Motorway middle lane ‘hoggers’ and careless drivers to face on-the-spot £100 police fines – The Independent

“Drivers who hog the middle lane of the motorway or tailgate other drivers could face on-the-spot fines of £100 and three points on their licences under new measures announced by the government.”

Full story

The Independent, 5th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe calls for tougher action on drivers who use their mobile phone at the wheel – The Independent

“Britain’s most senior police officer has backed higher penalties for drivers who use their mobile phone at the wheel.”

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The Independent, 29th March 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Privacy and data protection developments in 2013: Google, Facebook, Leveson and more – Panopticon

Posted March 15th, 2013 in data protection, EC law, enforcement, internet, news, penalties, privacy, regulations, reports by tracey

“Data protection law was designed to be a fundamental and concrete dimension of the individual’s right to privacy, the primary safeguard against misuse of personal information. Given those ambitions, it is surprisingly rarely litigated in the UK. It also attracts criticism as imposing burdensome bureaucracy but delivering little in the way of tangible protection in a digital age. Arguably then, data protection law has tended to punch below its weight. There are a number of reasons for this.”

Full story

Panopticon, 11th March 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Serious offenders could face bigger penalties under new environmental sentencing proposals – Sentencing Council

Posted March 15th, 2013 in environmental health, fines, penalties, press releases, sentencing, waste by tracey

“New proposals for how environmental offenders like fly-tippers should be sentenced have been launched today by the Sentencing Council.”

Full press release

Sentencing Council, 14th March 2013

Source: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk

Divorcing couples often hide assets, survey suggests – BBC News

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in disclosure, dispute resolution, divorce, news, penalties by sally

“Many people going through divorce could be hiding their wealth from their partners, a survey suggests.”

Full story

BBC News, 22nd February 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Deferred Prosecution Agreements – Sir Anthony Hooper, Former Lord Justice of Appeal – Fulcrum Chambers

Posted January 29th, 2013 in bribery, company law, deferred prosecution agreements, negligence, news, penalties by sally

“Since the early 90s US prosecuting authorities have been using deferred prosecution agreements. They are said to raise about $2.5bn a year in penalties, often in respect of criminal activities with little connection to the US. A deferred prosecution agreements involves the filing in court of agreed charges against a corporation, subject to a condition that the charges will not be pursued if the corporation complies with the often stringent terms of the agreement for a specified period. Such terms will include the payment of substantial sums to reflect broadly the fine that would have been paid had the corporation pleaded guilty and to reflect the confiscation and compensation regimes. Corporations are likely also to have to agree to the appointment of a monitor to ensure their adherence to proper standards of behaviour.”

Full story

Fulcrum Chambers, January 2013

Source: www.fulcrumchambers.com

Central London NHS Trust: key points from the Tribunal’s first MPN case – Panopticon

Posted January 21st, 2013 in appeals, data protection, hospitals, news, penalties, tribunals by sally

“Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust v IC (EA/2012/00111) concerned the first monetary penalty notice (MPN) to be appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal. The Trust’s appeal has been dismissed by the Tribunal (Professor Angel, Rosalind Tatam and Paul Taylor).”

Full story

Panopticon, 17th January 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

The duty of fidelity and penalty clauses; Imam-Sadeque –v- BlueBay Asset Management (Services) Ltd [2012] EWHC 3511 (QB) – Employment Law Blog

Posted December 14th, 2012 in compromise, contract of employment, news, penalties, shareholders by tracey

“In Imam-Sadeque –v- Bluebay Asset Management (Services) Ltd Popplewell J had to consider the scope of an employee’s duty of fidelity.”

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Employment Law Blog, 13th December 2012

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

31 days later: Failure to comply with s 213 of the Housing Act 2004 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 11th, 2012 in deposits, housing, landlord & tenant, news, penalties by sally

“The Tenancy Deposit Scheme came into force on 6th April 2007. After the Court of Appeal handing down a number of controversial ‘landlord friendly’ judgments on the meaning of ss 213-215 of Housing Act 2004 (‘the Act’), Parliament amended these provisions by s 184 of the Localism Act 2011 (‘2011 Act’). The amendments came into force on 6 April 2012. Since this date, there is a tough new world out there for unorganised or inexperienced landlords. This article seeks to set out what is required by landlords and what happens when things go wrong.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 30th November 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Army disciplinary hearings condemned as ‘kangaroo courts’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 22nd, 2012 in armed forces, disciplinary procedures, news, penalties, reports by tracey

“Army disciplinary hearings have been condemned as unaccountable ‘kangaroo courts’ in a damning report submitted to MPs that calls for a ‘root and branch overhaul’ of the system.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 22nd November 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

 

Fewer than a quarter of infringers would be put off by internet access suspension threat, Ofcom report says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 21st, 2012 in copyright, crime prevention, internet, news, penalties, statistics by sally

“Fewer than one in four UK internet users that engaged in copyright infringing activity during a three month period earlier this year said they would be put off from repeating the offence if they knew they would receive a letter to tell them that their internet access was to be suspended as a result of the behaviour, according to a new study commissioned by Ofcom.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 20th November 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Leniency for legal whistleblowers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 1st, 2012 in consultations, news, penalties, professional conduct, solicitors, whistleblowers by sally

“Whistleblowers involved in misconduct will face more lenient penalties under proposals being considered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 31st October 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Child maintenance powers ’emasculated’ after court ruling – Daily Telegraph

“Absent parents who fail to support their children may no longer be threatened with jail after a court ruling against a Government body set up to pursue them.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 31st October 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Data protection laws breached by Government over public consultation security flaw, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

“The Department for Education (DfE) was guilty of a breach of UK data protection laws when a ‘temporary security flaw’ meant that personal information belonging to respondents to one of its consultations were ‘compromised’, the UK’s data protection watchdog has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 19th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Companies can challenge regulator’s calculation of fines for anti-competitive behaviour under new procedure – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 18th, 2012 in appeals, competition, fines, news, penalties by sally

“Organisations that face being fined for breaching UK competition law will be able to challenge the level of penalty being proposed or the way the fine has been calculated under a new procedure outlined by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 18th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Benefit fraud convictions rise after officials get new powers – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 17th, 2012 in benefits, fraud, news, penalties, prosecutions, repayment by tracey

“New figures show the level of fraud convictions have risen by more than 40 per cent amid a new crackdown on benefit cheats.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 17th October 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Professional fines may be tax deductable, tribunal finds – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 12th, 2012 in corporation tax, fines, news, penalties by sally

“The McLaren racing team is entitled to claim a corporation tax reduction in respect of a £32 million fine levied by the motor racing governing body because the fine was not a criminal penalty imposed by statute, a tribunal has held.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 11th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Charity served with monetary penalty notice – Panopticon

Posted October 11th, 2012 in charities, data protection, fines, news, penalties, social services by sally

“Today (10 October), the Commissioner served – for the first time – a monetary penalty notice on a charity. The charity in question, Norwood Ravenswood Ltd, is a social care charity. One of its social workers had attempted to deliver to the home of prospective adopters certain background reports containing highly confidential sensitive personal data on four young children. Finding the couple out, and unable to fit the package through the letterbox, the social worker left the package in a concealed area at the side of the house. When the prospective adopters returned home, the package had disappeared. It was never recovered.”

Full story

Panopticon, 10th October 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Victims to pick offenders’ punishment, Home Secretary says – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 9th, 2012 in crime, news, penalties, restorative justice, victims by sally

“Victims of crime will be able to decide how offenders are punished, under new proposals outlined by Home Secretary Theresa May today.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 9th October 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Treasury Committee suggests higher fines and criminal sanctions for LIBOR manipulation – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 21st, 2012 in banking, financial regulation, fines, news, penalties, reports, select committees by sally

“Higher fines for firms that fail to co-operate with regulators and potential criminal sanctions for benchmark manipulation have been suggested by the Treasury Select Committee in a report responding to alleged manipulation of market rates by major banks.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 21st August 2012

Source: www.out-law.com