Child slavery victims ‘falling through cracks’ as Home Office delays support promised four years ago – The Independent

‘The Home Office has been criticised for allowing thousands of child trafficking victims to “fall through the cracks” by failing to implement a policy designed to protect them for four years after it first pledged to do so.’

Full Story

The Independent, 5th March 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

HS2: Chris Packham launches legal challenge to rail link – BBC News

Posted March 4th, 2020 in budgets, climate change, delay, environmental protection, news, railways by sally

‘TV naturalist Chris Packham has launched a legal challenge to HS2 high-speed rail link.’

Full Story

BBC News, 3rd March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Whiplash reforms delayed as MoJ removes claimants’ safety net – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Justice secretary Robert Buckland QC MP has finally confirmed that the RTA portal for whiplash claims is being delayed.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 27th February 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Grenfell public inquiry delayed again over evidence concerns – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2020 in accidents, criminal justice, delay, evidence, fire, inquiries, negligence, news by sally

‘The Grenfell Tower public inquiry has been delayed again over demands from companies involved in the disastrous refurbishment that their evidence should not be used to help jail them.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 23rd February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Inadequate time estimates a “problem” in Commercial Court – Litigation Futures

Posted February 19th, 2020 in Commercial Court, delay, news, sanctions by sally

‘Parties under-estimating the time required to argue applications in the Commercial Court – especially where the parties seek a Friday listing – is a “significant current problem”, a judge has warned.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 19th February 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Council to review decision on admission of summer-born child after criticism from LGO – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 19th, 2020 in children, delay, education, families, local government, news, ombudsmen, school children by sally

‘Warwickshire County Council has said it will review its decisions in two cases in which it denied parents’ requests for deferred summer-born children to start school in reception class rather than year one after receiving criticism from the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 18th February 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Clinical negligence and PI costs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 17th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, compensation, costs, delay, negligence, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Following the decision in I v Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust (25 February 2019), applications for a further interim payment on account of costs have become common in high-value clinical negligence and personal injury claims where there is likely to be substantial delay before quantum can be determined by the court. In the recent decision in RXK v Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 2751 (QB), Master Cook observed that there was no decision of the High Court on the principle of whether such applications are well founded and have an adequate judicial basis in the rules and/or the authorities. Thus, the master took the opportunity in RXK to provide guidance ‘in the hope that such applications would be better prepared in future’.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 17th February 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Barristers warn of strain on defendants after Caroline Flack death – The Guardian

‘The death of the Love Island presenter Caroline Flack has prompted questions about the way the justice system deals with allegations of domestic abuse and the strains imposed on defendants.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 16th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

New setback in race to begin whiplash reform in April – Legal Futures

‘The Civil Procedure Rule Committee last week put off approving the rules for the new whiplash portal until next month, it is understood, making the April start-date all-but impossible.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 10th February 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Crown court sitting days increase ‘nowhere near enough’ – criminal bar – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 5th, 2020 in barristers, criminal justice, Crown Court, delay, news, statistics by tracey

‘The criminal bar has welcomed the thousands of extra Crown court sitting days announced by the government this week but says it is not even close to what is needed.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 5th February 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MP launches new legal bid to allow asylum seekers to work after six months – The Independent

Posted February 5th, 2020 in asylum, bills, delay, immigration, news, time limits by tracey

‘Asylum seekers who have waited more than six months for a decision on their claim would be given the right to work under a new bill brought forward in parliament.’

Full Story

The Independent, 5th February 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘I wanted to forget the past – but I couldn’t’: How modern slavery victim was left in limbo for five years by Home Office – The Independent

‘He arrived in the UK nearly a decade ago after an “uncle” – the term he uses for older men of his nationality – helped him escape the violence, labour exploitation and sexual abuse he was subjected to for most of his childhood. He has since been saved from his exploiters, but faced a different challenge – the battle for protection from the Home Office.’

Full Story

The Independent, 4th February 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Criminal record checks system still broken, say campaigners – The Guardian

Posted February 4th, 2020 in criminal records, delay, news, vetting by sally

‘Legal rights campaign groups have described as a “disgrace” the government’s delay in reforming the criminal record checks system.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 30th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Out of time but not out of mind – Nearly Legal

‘We saw the High Court in this case take an incredibly strict approach to homelessness section 204 appeal timescales (our report), deciding that seeking legal aid representation could not be a good reason for filing an appeal out of time because, well, the substance of any appeal should be obvious to an unrepresented homeless applicant. We expressed considerable doubts about the realism of this decision at the time. Now, as it turns out, the Court of Appeal has had similar doubts.’

Full Story

Nearly Legal, 2nd February 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Applicant wins Court of Appeal battle over whether difficulty finding legal advisers was “good reason” for delay in homelessness appeal – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling that the fact a homeless applicant was unrepresented and seeking legal aid was not a “good reason” for delay in bringing an appeal under s.204 of the Housing Act 1996 against an adverse review decision under the homelessness provisions of that Act.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 31st January 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

How do you balance the prejudice between parties when one party could be left with an undefendable claim? – Parklane Plowden

‘HHJ Freedman, the Designated Civil Judge in Newcastle, had to grapple with this in the case of Mitchell v Precis 548 Ltd [2019] EWHC 3314 (QB). HHJ Freedman had to decide whether to accede to the request of a First Defendant in the proceedings as to whether to vacate a trial 2 days before it was due to start.’

Full Story

Parklane Plowden, 24th January 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

What evidence does the adjudicator find useful when considering delay? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted January 21st, 2020 in causation, construction industry, delay, news by sally

‘White Constructions, a developer, engaged a sewer designer (“IWS”) and water servicing coordinator (“SWC”) to design a sewerage solution that complied with New South Wales regulations. The initial design was rejected by the relevant authorities, but a second design was later submitted and accepted. Subsequently, White Constructions brought proceedings against IWS and SWC for failing to produce a sewer design acceptable to the relevant authority within a reasonable time period, submitting that this failure caused delay to the completion of the project and thereby led to significant additional costs. At trial, the parties were each permitted to engage their own experts to assess the alleged delay. White Construction’s expert used an ‘as planned versus as-built windows analysis’, stipulating that there had been a serious delay of 240 days. The Defendants’ expert used a ‘collapsed as-built (or “but-for”) analysis’, demonstrating that there had been, at most, a 19-day delay. However, neither evidences were used by the Court because the they seen as not being appropriate for the case. Instead, the Court appointed a third expert whose evidence was preferred. The Court found that no breach had been established and so damages were not awarded.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 16th January 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Insurance claims – Reservation of rights & Late payment by insurers – Where are we now? – 4 New Square

Posted January 16th, 2020 in damages, delay, insurance, news by sally

‘Knowing when and how an insurer’s rights should be reserved is a key skill for anyone involved in handling insurance claims. Listen to this podcast to hear Alison Padfield QC’s thoughts on this controversial issue, together with an outline of the new legislation on damages for late payment of claims by insurers – and why she thinks the two topics might be linked.’

Full Story

4 New Square, 14th January 2020

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Victims waiting up to three years for justice amid cuts – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 14th, 2020 in criminal justice, delay, news, sentencing by sally

‘Victims of crime are having to wait up to three years for offenders to be sentenced as the length of time it takes to bring a criminal to justice has soared by more than a third in the past decade.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 12th January 2020

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Serious crime victims wait longer for justice after court days cut – The Guardian

Posted January 13th, 2020 in budgets, courts, delay, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics, victims by tracey

‘Victims of serious crime now wait almost a year-and-a-half for the suspects to go on trial while judges sit “idle” after the government cut their sitting days – despite Guardian analysis finding almost half of all crown courtrooms in England and Wales are empty each day.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 13th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com