Number of pupil barristers rebounds after Covid-related slump -Legal Futures

Posted January 28th, 2022 in barristers, coronavirus, diversity, news, pupillage, statistics, women by tracey

‘The number of pupil barristers has rebounded after the pandemic sent it crashing, while women increasingly dominate the junior end of the Bar, new figures have shown.’

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Legal Futures, 28th January 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Met Police seeks limits to Sue Gray No 10 parties report – BBC News

Posted January 28th, 2022 in coronavirus, government departments, inquiries, news, parliament, police, reports by tracey

‘The Metropolitan Police has asked senior civil servant Sue Gray to make “minimal reference” to events they are investigating in her report.’

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BBC News, 28th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Campaign seeks to recruit 4,000 lay magistrates in England and Wales – The Guardian

Posted January 25th, 2022 in coronavirus, criminal justice, delay, magistrates, minorities, news, recruitment by sally

‘Adults in England and Wales are being encouraged to apply online via “a revised, streamlined recruitment process” to become a lay magistrate, in an effort to tackle a backlog of criminal cases caused by the pandemic.’

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The Guardian, 24th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Louise Smith death: Covid-19 restrictions ‘could have prevented appropriate support’ – BBC News

‘A teenager killed in a “sexually-motivated” murder did not receive appropriate support after reporting being raped, a review has found.’

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BBC News, 25th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Criminal prosecution delays hit record 708 days – BBC News

‘Delays in prosecuting suspected criminals have hit a record 708 days for the average time it takes to go from offence to completion of a case.’

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BBC News, 20th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government defeats High Court challenge to ending of ‘Everyone In’ initiative – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 20th, 2022 in coronavirus, government departments, homelessness, housing, judicial review, news by tracey

‘A High Court judge has dismissed a judicial review challenge over the Government’s to end the ‘Everyone In’ initiative that was launched to get rough sleepers off the streets during the pandemic.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th January 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Covid denier fined for filming in Gloucester hospital – The Guardian

Posted January 20th, 2022 in coronavirus, fines, harassment, hospitals, news, threatening behaviour, video recordings by tracey

‘A woman acting as a “guerrilla journalist” when she filmed inside a hospital in an attempt to prove her belief that lockdown measures were disproportionate has been convicted of a public order offence.’

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The Guardian, 19th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Met Police facing legal action over ‘failure’ to probe Downing Street Christmas party – The Independent

‘The Metropolitan Police is facing legal action if it fails to investigate reports of the Downing Street Christmas party in 2020, according to campaigners.’

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The Independent, 19th January 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Covid ‘sham’ woman fined for filming in Gloucester hospital – BBC News

Posted January 19th, 2022 in coronavirus, fines, harassment, hospitals, news, threatening behaviour, video recordings by michael

‘A woman who twice filmed inside a hospital during lockdown in an attempt to prove Covid-19 was a “sham” has been fined £929.’

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BBC News, 19th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High court to hear claims Sarah Everard vigil ban breached human rights – The Guardian

‘Women’s rights activists are at the high court to argue that the police’s decision to ban a vigil for Sarah Everard in London was a breach of their human rights.’

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The Guardian, 19th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Self-Employment Support Scheme appeal dismissed – UK Human Rights Blog

‘R. (on the application of Motherhood Plan) v HM Treasury [2021] EWCA Civ 1703. In a judgment handed down on 24 November 2021, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal concerning the lawfulness of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (“the Scheme”) which was introduced by the Government in April 2020 during the first lockdown as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th January 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Appeal court overturns ‘unlawful’ ruling over Covid contract for Cummings friends – The Independent

Posted January 18th, 2022 in appeals, contracts, coronavirus, news, public procurement by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that a Covid contract given to a company whose founders were friends of former Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings was unlawful.’

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The Independent, 18th January 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK data watchdog warns No 10 staff not to erase messages amid party probe – The Independent

‘The UK’s data watchdog has warned that it is important “official records are kept” as Downing Street staff face an investigation over allegations of lockdown-breaking.’

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The Independent, 13th January 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Met police won’t investigate alleged No 10 lockdown party – The Guardian

‘The Metropolitan police will not investigate alleged parties held at Downing Street in apparent breach of lockdown rules unless an upcoming inquiry finds evidence of criminality.’

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The Guardian, 13th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid: Government’s PPE ‘VIP lane’ unlawful, court rules – BBC News

Posted January 13th, 2022 in coronavirus, judicial review, news, protective equipment, public procurement by tracey

‘The government’s use of a “VIP lane” to award contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) to two companies was unlawful, the High Court has ruled.’

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BBC News, 12th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Video-witnessed wills extended until 2024 – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Legislation introduced during the pandemic allowing wills to be witnessed over Zoom and Skype will be extended until January 2024, the government announced today.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court of Protection authorises vaccination of autistic boy despite parental objections – Local Government Lawyer

‘The benefits of vaccination against Covid-19 for a child with autism, severe learning disability and asthma “significantly outweigh” the possible risks, the Court of Protection has found, despite objections from the boy’s parents.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th January 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The Farquhar Committee and the Future of the Financial Remedies Court – Family Law

’23 March 2020 will be etched in the mind of generations. It was the day which brought unprecedented change to the way the world worked, not least the operation of the justice system and access to justice. Like many areas of law, the Financial Remedies Court [‘FRC’], was not prepared for the sudden and abrupt suspension of attended hearings, yet advances in technology quickly enabled the FRC to get back to work, albeit, at least to begin with, in a totally alien way for many. The use of remote hearings as a way of administering justice has now been the norm for over 20 months, and as the world begins to cautiously ‘get back to normal’, the question on the minds of all those practicing within the FRC is “what does the new normal look like?”’

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Family Law, 7th January 2022

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Children: Public Law Update (Winter 2022) – Family Law Week

‘John Tughan QC of 4PB considers recent judgments that public law child lawyers need to know about.’

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Family Law Week, 7th January 2022

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Remote hearings: the HMCTS evaluation – Transparency Project

Posted January 5th, 2022 in consultations, coronavirus, HM Courts Service, news, remote hearings, statistics by sally

‘Last month HM Courts and Tribunals Service published their own research into user experiences of remote hearings: Evaluation of remote hearings during the COVID 19 pandemic. The report analyses responses to surveys conducted between May and October 2020 with public users of the justice system and in mid-2021 with professionals such as lawyers, judges and court staff.’

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Transparency Project, 4th January 2022

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk