Cooperative parenting following family separation – Government’s response – Family Law Bar Association

Posted November 6th, 2012 in consultations, divorce, news, parental rights by sally

“Cooperative parenting following family separation: proposed legislation on the involvement of parents in a child’s life.”

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Family Law Bar Association, 5th November 2012

Source: www.flba.co.uk

Liverpool Care Pathway: Relatives ‘must be informed’ – BBC News

Posted November 5th, 2012 in consultations, families, medical treatment, news by sally

“Relatives of terminally-ill patients would have to be consulted before a decision to withdraw food or water is taken, under new government proposals.”

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BBC News, 3rd November 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Employee share ownership: proposals for the de-regulation of share buybacks by companies with employee shareholders – Employment Law Blog

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in company law, consultations, employment, news, shareholders by sally

“The Nuttall Review commissioned by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and published on 4 July 2012 identified key barriers to the uptake of employee ownership and made a number of recommendations on how to reduce these barriers.”

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Employment Law Blog, 1st November 2012

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

Leniency for legal whistleblowers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 1st, 2012 in consultations, news, penalties, professional conduct, solicitors, whistleblowers by sally

“Whistleblowers involved in misconduct will face more lenient penalties under proposals being considered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 31st October 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Crown Court means testing of criminal legal aid – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 30th, 2012 in consultations, criminal justice, legal aid, news by sally

“The proposals set out in this consultation paper seek to improve the effectiveness of the Crown Court means testing scheme of criminal legal aid.”

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Ministry of Justice, 30th October 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Practising Certificate Fee (PCF) Consultation – The Bar Council

Posted October 30th, 2012 in barristers, consultations, fees, news by sally

“Update for the profession: the Bar Council has launched a consultation for the profession on the practising certificate fee (PCF).”

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The Bar Council, 30th October 2012

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

OFT sets out details of its new power to suspend consumer credit licenses – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 26th, 2012 in bills, consultations, consumer credit, consumer protection, licensing, news by tracey

“Consumer watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has set out details of how it intends to use a new power which will allow it to suspend the licenses of rogue lenders with immediate effect in some circumstances.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Homeowners affected by HS2 to get access to hardship fund – The Guardian

Posted October 26th, 2012 in compensation, consultations, news, railways by tracey

“Homeowners living along the proposed path of the high-speed rail link will be given access to a hardship scheme if they are unable to sell their house, even if is outside the area earmarked for development, the government has said.”

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The Guardian, 25th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Consultation opens on Concurrent Jurisdiction guidelines – Crown Prosecution Service

“The CPS has today published interim guidelines for Crown Prosecutors handling cases where more than one country or jurisdiction is investigating criminal conduct. The guidelines, which take immediate effect, formally set out the factors that are considered when deciding where criminal proceedings should be brought.”

Full guidelines

Crown Prosecution Service, 25th October 2012

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Consultation launches on how best to record crime outcomes – Home Office

Posted October 22nd, 2012 in consultations, news, police, statistics by sally

“The government is seeking views on whether the way crime outcomes are recorded should be broadened to better reflect the work police officers do.”

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Home Office, 19th October 2012

Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Data protection laws breached by Government over public consultation security flaw, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

“The Department for Education (DfE) was guilty of a breach of UK data protection laws when a ‘temporary security flaw’ meant that personal information belonging to respondents to one of its consultations were ‘compromised’, the UK’s data protection watchdog has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Housing Ombudsman consultation – NearlyLegal

Posted October 18th, 2012 in complaints, consultations, housing, news, ombudsmen by sally

“One of the less well-remarked upon changes in the Localism Act 2010 was a set of radical changes to the role of the Housing Ombudsman (the current incumbent being the lovely Mike Biles). In short, the HO takes over jurisdiction for local authority housing complaints; there is a filter mechanism before the HO can accept a complaint (it has to be referred by a Designated person: MP, Councillor, Tenants Panel). The former is to be welcomed – on one view, the HO now offers a far better, more modern, proactive service than the Local Government Ombudsman in our entrepreneurialised housing system; the latter is to be absolutely deprecated as being not just against the spirit of administrative justice but also as a mechanism for cost-saving in the face of proper redress of grievance/s. Whatever you think about ombudspersons – and a range of views are expressed – there is no doubt that they have consistently exposed various maladministrations across the housing sphere, and they don’t hold back; in addition, their purpose (unlike courts) is to make things better for future ‘customers’ so that there may well be an impact on service delivery from a single instance of maladministration (and not just in that organisation).”

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NearlyLegal, 17th October 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Boundary changes: Revised proposals for English constituencies – BBC News

Posted October 17th, 2012 in boundaries, consultations, elections, news, parliament by tracey

“Revised proposals have been published for the shape of future parliamentary boundaries in England.”

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BBC News, 16th October 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government to consult on temporary stop notices to prevent unauthorised traveller sites – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 12th, 2012 in consultations, fines, local government, news, planning, travellers by sally

“Communities secretary Eric Pickles has set out the details of plans announced by him earlier this week to remove restrictions on the use of temporary stop notices, giving councils greater freedom to prevent unauthorised traveller sites being set up.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Bar Council Calls for Consultation on Government Plans to Opt Out of EU Criminal Justice Measures – The Bar Council

Posted October 8th, 2012 in barristers, consultations, criminal justice, EC law, press releases, warrants by sally

“The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has called on the Government to issue a full public consultation on its proposals to opt out of more than 130 EU criminal justice measures, including the European Arrest Warrant.”

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The Bar Council, 5th October 2012

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Draft Code of Practice for Adult Conditional Cautions – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 4th, 2012 in cautions, codes of practice, consultations, news by sally

“This consultation paper invites views from interested parties on the draft Code of Practice for Adult Conditional Cautions under Part 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Code of Practice makes provision for conditional cautions as a means of dealing with adult offenders in certain circumstances as an alternative to prosecution. It has been revised to reflect the changes to conditional cautions made by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. It also sets out in clearer language certain elements of the existing Code of Practice.”

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Ministry of Justice, 4th October 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Draft Code of Practice for Youth Conditional Cautions – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 4th, 2012 in cautions, codes of practice, consultations, news, pilot schemes, young offenders by sally

“This consultation paper invites views from interested parties on the draft Code of Practice for Youth Conditional Cautions under Section 48 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (that amends the Crime and Disorder Act 1998).Currently youth conditional cautions are only available for 16 and 17 year olds in five pilot areas.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 4th October 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Government should have consulted Child Poverty Commission on welfare strategy – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 2nd, 2012 in consultations, judicial review, news, ultra vires by sally

“The government had acted unlawfully by removing the Child Poverty Commission, an advisory body set up under the Child Poverty Act 2010 . They had also acted beyond their powers by preparing a child poverty strategy without having requested and having regard to the advice of that Commission. But government is free to formulate new policy and as such there was nothing irrational about the strategy itself.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd October 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

DPP invites responses to proposed new guidance on driving offences – Crown Prosecution Service

“Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, has today launched a public consultation on guidance about the most serious driving offences, including death by careless or dangerous driving.”

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Crown Prosecution Service, 27th September 2012

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Police should face fewer dangerous driving prosecutions, says CPS – The Guardian

“Fewer prosecutions should be brought against police, fire brigade and ambulance staff who commit driving offences while responding to emergencies, according to draft guidance issued by the Crown Prosecution Service on Thursday.”

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The Guardian, 27th September 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk