‘Separating elderly couples against their wishes when one or both move to care homes must end, Britain’s most senior family judge has said.’
BBC News, 10th May 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A 95-year-old man who tried to kill his wife has been spared jail because the judge said it was “an exceptional case”.’
BBC News, 25th April 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Older people who have moved into retirement leasehold properties could be being hit with unfair fees worth thousands of pounds, according to the Law Commission.’
Law Commission, 31st March 2017
Source: www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission
‘Judges should be allowed to sit beyond the age of 70 to ease the growing problem of judicial recruitment, the UK’s most senior judge, Lord Neuberger, has said.’
The Guardian, 29th March 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Ofcom has slammed telecom providers for offering landline-only customers poor value for money, as it unveiled plans to force BT, the dominant provider, to cut bills by at least £5 a month, benefiting about 2.3 million people.’
The Guardian, 28th February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘More than 23,000 allegations of abuse by home care workers against elderly and vulnerable people were made in the last three years, yet just 15 people were prosecuted as a result, new figures show.’
Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2017
Source; www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Watchdog Ofcom will force BT to cut phone bills of 2m customers by at least £5 per month, saying competition has failed a “vulnerable” group of elderly customers.’
Daily Telegraph, 28th February 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Practitioners involved in a high-profile Court of Protection case have spoken out after it emerged that a 71-year-old woman jailed for contempt had been fighting to let her brother spend his remaining months in his country of birth.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 20th February 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘More than a decade has passed since the Mental Capacity Act (‘MCA’) received royal assent. Described as a ‘visionary piece of legislation’, the MCA was a significant landmark on the legal landscape. It represented a triumph of autonomy by recognising that, as far as possible, people should play an active role in decisions about their welfare. At the core of the MCA is the fundamental principle that a person must be assumed to have decision making capacity unless it is established that he lacks it. The law therefore assumes that everyone has the ability to act and take decisions in accordance with their own interests, and affords primacy to individual priorities over paternalistic imperatives. Where a person lacks capacity – whether for reasons of learning disability, dementia, brain injury, or some other impairment of or disturbance in the functioning of the mind or brain – the MCA permits decision-makers to act on behalf of the person in accordance with his ‘best interests’. This means that, amongst other things, decision-makers must take into account the person’s past and present wishes and feelings, his beliefs and values, and any other factors that the person would be likely to consider, in order to act in a way which would likely give expression to the person’s autonomy. In this way, the MCA sought to empower people to make decisions for themselves, protect the vulnerable from the excesses of paternalism, and engineer a cultural shift in attitudes to mental impairment and incapacity.’
OUP Blog, 17th January 2017
Source: www.blog.oup.com
‘A party-loving admin assistant who was accused of conning pensioners out of more than £2million by selling fraudulent shares has been banned from directing a company but will not face criminal charges.’
Daily Telegraph, 16th January 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Prosecutors are due to open their case against television entertainer Rolf Harris, who will follow his sex attack trial remotely.
Daily Telegraph, 11th January 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘A 101-year-old man – thought to be the oldest defendant convicted in England and Wales – has been found guilty of a string of historical child sex offences.’
BBC News, 16th December 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Former TV entertainer Rolf Harris will not have to attend his sex attack trial in person because of his age and health, a judge has ruled.’
BBC News, 15th December 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A 101-year-old man facing more than 30 historical child sex offences has become the oldest defendant in British legal history.’
The Independent, 6th December 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Holocaust survivor who said living in a care home reminded her of being back in a Nazi concentration camp has been given special permission by a court to return home despite her frail condition.’
Daily Telegraph, 1st December 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The upper age limit for jurors in England and Wales will be raised from 70 to 75, government ministers have announced.’
The Independent, 13th November 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The number of cases in relation to adult care could rise with local authorities struggling to cope with a funding gap, it has been claimed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 8th November 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Council cuts to care in England are so severe there is a real risk families may take legal action, experts say.’
BBC News, 8th November 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Is it ever too late to prosecute historic allegations? Richard Jory QC and Sam Jones consider whether it’s time for a rethink.’
Counsel, November 2016
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
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