Category: quality assurance

David Bedenham Discusses HMRC’s Alcohol Wholesalers Registration Scheme that Commences on 1 October 2015 – 11 KBW

Posted September 7th, 2015 in customs and excise, delay, fraud, HM Revenue & Customs, licensing, news, quality assurance, standards, VAT by sally

‘Alcohol duty fraud costs the treasury an estimated £1 billion per annum. HMRC has stated that
‘the wholesale sector is the major point where illicit alcohol is diverted by organised criminals into retail supply chains…this link in the supply chain is vulnerable because it is the only activity not required to be authorised by HMRC…Introducing a requirement for wholesalers to register with HMRC will address this and reduce opportunities for fraud.’’

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11 KBW, 4th September 2015

Source: www.11kbw.com

Shipman reforms ‘could have saved Furness General Hospital babies’ – BBC News

Posted September 7th, 2015 in children, documents, hospitals, inquests, inquiries, murder, news, pilot schemes, quality assurance by sally

‘Baby deaths at an NHS hospital could have been prevented if reforms recommended after the Harold Shipman case were made, it has been claimed.’

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BBC News, 5th September 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina (Lumsdon and others) v Legal Services Board – WLR Daily

Posted June 30th, 2015 in advocacy, appeals, barristers, EC law, judicial review, law reports, Legal Services Board, proportionality, quality assurance, Solicitors Regulation Authority, standards, Supreme Court by sally

Regina (Lumsdon and others) v Legal Services Board [2015] UKSC 41; [2015] WLR (D) 270

‘The decision of the Legal Services Board to approve the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (“QASA”), introduced by the regulators to assess the performance of criminal advocates in England and Wales, complied with the requirements of article 9 of Parliament and Council Directive 2006/123/EC and regulation 14 of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2999), and was proportionate and lawful.’

WLR Daily, 24th June 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Supreme Court on EU and ECHR proportionality – back to basics – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 29th, 2015 in advocacy, appeals, barristers, EC law, human rights, limitations, news, proportionality, public interest, quality assurance, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court has reminded us, in a tour de force by Lord Reed, that there is no such thing as one-stop proportionality. It varies between ECHR and EU law, and the tests of EU proportionality then vary according to the nature of the EU issue in play.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 27th June 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

NHS patient safety fears as health watchdog scraps staffing guidelines – The Guardian

Posted June 5th, 2015 in budgets, health & safety, hospitals, news, ombudsmen, quality assurance, standards by tracey

‘The NHS has been accused of backtracking on improvements to patient safety brought in after the Mid Staffordshire hospital scandal in an effort to tackle its escalating financial problems. The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) watchdog has unexpectedly scrapped work to set out how many nurses are needed in different parts of hospitals to ensure safe patient care.’

Full story

The Guardian, 4th June 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Keep legal executives out of the Crown Court, Rivlin report demands – Legal Futures

Posted April 1st, 2015 in advocacy, barristers, competition, Crown Court, legal education, legal executives, legal profession, McKenzie friends, news, quality assurance, rights of audience, solicitors by sally

‘A report for the Bar Council on the future of criminal justice and advocacy has recommended that legal executives are kept out of the Crown Courts, while solicitors should only be granted rights of audience if they have undergone the same level of training as barristers.’

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Legal Futures, 31st March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Barristers’ regulator asks QCA to consider QC re-accreditation – Bar Standards Board

Posted March 24th, 2015 in barristers, criminal justice, news, quality assurance, queen's counsel by sally

‘The barristers’ regulator, the Bar Standards Board (BSB), has today formally asked that Queen’s Counsel Appointments (QCA) considers developing a system of re-accrediting criminal silks.’

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Bar Standards Board, 23rd March 2015

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Barristers’ regulator lobbies for QC re-accreditation – Legal Futures

Posted March 24th, 2015 in barristers, criminal justice, news, quality assurance, queen's counsel by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has issued a formal request to Queen’s Counsel Appointments (QCA) – the body which runs the annual silk round – to consider developing a system of re-accrediting criminal QCs as “it is not in the public interest to exempt QCs from quality assurance”.’

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Legal Futures, 24th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Some CPS barristers ‘lack flair’, says inspection report – BBC News

Posted March 20th, 2015 in advocacy, barristers, Crown Prosecution Service, quality assurance, reports by tracey

‘Too many Crown Prosecution Service barristers lack “presence, self-confidence and flair” in Crown Court trials, a report has said. The CPS Inspectorate found that CPS barristers in England and Wales were in danger of “losing” the jury because of how they presented cases. Standards of CPS advocacy had taken a “step backwards” over the past three years, the report said.’

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Full report

BBC News, 19th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

QC status “should be extended” beyond barristers and solicitors – Legal Futures

Posted March 18th, 2015 in barristers, legal profession, legal representation, news, quality assurance, queen's counsel, solicitor advocates by sally

‘QC status should be available to all advocates appearing in the higher courts, whether or not they are barristers or solicitors, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.’

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Legal Futures, 18th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Largest NHS trust put in special measures after damning CQC report – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2015 in hospitals, news, quality assurance, reports by sally

‘The NHS’s largest hospital trust in England is being put into special measures after inspectors uncovered an array of serious problems at one of its hospitals, including poor A&E care, a lack of staff, poor morale and a culture of bullying and harassment.’

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The Guardian, 17th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Baby deaths inquiry: NHS criticism expected – BBC News

Posted March 3rd, 2015 in birth, doctors, health, hospitals, midwives, news, quality assurance, reports by sally

‘Failures at a maternity unit where a number of newborn babies and mothers died are expected to be exposed later.’

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BBC News, 3rd March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supreme Court to hear QASA appeal – but rejects claim of threat to advocate independence – Legal Futures

Posted February 13th, 2015 in advocacy, appeals, barristers, news, proportionality, public interest, quality assurance by tracey

‘The barristers challenging the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates have today been granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court declined permission to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s finding that the principle of independence of the advocate was not infringed by QASA, saying it did not have a real prospect of success.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 12th February 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Whistleblowing: ‘It’s still not safe for us to speak out’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 12th, 2015 in doctors, health, news, nurses, quality assurance, reports, whistleblowers by sally

‘Whistle-blowers say Sir Robert Francis’s report fails to offer enough protection to staff to who speak out and will not encourage others to come forward.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th February 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Pledge to end locking up mentally ill in police cells – BBC News

Posted January 19th, 2015 in detention, hospitals, mental health, news, police, quality assurance, statistics by tracey

‘Authorities in England have pledged to bring an end to the practice of detaining people with mental health problems in police cells. The NHS, councils and police are now set to come up with plans for how they will achieve this, the government said.’

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BBC News, 18th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Bar Council warns on potential “cost to quality” from CPD move – Legal Futures

Posted December 4th, 2014 in barristers, continuing professional development, news, quality assurance by sally

‘The Bar Council has warned of a potential “cost to quality”, following an announcement from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) that from next month it will only accredit CPD providers, and not individual courses.’

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Legal Futures, 4th December 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Mental health NHS trusts ranked for risk of poor care – BBC News

Posted November 21st, 2014 in hospitals, mental health, news, quality assurance by tracey

‘Health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has ranked almost every mental health NHS trust in England in terms of risk of providing poor care.’

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BBC News, 20th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Covert care camera guidance approved by Care Quality Commission – BBC News

Posted November 20th, 2014 in care homes, closed circuit television, codes of practice, elderly, negligence, news, quality assurance, video recordings by tracey

‘Guidance for people who install hidden cameras to check on standards of their own or a relative’s care has been approved by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).’

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BBC News, 19th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hundreds of GPs face urgent Care Quality Commission checks – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 18th, 2014 in doctors, news, quality assurance by sally

‘Almost 900 practices across Britain – more than one in 10 – deemed most likely to be failing patients by Care Quality Commission.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th November 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Yarl’s Wood: Undercover tour of detention centre with dreadful reputation for its treatment of asylum seekers – The Independent

Posted November 17th, 2014 in asylum, delay, deportation, detention, health, human rights, immigration, mental health, news, quality assurance, standards by sally

‘The Detention Centre in Bedfordshire – privately run, but publicly funded – has a dreadful reputation for its treatment of asylum seekers. Cole Moreton found a way inside to see if its notoriety is deserved.’

Full story

The Independent, 16th November 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk