Category: news

Sexual abuse in School – Adopting a zero-tolerance approach – 3 Hare Court

Posted September 8th, 2021 in abuse of position of trust, chambers articles, child abuse, children, disciplinary procedures, equality, human rights, news, school children, sexual offences, statistics, statutory duty, universities by sally

‘In April this year, thousands of anonymous reports were shared by students on Everyone’s Invited, a website which encourages young survivors of sexual abuse to share their stories. After these reports were received, Everyone’s Invited decided to name the schools implicated in these accounts. Of the 2,962 schools identified, 2,556 are secondary schools and 406 primary schools and 119 universities. To date, in excess of 51,000 testimonies have been shared on the site.’

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3 Hare Court, 1st September 2021

Source: www.3harecourt.com

When a case is described finely balanced, how important are the children’s expressed wishes and feelings? Dorset Council v M & Ors (Removal : Balance of Harm) [2021] EWFC B43 – Transparency Project

Posted September 8th, 2021 in adoption, care orders, children, families, family courts, fostering, local government, news by sally

‘Every case is fact specific but what makes cases like this interesting is seeing what it was that made the Judge’s decision fall on the opposite side of the line to the professionals when the decision is said to be “finely balanced” and “on a knife edge”.’

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Transparency Project, 7th September 2021

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Web cookies rules could be set for shake-up – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 8th, 2021 in brexit, data protection, government departments, internet, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘Rules requiring cookie consent pop-ups on websites could be in for a shake-up following a move by the data watchdog which is likely to feature in government plans to reform data protection laws.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 7th September 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

What does the UK elections bill set out? – The Guardian

Posted September 8th, 2021 in bills, elections, government departments, identification, identity fraud, news by sally

‘The elections bill, which will be debated in the Commons for the first time on Tuesday, is, according to the government, an ambitious and timely set of plans to ensure elections remain fair and secure. To critics, it is undemocratic and intended to rig elections in favour of the Conservatives. So what does the bill set out?’

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The Guardian, 7th September 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

First Tier Tribunal wrongly struck out landlord penalty appeal after solicitor failed to pay hearing fee, Upper Tribunal rules – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 8th, 2021 in appeals, fees, housing, landlord & tenant, licensing, local government, news, penalties, solicitors, time limits, tribunals by sally

‘A private landlord will have her appeal of a £7,000 penalty for failure to license a house in multiple occupation (HMO) decided by a different judge after it was initially refused by the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) because her solicitor failed to pay the hearing fee on time, the Upper Tribunal has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th September 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Darlington man jailed for four years for killing woman during sex – The Guardian

Posted September 8th, 2021 in homicide, imprisonment, news, sentencing, sexual offences, women by sally

‘A man who strangled a vulnerable woman during sex after drinking 24 bottles of beer has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.’

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The Guardian, 7th September 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Education Secretary and local authorities threatened with legal challenge over approach to vulnerable children and school attendance – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 8th, 2021 in children, coronavirus, disabled persons, education, families, government departments, local government, news, school children by sally

‘The Good Law Project (GLP) has written to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, threatening legal action if he fails to issue guidance that protects vulnerable children and families as schools reopen.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th September 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Inquiry Finds Religious Groups Are Failing Over Child Sex Abuse – Each Other

Posted September 8th, 2021 in abuse of position of trust, child abuse, children, Christianity, human rights, inquiries, Islam, Judaism, news, Sikhism by sally

‘UK religious groups have been accused of “shocking failings” and “blatant hypocrisy” in the way they handle child sex abuse allegations, according to the findings of a recent inquiry.’

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Each Other, 7th September 2021

Source: eachother.org.uk

Woman refused 5pm finish wins £185,000 payout – BBC News

Posted September 8th, 2021 in damages, employment, employment tribunals, equality, families, flexible working, news, sex discrimination by sally

‘Alice Thompson wanted to work shorter hours to pick her daughter up from nursery, but ended up resigning.’

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BBC News, 7th September 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Former CPS solicitor rebuked for offensive Facebook posts – Legal Futures

Posted September 8th, 2021 in Crown Prosecution Service, disciplinary procedures, internet, news, professional conduct, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘ A solicitor who shared a petition from far-right group Britain First on her Facebook page while working for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).’

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Legal Futures, 7th September 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Man jailed for driving a car half a mile on railway track in Birmingham – The Guardian

Posted September 8th, 2021 in dangerous driving, imprisonment, news, sentencing by sally

‘A man has been jailed for 15 months after driving a car half a mile down a railway track, causing passenger delays of up to eight hours.’

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The Guardian, 7th September 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ministry of Justice to press ahead with fixed costs expansion – Legal Futures

Posted September 7th, 2021 in Civil Justice Council, consultations, costs, judicial review, Ministry of Justice, news, noise, personal injuries by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) yesterday confirmed that it will implement Sir Rupert Jackson’s blueprint for fixed recoverable costs (FRC) across the fast-track and in most money cases worth up to £100,000.’

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Legal Futures, 7th September 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Public inquiry begins into plans for new coalmine in Cumbria – The Guardian

Posted September 7th, 2021 in climate change, energy, environmental protection, inquiries, news by sally

‘There is dwindling support for proposals to build the UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 years in Cumbria, say campaigners, as a public inquiry into the mining plans gets under way.’

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The Guardian, 7th September 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK Supreme Court clarifies scope of ‘lawful act economic duress’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 7th, 2021 in contracts, duress, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘A recent decision by the UK’s highest court has clarified the circumstances in which a party to a commercial contract is entitled to rescind that contract on the grounds of ‘economic duress’ under English law.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th September 2021

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

High Court dismisses £2.7m law firm negligence claim – Legal Futures

Posted September 7th, 2021 in law firms, negligence, news, summary judgments by sally

‘The High Court has granted summary judgment in favour of a law firm and its senior partner and dismissed a £2.7m negligence claim.’

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Legal Futures, 7th September 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Stevenage Christopher Hewett murder: Teen sentenced for manslaughter – BBC News

Posted September 7th, 2021 in murder, news, sentencing, young offenders by sally

‘A teenager convicted of manslaughter after a father-of-two was stabbed to death has been sentenced to five years in a young offenders institution.’

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BBC News, 6th September 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hospital admits liability for baby’s death after ignoring mother’s concerns – The Guardian

Posted September 7th, 2021 in birth, hospitals, negligence, news, pregnancy by sally

‘A hospital has admitted liability for the death of a baby who was delivered stillborn three days after his mother’s complaints of fluid loss and severe pain were dismissed as wetting the bed.’

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The Guardian, 6th September 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Saturday musings: the Charity Commission and “political” campaigning – Law & Religion UK

Posted September 6th, 2021 in bills, charities, Charity Commission, elections, news, political parties by tracey

‘The Runnymede Trust is a charitable think-tank focused on race equality and race relations in the UK. The Charity Commission opened a compliance case in April 2021 after complaints about the Trust’s response to the report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (“the CRED report”) and the trustees’ decision to work with the Good Law Project to challenge certain public appointments. The Commission also noted the appearance of a senior executive of Runnymede at an event organised by a political party, alongside several elected representatives and affiliated speakers. The issue, in short, was whether the Trust was engaging in party-political activity, contrary to charity law – and the Commission has concluded that the Trust has not broken the law. So far, not much obviously to do with “religion” – but read on.’

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Law & Religion UK, 4th September 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Late service charge demands and the importance of contemplating forfeiture for recovering legal costs – Nearly Legal

Posted September 6th, 2021 in appeals, costs, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges by tracey

‘This was a second appeal to the Court of Appeal from the Upper Tribunal on two issues arising from long running litigation between the freeholder, West India Quay and the head lessee, East Tower Apartments (ETAL) on the arrangements for and charging for utilities for the residential parts of the building (a 33 storey tower, including a hotel). The initial proceedings brought by ETAL had gone through the FTT and the Upper Tribunal and had resulted in a significant reduction in charges. For our purposes, the relevant part of these decisions where that ‘Switch 2) – the utility provider – had levied “standing charges” (actually costs for reading meters and preparing bills) from 2008 onwards. The freeholder had included these charges in the utility charge to the lessee. The FTT had found that they were not recoverable, as there had never been “a contractually valid demand for them as service charges, and it was not open to the Landlord to “re-allocate” them as general service charge.”’

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Nearly Legal, 5th September 2021

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Misconduct in public office – ECtHR reviews foreseeability of common law offence – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 6th, 2021 in appeals, disclosure, freedom of expression, human rights, media, misfeasance in public office, news, prison officers, prisons, professional conduct by tracey

‘On 6 July 2021 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) published its judgment in the case of Norman v UK (Application no. 41387/17). The case concerned Mr Robert Norman, an officer at Belmarsh prison, who in 2015 was convicted of misconduct in public office for passing a variety of information to a tabloid journalist in exchange for money. The ECtHR found that, in Mr Norman’s case, the offence itself did not constitute a breach of Article 7 ECHR (no punishment without law): Mr Norman’s conduct was sufficiently serious for it to have been foreseeable that it would constitute a criminal offence. The ECtHR also found that the newspaper’s disclosure of Mr Norman’s activities to the police, and his subsequent prosecution and conviction, did not breach his rights under Article 10 ECtHR (freedom of expression).’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th September 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com