The legality of the new minimum income requirement – EIN Blog

Posted February 1st, 2024 in families, human rights, news, remuneration, social security by sally

‘The recently announced plan to increase the minimum income requirement (MIR) to £38,700 led to widespread criticism, with the government appearing to exclude all but the affluent from establishing family life in the UK. This has led to a partial policy shift, with it now announced that the threshold to sponsor a spouse will not rise to this amount until 2025, with an interim rise to £29,000 taking place in the Spring. Nonetheless, even this lower amount will be unaffordable to many families, raising questions about the compatibility of the rise with Convention rights. In R (MM) Lebanon v SSHD [2017] UKSC 10 the Supreme Court found that the initial MIR, set at £18,600, was lawful. In this post, I will highlight two key problems with the judgment, along with the failure of the MIR to restrict the social security entitlement of many affected families: the MIR’s primary justification.’

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EIN Blog, 31st January 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

The legality of the new minimum income requirement – EIN Blog

‘The recently announced plan to increase the minimum income requirement (MIR) to £38,700 led to widespread criticism, with the government appearing to exclude all but the affluent from establishing family life in the UK. This has led to a partial policy shift, with it now announced that the threshold to sponsor a spouse will not rise to this amount until 2025, with an interim rise to £29,000 taking place in the Spring. Nonetheless, even this lower amount will be unaffordable to many families, raising questions about the compatibility of the rise with Convention rights. In R (MM) Lebanon v SSHD [2017] UKSC 10 the Supreme Court found that the initial MIR, set at £18,600, was lawful. In this post, I will highlight two key problems with the judgment, along with the failure of the MIR to restrict the social security entitlement of many affected families: the MIR’s primary justification.’

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EIN Blog, 31st January 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Valdo Calocane: CPS to be investigated over handling of Nottingham killer case – The Guardian

‘Prosecutors are to be investigated for their handling of the Valdo Calocane case, including their decision to accept his manslaughter pleas, the attorney general has announced.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office transforms the landscape – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 29th, 2024 in employment, families, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘The Home Office has announced significant measures to reduce legal migration to the UK, following the latest statistics showing record net migration figures for 2023. They will likely be implemented during Q2 2024, although the exact timeframe is yet to be finalised. They will significantly increase the costs to employers who wish to sponsor overseas workers and affect British citizens and settled persons in the UK looking to bring family here.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th January 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Austerity contributing to rise in children in care – head of Family Court – BBC News

‘Austerity has contributed to a rise in the number of children in care, the most senior judge in the family courts has told the BBC.’

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BBC News, 29th January 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government announces early legal advice pilot for separating couples – Legal Futures

‘The government is to launch a pilot of early legal advice for separating couples to judge what impact it could have to speed up a resolution.’

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Legal Furures, 26th January 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Nottingham attacks: attorney general considering killer’s sentence for review – The Guardian

‘The attorney general is considering whether judges should review the sentence of the Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane after receiving a submission that it could be unduly lenient.’

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The Guardian, 26th January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Scope of duty since Khan v Meadows – Law Pod UK

‘Rachel Marcus and Marcus Coates-Walker of 1 Crown Office Row join Lucy McCann to explore the principle of the scope of duty in the context of clinical negligence claims. First by analysing the decision in Khan v Meadows [2021] UKSC 21 and then discussing how the courts have grappled with scope of duty issues since.’

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Law Pod UK, 25th January 2024

Source: audioboom.com

High Court judge gives guidance on use of intermediaries in Family Court – Local Government Lawyer

‘The High Court has given guidance on the use of intermediaries in the Family Court, in a case concerning a 2-and-a-half year old girl, which was in week 127 at the hearing last month.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th January 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Wiltshire father pleads guilty to killing baby daughter – BBC News

‘The father of a three-month old baby girl who died of fatal head injuries has admitted killing her.’

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BBC News, 16th January 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Housing and Children Act – homeless 17 year olds – Nearly Legal

Posted January 15th, 2024 in children, duty of care, families, homelessness, housing, local government, news by tracey

‘A couple of brief notes on two judicial reviews on housing, the Children Act 1989 and “looked-after children”.’

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Nearly Legal, 14th January 2024

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Court of Appeal moves to reaffirm “wide and flexible powers” of family court in care case – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has allowed a Guardian’s appeal against a family judge’s conclusion that she did not have jurisdiction to grant an injunction.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th January 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Derby City Council to pay compensation over SEND student delays – BBC News

‘Derby City Council has been ordered to pay thousands in compensation after it took too long to arrange alternative education for a special needs student.’

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BBC News, 14th January 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Use and Misuse of the Rubric in the Family Courts – Financial Remedies Journal

Posted January 12th, 2024 in anonymity, children, families, family courts, judgments, news, reporting restrictions by sally

‘In a familiar line of cases of which the first was BT v CU [2021] EWFC 87, [2022] 1 WLR 1349, paras [100]–[114], and the last In re PP (A Child: Anonymisation) [2023] EWHC 330 (Fam), [2023] 4 WLR 48, paras [49]–[62], and Augousti v Matharu [2023] EWHC 1900 (Fam), paras [68]–[93], Mostyn J has explosively ignited a most necessary debate about the anonymisation of judgments in financial remedy cases. Part of his compelling analysis – which, so far as I am aware, no-one has yet succeeded in challenging successfully – relates to the use, or as he would have it, the inveterate misuse of the rubric attached to judgments in such cases.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 8th January 2024

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

We all die: what are doctors’ duties to shield families from the sight of death? – Mental Capacity Law and Policy

‘In Paul and another v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2024] UKSC 1, the Supreme Court had to decide whether (and, if so, when) an individual can make a claim for psychiatric injury caused by witnessing the death or other horrifying event of a close relative as a result of earlier clinical negligence. In dismissing the three conjoined appeals, a majority of the Supreme Court held that, while doctors owe a duty of care to protect the health of their patients, they do not owe a duty of care to members of the patient’s close family to protect them against the risk of illness from the experience of witnessing the death or medical crisis of their relative from a condition which the doctor has negligently failed to diagnose or treat.’

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Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 11th January 2024

Source: www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk

Almost half of family courts to allow reporting in England and Wales – BBC News

Posted January 12th, 2024 in anonymity, families, family courts, media, news, pilot schemes, reporting restrictions by sally

‘A pilot scheme to allow journalists and legal bloggers to report cases from three family courts in England and Wales is to be extended to almost half of the courts in the countries.’

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BBC News, 12th January 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court of Appeal examines procedural unfairness in EEA family permit case and holds FTT acted unfairly on remittances – EIN Blog

Posted January 10th, 2024 in appeals, families, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has held that the FTT had acted unfairly during the hearing of an appeal against the SSHD’s refusal of Dahir Elmi Abdi, Ubah Elmi Abdi and Mahrez Sharif Hassan’s applications for EEA family permits by failing to give them and their brother Ashkir Elmi Abdi, an EEA national on whom they claimed to be financially dependent, an opportunity to address the point on which it dismissed their appeal, i.e. the remittances demonstrating dependence did not come from him, based on a calculation showing that his declared income in the UK could not have supported the amounts he claimed to have sent, and therefore they were not financially dependent on him.’

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EIN Blog, 10th January 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Interim removal of children – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 8th, 2024 in appeals, care orders, children, drug abuse, families, local government, news by tracey

‘A recent Court of Appeal authority is a useful case for family practitioners to have in their toolkit, particularly those representing parents facing applications for interim removal of their children, writes Malvika Jaganmohan.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th January 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Revealed: police refusing requests for background checks on violent partners – The Guardian

Posted January 8th, 2024 in disclosure, domestic violence, families, news, police, statistics, violence by tracey

‘Police in England and Wales are leaving people at risk of domestic abuse by refusing to release information on suspected violent partners, the Observer can reveal, with one force declining 95% of requests for checks.’

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The Guardian, 6th January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

CDE v Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust; the material contribution elephant in the room – 12 King’s Bench Walk

‘Andrew Roy KC considers the implications of the Court of Appeal’s recent decision CDE v Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust [2023] EWCA Civ 1330 in respect of the vexed and important issue of material contribution.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 22nd November 2023

Source: clinicalnegligence.blog