New lord chancellor prioritises parole transparency review – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 10th, 2018 in Ministry of Justice, news, parole by sally

‘Less than 24 hours after the prime minister handed the justice brief to solicitor David Gauke as part of a cabinet reshuffle, the new lord chancellor says he has begun the process of making parole decisions more transparent.’

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Law Society's Gazette, January 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MoJ spending huge sums on consultants to help deliver digital courts – The Guardian

Posted January 4th, 2018 in contracting out, courts, internet, judiciary, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice is spending tens of millions of pounds on management consultants to help deliver online and digital court programmes that are designed to save money and improve access to justice.’

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The Guardian, 2nd January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

MoJ formally rules out review of legal regulation and complete independence for regulators – Legal Futures

‘The current framework of legal regulation is “inconsistent”, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) accepted today, but said it could not commit to the formal review sought by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and others.’

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Legal Futures, 19th December 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Three judges sue Ministry of Justice for race discrimination – The Guardian

‘Three judges from black and Asian backgrounds are suing the Ministry of Justice for race discrimination and victimisation, the Guardian has learned.’

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The Guardian, 19th December 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Improving UK Competitiveness, Strengthening the Rule of Law – Ministry of Justice

‘Dominic Raab addressed guests at the Policy Exchange in London for the launch of the Linklaters report ‘The Rule of Law: everyone has a part to play’.’

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Ministry of Justice, 7th December 2017

Source: www.gov.uk

Ministry of Justice staff lay out their complaints, with significant levels of discrimination and bullying – Legal Futures

Posted December 11th, 2017 in bullying, civil servants, employment, harassment, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics by sally

‘One in seven civil servants at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) claim that they have faced discrimination in their job, and one in eight say they have been bullied or harassed.’

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Legal Futures, 8th December 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Unreliable forensic toxicology tests – next steps – Family Law

‘Family analysis: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced that it is treating some hair strand test results as potentially unreliable. Maud Davis, partner at TV Edwards LLP looks at what this could mean for proceedings involving children where there was a reliance on hair strand testing, and suggests next steps for family practitioners advising in this area.’

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Family Law, 7th December 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

New courts planned to hear super-wealthy battle over finances – Daily Telegraph

‘Divorce battles among the super wealthy will be heard in separate courts under a plan to make the system more efficient, the head of the family court has announced.’

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Daily Telegraph, 4th December 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Justice minister pours cold water on growing calls to fund early legal advice – Legal Futures

Posted December 6th, 2017 in budgets, legal aid, legal services, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘The government yesterday damped down hopes that it would consider funding greater access to early legal advice.’

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Legal Futures, 6th December 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Elite prison squad deployed to jails 580 times last year – The Guardian

‘An elite group of specially trained prison officers had to be deployed to jails in England and Wales 580 times last year, figures show.’

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The Guardian, 6th December 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Dodgy drug test results – what should I do? – Transparency Project

‘On 21 November the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal’s Service issued advice for those concerned about potentially unreliable forensic toxicology (drug) tests in some family cases. The advice also relates to criminal trials, but this post looks at the issue for people who have been involved with a family court case and who are worried that the test results may have been dodgy.’

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Transparency Project, 23rd November 2017

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Guidance on unreliable or manipulated forensic toxicology tests – Family Law

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has released guidance for those concerned about potentially unreliable forensic toxicology tests. This follows police investigations into the potential manipulation of forensic toxicology test results at two private companies, Trimega Laboratories Limited and Randox Testing Services. The test results were used as expert evidence in England and Wales. The guidance includes examples which aim to help people understand where toxicology tests may have been used as part of decision making in court cases, and provides advice for those who believe their case may have been adversely affected by manipulated test results.’

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Family Law, 24th November 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

MoJ reveals massive budget cut as new advice deserts open – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 20th, 2017 in budgets, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘The deeply worrying scale of the budgetary pressures bearing down on the Ministry of Justice is laid bare in new figures which will dampen already faint hopes of public funding reform. In a written parliamentary answer, justice minister Dominic Raab revealed that the MoJ will have suffered a cumulative 40% real terms cut in its budget over the fiscal decade ending in 2020.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 20th November 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Ministry of Justice abandons court battle on prisoners’ legal aid – The Guardian

Posted November 8th, 2017 in appeals, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons by tracey

‘Legal aid for prisoners will be restored for three key categories of claims after the Ministry of Justice abruptly abandoned what was expected to become a supreme court battle.’

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The Guardian, 7th November 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Serious Fraud Office zeros in on large-scale fraud as prosecutions for other offences fall – The Independent

‘As the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) increasingly focuses on large-scale frauds, the overall number of fraud prosecutions in the UK is falling, new figures show.’

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The Independent, 5th November 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Government: ‘now is not the right time’ for review of marriage law – Family Law

‘The Government has informed the Law Commission that ‘now is not the right time’ for a full review of marriage law.’

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Family Law, 27th October 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Violence and self-harm in UK prisons continue to surge – The Guardian

‘Violence in prisons has increased to record levels, according to new figures released by the Ministry of Justice, with 27,193 incidents of assault and serious assault in the year to June 2017.’

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The Guardian, 26th October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Justice in jeopardy: government defies backlash to confirm ‘reckless’ legal aid cuts – Law Society Gazette

‘The government is to press ahead with reform of legal aid fees paid to solicitors in criminal cases – despite 97% of submissions to a consultation vehemently opposing the plans. Representative bodies have this afternoon condemned the decision as ‘reckless’, claiming it places justice in jeopardy.’

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Law Society Gazette, 24th October 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Ministry of Justice begins process of refunding £33m in employment tribunal fees – Litigation Futures

Posted October 23rd, 2017 in employment tribunals, fees, Ministry of Justice, news, repayment by sally

‘The government expects to refund £33m to employment tribunal claimants after the Supreme Court ruled tribunal fees unlawful.’

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Litigation Futures, 20th October 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Senior judge warns over ‘shaming’ impact of legal aid cuts – The Guardian

‘One of the most senior family court judges has warned about the impact of legal aid cuts and said it was “shaming” to preside over cases in which individuals are forced to represent themselves.’

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The Guardian, 13th October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com