Ep 143: Henry VIII Powers undermining parliamentary supremacy – Law Pod UK

‘In this episode, Rosalind English discusses with Sarabjit Singh and Isabel McArdle of 1 Crown Office Row a number of laws containing “Henry VIII” powers which allow ministers to avoid full parliamentary debate.’

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Law Pod UK, 4th May 2021

Source: audioboom.com

Landmark Domestic Abuse Bill receives Royal Assent  – Home Office

‘The Bill provides protection to millions of people who experience domestic abuse and strengthens measures to tackle perpetrators.’

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Home Office, 29th April 2021

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

‘A hugely retrograde step’: Cross-party MPs attack Home Office plans to lock up more trafficking survivors – The Independent

‘Cross-party MPs have attacked Home Office plans that will see more trafficking survivors locked up in immigration detention and threatened with removal, warning that it is a “hugely retrograde step”.’

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The Independent, 29th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Boy wins case against Home Office policy of no recourse to public funds – The Guardian

Posted April 30th, 2021 in benefits, children, government departments, immigration, news by tracey

‘A five-year-old boy has won a case against the Home Office as high court judges declared the government’s “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) policy unlawful for the second time in a year because it drives some families into destitution and breaches the duty to safeguard child welfare. Thousands of children living in poverty are likely to benefit from the ruling.’

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The Guardian, 29th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Grenfell survivors condemn ‘grave injustice’ as leaseholders left facing huge bills to remove cladding – The Independent

Posted April 30th, 2021 in accidents, bills, building law, fire, government departments, housing, leases, loans, news, victims by tracey

‘Survivors and bereaved relatives from the Grenfell Tower fire disaster say they are furious after parliament voted for measures that will leave householders facing huge bills for removing dangerous cladding from homes.’

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The Independent, 29th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Sham’: 200 groups criticise UK government consultation on refugee policy – The Guardian

‘Almost 200 organisations have branded a government consultation on fundamental changes to refugee policy “a sham”. A total of 192 refugee, human rights, legal and faith groups have signed a public statement condemning the six-week consultation on the government’s New Plan for Immigration as “vague, unworkable, cruel and potentially unlawful”.’

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The Guardian, 30th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

PM can be challenged in court over Priti Patel bullying decision, hearing rules – The Guardian

‘Boris Johnson’s decision to back Priti Patel and disregard the findings of his adviser on ministerial standards that the home secretary had bullied staff can be challenged in court, a hearing has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 27th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Nicholas Reed Langen: Confronting Climate Change in the Courts – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘Talk is cheap. Governments, particularly wealthy, western ones, have been quick to make promises on climate change. They swear blind that they understand the threat the world faces, and that they will implement a policy response commensurate with it. Few nations have adopted this rhetoric as determinedly as the UK, with the British government promising to transform the UK into a net-zero country by 2050, an oath enshrined in law through the passing of the Climate Change Act 2008 (Order 2019) by Parliament in the summer of 2019.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th April 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Grenfell: Government defeated on fire safety costs bill – BBC News

‘The government has been defeated for a fourth time on its Fire Safety Bill as the House of Lords voted to shield residents from fire safety work costs.’

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BBC News, 27th April 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

I suffered faith-based conversion therapy – Boris Johnson’s religious loophole is deeply worrying – The Independent

‘By creating exemptions in legislation to ban conversion therapies, we leave thousands of young people vulnerable to abuse. I can no more cure my sexuality than I can scrub the brown from my skin.’

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The Independent, 28th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Dropping of stalkers’ register from bill an ‘insult to victims’ – The Guardian

‘Ministers have been accused of misleading and insulting victims after a push by a cross-party group of peers to create an automatic register of dangerous domestic abusers and stalkers was dropped.’

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The Guardian, 27th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office Windrush decision was irrational, holds High Court – EIN Blog

Posted April 27th, 2021 in citizenship, colonies, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘Hubert Howard was born in 1956 and came to the United Kingdom in 1960, aged almost 4 from Jamaica. He was part of the Windrush Generation. No doubt like all West Indians of that time, including my parents, he thought he was a British Citizen.’

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EIN Blog, 27th April 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Home Office to resume evicting some asylum seekers ‘with immediate effect’ – The Guardian

Posted April 27th, 2021 in asylum, coronavirus, government departments, homelessness, housing, news by sally

‘The Home Office is starting the process of evicting some asylum seekers from their accommodation “with immediate effect” after a pause of almost a year because of the pandemic, according to internal documents seen by the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 27th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

JR reform backlash intensifies – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Widespread relief that the panel tasked with conducting an independent review of administrative law did not recommend wholesale reform of judicial review proved short-lived when the lord chancellor revealed that the report was just a “starting point”. It quickly became apparent that the government wants to go much further than Lord Faulks’ recommendations.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th April 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Home Office unlawfully refused Windrush citizens status over minor criminal records, High Court rules – The Independent

‘Windrush victims have been unlawfully denied British citizenship on the grounds of minor criminal records, the High Court has ruled. In a judgement handed down on Friday, the Home Office was found to have wrongly imposed the “good character” requirement on Windrush cases, which led to people who have been in Britain for decades being refused citizenship on the basis of minor convictions.’

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The Independent, 24th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

New inquiry to be launched into civil servants taking second jobs – The Guardian

‘A new inquiry will be launched into civil servants taking second jobs, likely leading to officials facing tougher scrutiny after the Greensill scandal, the Guardian has learned.’

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The Guardian, 25th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

EU countries rule out bilateral asylum deals in blow to Priti Patel’s immigration plans – The Independent

Posted April 26th, 2021 in asylum, brexit, deportation, EC law, government departments, immigration, news, refugees by tracey

‘n a major blow to Priti Patel’s immigration plans, EU countries have said they will not strike bilateral agreements with Britain to facilitate the deportation of refugees to Europe.’

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The Independent, 26th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Report condemns Home Office failures at barracks used to house asylum seekers – The Guardian

‘The full scale of Home Office failures in managing former military sites as makeshift accommodation for asylum seekers is laid bare in a raft of damning documents seen by the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 23rd April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

High court to hear legal battle over UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia – The Guardian

Posted April 23rd, 2021 in government departments, news, sale of goods, Saudi Arabia, war, war crimes, weapons by sally

‘Anti-arms trade campaigners have been given permission to challenge in the high court the UK government’s decision to resume the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia that could be used in the war in Yemen.’

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The Guardian, 22nd April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Parliament’s power needs to be restored after its ‘shocking’ marginalisation by government – UCL Constitution Unit

‘The Constitution Unit has jointly written a briefing to all MPs – summarised in a letter in the Times published on 21 April 2021 – with the Hansard Society, Public Law Project and Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law warning that parliamentary accountability and control over decisions have diminished to a degree that would have been unthinkable before COVID-19. Individual MPs have also been shut out of participation, and the vast majority of Commons votes are now held by party whips.’

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UCL Constitution Unit, 21st April 2021

Source: www.ucl.ac.uk