Category: ombudsmen

Tech firms face tougher online age checks – Ofcom – BBC News

Posted May 8th, 2024 in children, codes of practice, internet, media, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘Ofcom has warned social media sites they could be banned for under-18s if they fail to comply with new online safety rules. The media regulator has published a children’s safety draft codes of practice, which requires social media firms to have more robust age-checking measures, and Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes warned any company that broke them could have their minimum user age raised to 18.’

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BBC News, 8th May 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Pension Ombudsman highlights importance of clear fee information – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 30th, 2024 in fees, news, ombudsmen, pensions by tracey

‘A recent UK Pension Ombudsman (PO) case flags the importance of pension firms providing clear and accurate fee information to savers from the outset. However, the case highlights that it is not the PO’s role to decide whether fees charged are reasonable or fair.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th April 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Prisoner facing deportation had lack of care plan – BBC News

Posted April 30th, 2024 in deportation, imprisonment, mental health, news, ombudsmen, self-harm, suicide by tracey

‘A prisoner facing deportation to Lithuania was segregated for 52 days with no care plan before his suicide, an investigation found. Karolis Baltrunas, 31, was found to have taken his own life on 27 August 2020 at HMP The Mount in Hertfordshire, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, external.’

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BBC News, 29th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

City college loses JR over Ofsted ‘good’ rather than ‘outstanding’ rating – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 26th, 2024 in disciplinary procedures, education, judicial review, local government, news, ombudsmen, school children by sally

‘The High Court has rejected a judicial review claim brought by a City Technology College, which challenged a decision by Ofsted to rate the leadership and management at the school as ‘good’, rather than ‘outstanding’.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th April 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility in Action: The Advertising Standards Authority bans a Toyota SUV advert for not being prepared with a sense of social responsibility – Francis Taylor Building

Posted April 26th, 2024 in advertising, chambers articles, company law, complaints, environmental protection, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘In November 2023, the Advertising Standards Authority (“the ASA”) made the unprecedented decision to ban two Toyota SUV advertisements on the basis that they had “not been prepared with a sense of responsibility to society.”’

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Francis Taylor Building, 21st March 2024

Source: www.ftbchambers.co.uk

‘Outdated and offensive’: police in England and Wales barred from blaming restraint deaths on ‘excited delirium’ – The Guardian

Posted April 22nd, 2024 in death in custody, drug abuse, mental health, news, ombudsmen, police, racism by sally

‘The police watchdog for England and Wales has removed a controversial medical term from its incident forms after claims it plays into racist stereotypes and detracts attention from police brutality.’

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The Guardian, 20th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Terror watchdog condemns WhatsApp for lowering UK users’ minimum age to 13 – The Guardian

Posted April 19th, 2024 in children, internet, news, ombudsmen, telecommunications, terrorism, young persons by sally

‘The UK’s terror watchdog has criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta for lowering the minimum age for WhatsApp users from 16 to 13, warning that the “extraordinary” move could expose more teenagers to extreme content.’

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The Guardian, 18th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lee Marsons: Developing an Ombuds Human Rights Practice – Essex Constitutional and Administrative Justice Initiative

Posted April 17th, 2024 in complaints, human rights, local government, maladministration, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The core function of public services ombuds is to investigate complaints from individuals about “maladministration” by public bodies which has caused injustice. But ombuds have developed several other important functions designed to improve people’s experiences of public services. For example, as seen in the Council of Europe’s 2019 Venice Principles, ombuds are developing a role ensuring that public bodies do not neglect human rights.’

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Essex Constitutional and Administrative Justice Initiative, 15th April 2024

Source: essexcaji.org

Political ads could be heading to UK TV screens due to legal loophole – The Guardian

Posted April 15th, 2024 in advertising, media, news, ombudsmen, political parties by tracey

‘ITV is considering taking paid ads from parties on its streaming platform where ban does not apply’

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The Guardian, 14th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK has real concerns about AI risks, says competition regulator – The Guardian

Posted April 12th, 2024 in artificial intelligence, competition, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘Just six major technology companies are at the heart of the AI sector through an “interconnected web” of more than 90 investments and partnerships links, the UK’s competition regulator has warned, sparking increased concern about the anti-competitive nature of the technology.’

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The Guardian, 11th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Recent Ombudsman determinations on pension scams – Pensions Barrister

Posted April 11th, 2024 in fraud, news, ombudsmen, pensions by sally

‘Paul Newman KC looks at some recent Ombudsman decisions on pensions scams, which illustrate the difficulties for complainants to establish due diligence failures by the administrators of transferring schemes.’

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Pensions Barrister, 11th April 2024

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

Met Police refers itself to watchdog after woman fatally stabbed in Westminster home – The Independent

Posted April 10th, 2024 in delay, missing persons, murder, news, ombudsmen, police, professional conduct by sally

‘Scotland Yard has referred itself to the police watchdog after officers waited until the next morning to respond to calls and then found a woman stabbed to death.’

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The Independent, 9th April 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Katie Price low calorie diet advert for Skinny Food banned – BBC News

Posted April 3rd, 2024 in advertising, complaints, food, health, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘An advert posted by Katie Price on Instagram, which promoted a low calorie diet for The Skinny Food Co, has been banned by the advertising watchdog.’

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BBC News, 3rd April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

British Museum investigated over Ethiopian artefacts hidden from view for 150 years – The Guardian

Posted April 3rd, 2024 in disclosure, freedom of information, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘The information watchdog is investigating the British Museum over claims it has been overly secretive about some of the most sensitive items in its collection – a group of sacred Ethiopian altar tablets that have been hidden from view at the museum for more than 150 years.’

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The Guardian, 31st March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Nationwide TV ads starring Dominic West banned as misleading – The Guardian

Posted April 3rd, 2024 in advertising, banking, building societies, complaints, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘Adverts featuring the actor Dominic West as a sneering bank manager will be pulled from TV in their current form after the advertising watchdog ruled they were misleading because they wrongly suggest that the building society had not closed branches.’

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The Guardian, 3rd April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

ICO unveils new data protection fining guidance – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 25th, 2024 in data protection, fines, news, ombudsmen, privacy by tracey

‘The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published new guidance setting out how it will determine penalty notices and calculate fines under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd March 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Thousands of UK women owed pension payout after ombudsman’s Waspi ruling – The Guardian

Posted March 22nd, 2024 in compensation, government departments, news, ombudsmen, pensions by sally

‘Thousands of women, potentially hundreds of thousands, are owed compensation because of government failings related to the way changes to the state pension age were made, a long-awaited official report has said.’

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The Guardian, 21st March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Supermarket’s ‘cheapest Christmas dinner’ advert ruled misleading – The Independent

Posted March 20th, 2024 in advertising, complaints, food, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘A national press advert for Aldi claiming the discounter was the “home of Britain’s cheapest Christmas dinner” misled consumers, a watchdog has ruled.’

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The Independent, 20th March 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

CMA investigation into UK vet market could have big implications for investors – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 18th, 2024 in animals, competition, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘The UK’s competition watchdog is to launch an in-depth investigation into the veterinary market due to concerns over poor competition and limited consumer choice, the outcome of which could have direct implications on buy-and-build investors in the sector, commercial and competition law experts have said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th March 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

HMP Woodhill: Prison staff made insufficient checks on inmate found dead – BBC News

Posted March 18th, 2024 in children, death in custody, domestic violence, families, family courts, imprisonment, mental health, murder, news, ombudsmen, prisons, suicide by tracey

‘Prison staff failed to properly check on a prisoner the morning he was found dead, the prisons ombudsman has ruled.’

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BBC News, 18th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk