Electronic signatures “largest area of change” for property industry – Legal Futures

Posted February 18th, 2022 in conveyancing, delay, electronic filing, housing, news by sally

‘The use of electronic signatures has been the “single largest area of change” in technology for the property industry over the past 18 months, a survey has found.’

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Legal Futures, 16th February 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Greater Sentencing Power for Magistrates – A Solution to the Backlog? – Pump Court Chambers

‘It was confirmed on 18 January 2020 that Magistrates are to have their sentencing powers increased in the coming months, granting them broader power than ever before. The most significant change is that Magistrates’ will be able to impose a sentence of up to 12 months in custody which is double the previous maximum sentence. Effectively, this means that Magistrates will be able to accept jurisdiction for more serious either way offences, such as for Fraud, Theft or Assault, which would have originally been sent to the Crown Court without giving the Defendant the option to elect to remain in the Magistrates’.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 7th February 2022

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

Identifying and Proving Breach of Duty Relating to Ambulance Response Time – Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog

Posted February 7th, 2022 in causation, chambers articles, delay, duty of care, hospitals, news by tracey

‘When you call for an ambulance, you generally want it now. To you, it’s an emergency and an emergency requires an immediate response.

The reality of a modern NHS generally and Ambulance Trusts specifically mean that such an expectation is rarely met. Thankfully, in the vast majority of cases the timing of the arrival of the paramedic is of no real consequence. More important to outcome can be what happens once the paramedic alights from the ambulance and attends to the patient, how long it takes from that point until admission to A&E or the unit to which the patient is taken for necessary specialist care. These latter issues can all have a bearing on the timing, the quality and the nature of care received by the patient.’

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Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog , 3rd February 2022

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk

Flight compensation overhaul for domestic airline passengers – The Independent

‘The days of £220 payouts to delayed passengers who have paid only £30 for a domestic flight may soon be over. The Department for Transport (DfT) is consulting on proposals to overhaul the European air passengers’ rights rules for flights within the UK.’

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The Independent, 31st January 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sri Lankan man left in immigration limbo for decades can stay in UK – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2022 in appeals, delay, deportation, government departments, immigration, news by tracey

‘A man who came to the UK to train as an accountant almost 40 years ago and was left homeless after a catalogue of Home Office delays has finally been granted leave to remain months before his 70th birthday.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

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

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

End-to-end encryption protects children, says UK information watchdog – The Guardian

Posted January 21st, 2022 in children, data protection, delay, internet, news, ombudsmen, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘The UK data watchdog has intervened in the debate over end-to-end encryption, warning that delaying its introduction puts “everyone at risk” including children.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

MoJ threatened with fine over huge data request backlog – Legal Futures

Posted January 20th, 2022 in data protection, delay, fines, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has threatened to fine the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) if it fails to deal with thousands of outstanding subject access requests (SARs).’

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Legal Futures, 19th January 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Raab defends plan to double magistrates’ sentencing powers – The Independent

Posted January 18th, 2022 in courts, delay, imprisonment, magistrates, news, sentencing by tracey

‘The Justice Secretary has dismissed criticism of plans to double magistrates’ sentencing powers in a bid to tackle the backlog of cases waiting to be dealt with by criminal courts.’

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The Independent, 18th January 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Magistrates to get power to jail offenders for a year – BBC News

Posted January 18th, 2022 in courts, delay, imprisonment, magistrates, news, sentencing by tracey

‘Magistrates in England and Wales will have greater sentencing powers to enable them to take on more cases, under plans to clear court backlogs.’

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BBC news, 18th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Payout offers over Post Office IT scandal sent to less than third of applicants – The Guardian

‘Less than a third of Post Office workers who applied for compensation under a government scheme in the wake of the Horizon IT scandal have received a payout offer, almost 17 months after it closed, MPs have been told.’

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The Guardian, 11th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ombudsman finds London borough guilty of severe maladministration in handling of complaint about leak – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 12th, 2022 in compensation, delay, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, ombudsmen, repairs by tracey

‘A Housing Ombudsman investigation has found complaint handling failures at the London Borough of Ealing that amounted to severe maladministration, in a case in which a resident had to wait six years for a leaking roof to be replaced.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th January 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Appeal judges shut door on single-stage flight claims – Legal Futures

Posted January 5th, 2022 in airlines, appeals, compensation, delay, EC law, interpretation, news by sally

‘The flight delay compensation industry has suffered a blow after appeal judges rejected a claim over a four-stage flight from the US to India that was delayed when leaving Heathrow.’

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Legal Futures, 5th January 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Grenfell Tower survivors say criminal charges are taking too long – BBC News

Posted December 16th, 2021 in delay, fire, health & safety, inquiries, news, prosecutions by sally

‘Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have demanded charges against those responsible for the disaster.’

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BBC News, 15th December 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Covid not good enough reason for solicitors missing court deadline – Legal Futures

Posted December 6th, 2021 in coronavirus, delay, law firms, negligence, news, striking out, time limits by sally

‘The disruption caused by Covid last year was not a good enough excuse for a law firm missing a deadline to file amended particulars of claim by four months, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 6th December 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Remand inmates in England and Wales ‘facing second Christmas behind bars’ – The Guardian

‘Some defendants will be facing “a second Christmas behind bars without the opportunity to prove their innocence”, a legal charity has warned, as the number of remand prisoners in England and Wales detained longer than the legal custody limit continues to rise.’

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The Guardian, 1st December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Grace period in a time of Covid – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 1st, 2021 in asylum, coronavirus, delay, deportation, detention, housing, human rights, immigration, news by sally

‘In R (Babbage) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 2995 (Admin), the Claimant applied for judicial review, claiming that his immigration detention from 27 February 2020 to 29 April 2021 had been unlawful and/or that there was a public law error relating to the delay in the provision of s.4 accommodation. Soole J gave a potentially significant judgment concerning the ambit of the “grace period” for locating s.4 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 accommodation, i.e. accommodation provided to failed asylum seekers. The judge also made some apposite comments concerning the requirement for appropriate evidence in unlawful detention claims from the relevant decision maker.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th November 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Windrush: Home Office has compensated just 5% of victims in four years – The Guardian

‘Just 5% of Windrush victims have received compensation four years after the scandal emerged, according to a damning report by cross-party MPs which called for the scheme to be taken out of Home Office control.’

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The Guardian, 24th November 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

England’s austerity-hit courts losing days of work to collapsing ceilings, broken lifts and Arctic conditions – The Independent

‘England’s courts are so run-down they are losing days of work to collapsing ceilings, broken lift and Arctic conditions, the Lord Chief Justice has said.’

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The Independent, 16th November 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk