psychoactive substances in the UK is being rushed, MPs have warned.’
BBC News, 22nd October 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The government has announced today that from 1 February 2016, all private landlords in England will have to check new tenants have the right to be in the UK before renting out their property.’
Home Office, 20th October 2015
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
‘In 2001, a small scale form of discretionary support was introduced to assist those on housing benefit who were unable to afford their rent: discretionary housing payments (DHPs). The numbers of awards were modest, reaching approximately 2,000 in 2002/3, and representing just £21million of expenditure per annum as recently as 2008/9 (source). This same scheme – administered by Local Authorities – now makes more than 390,000 awards per annum and the July budget of 2015 has allocated £800million for their use across the course of this Parliament.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 21st October 2015
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The investigatory powers bill will give greater powers to MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, according to reports.’
Daily Telegraph, 21st October 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Ministers draw up plans to pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights next time the Armed Forces are sent into combat.’
Daily Telegraph, 17th October 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The battle to save the Human Rights Act takes to the streets this week with crowdfunded billboards focusing on those who have used the legislation to obtain justice.’
The Guardian, 19th October 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The new incarnation of the Saatchi bill to allow doctors to innovate without fear of negligence actions has continued its progress through parliament – but the legislation continues to divide opinion among MPs.’
Full story
Law Society’s Gazette, 17th October 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The second reading of the Immigration Bill in the House of Commons is today. We have seen how even more appeals will be out of country under its regime, and the greater powers given to immigration officers under Part 3. Part 6 – including Schedules 7 and 8 – offers a mix of provisions, including ensuring the UK complies with international law on blacklisted persons and introduces civil penalties for aircraft and airport managers if they do not ensure people go through control zones. The final section gives a raft of new powers to immigration officers (where have we seen that before?), this time to intercept and detain boats suspected of carrying undocumented migrants, and to arrest anyone suspected of facilitating illegal migration in to the UK.’
Free Movement, 13th October 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
‘Government proposals to legally require landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants risk a serious breach of human rights, an official watchdog has warned.’
The Guardian, 12th October 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘In its 27 May 2015 Queen’s speech, the Conservative government announced that ‘early legislation will be introduced to provide for an in/out referendum’. The following day, it introduced the European Union Referendum Bill, which passed its third reading in the House of Commons on 7 September 2015 (by 316 votes to 53). The second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled for 13 October 2015. Following the recommendation of the Electoral Commission, the initially proposed question: ‘Should the UK remain a member of the European Union?’ was replaced with an arguably more neutral question: ‘should the UK remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union’.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th October 2015
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Part 3 of the Immigration Bill gives a host of new, wide powers to immigration officers.
A person with leave to enter arrives in at the airport. Schedule 19(1) and (2) – the first section of Part 3 – gives immigration officers the power to curtail leave, rather to simply determine whether leave has been given and act accordingly. So someone arriving in the UK even with the appropriate leave will now have a lingering uncertainty as to whether they will be allowed in. This is likely to affect few migrants, but is indicative of the greater powers given to immigration officers throughout the Bill.’
Free Movement, 1st October 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
‘Deport first, appeal later is part of the current strategy to cut net migration. As set out in the Immigration Bill 2015-16, the rule has been extended to all immigration appeals and judicial reviews, including where a so-called family life is involved, apart from asylum claims.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 30th September 2015
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
‘This week, Lord Justices Elias, Richards and McCombe sat in the Court of Appeal and heard the first test cases against Section 94B of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. Section 94B, introduced by the Immigration Act 2014 and which came into force on 28th July 2014, provides the Home Office the power to certify human rights claims made by people liable to deportation, so they are not entitled to an appeal within the UK. Instead they are expected to bring their appeal from the country in which the Home Office propose deportation. This logic has been catchily titled “deport first, appeal later” and the Conservatives pledged in their manifesto to roll it out for all immigration appeals. Indeed, the Immigration Bill 2015, published last week on 17th September, does just that.’
Free Movement, 25th September 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
‘The Immigration Bill 2015 has been published and will have a Second Reading in the House of Commons on October 13, 2015. It contains some truly remarkable provisions about housing. But first, short re-cap to remind you how we got to this stage.’
Full story
Nearly Legal, 19th September 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Businesses can suffer serious loss if insurance companies delay paying claims. But under Law Commission reforms introduced into Parliament today, insurers would be obliged to make prompt payment or face a claim for damages.’
Law Commission, 16th September 2015
Source: www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission
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