Missed opportunities over Lammy Review: Bar Council responds on judicial diversity – The Bar Council

Posted December 20th, 2017 in diversity, judiciary, minorities, press releases, reports by tracey

‘Whilst encouraged by the Government’s response to many of the recommendations in the Lammy Review, the Bar Council today expressed disappointment that key opportunities to address diversity in the judiciary have been missed.’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 19th December 2017

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘Race bias’ in justice system: Government to unveil action – BBC News

Posted December 19th, 2017 in criminal justice, diversity, equality, judiciary, news, racism, reports by sally

‘The justice secretary has pledged to implement a “key principle” of “change or explain” when racial discrimination is found in the justice system.’

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BBC News, 19th December 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Bristol refugee murder review accuses police of institutional racism – The Guardian

Posted December 19th, 2017 in murder, news, police, racism, refugees, reports by sally

‘The family of an Iranian refugee murdered by a vigilante after years of abuse have expressed relief that an independent review has vindicated their campaign to expose institutional racism within a police force and council.’

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The Guardian, 18th December 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Liverpool jail: The worst conditions ever seen, says report – BBC News

Posted December 19th, 2017 in drug abuse, health & safety, news, prisons, reports by sally

‘Inmates at Liverpool prison are being kept in the worst living conditions inspectors have ever seen, according to a report seen by BBC News.’

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BBC News, 18th December 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ombudsman finds fault in seven out of ten homelessness complaints – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 18th, 2017 in complaints, homelessness, local government, news, ombudsmen, reports by sally

‘The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found fault in 70% of complaints about homelessness it investigated in detail in 2016/17.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th December 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Young people in care being ‘criminalised’ as police receive unnecessarily high number of calls to children’s homes – The Independent

Posted December 18th, 2017 in care homes, news, reports, young offenders, young persons by sally

‘Children in care are at risk of being criminalised as police forces are called out to children’s homes at an unnecessarily high rate, a report has found.’

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The Independent, 18th December 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cases of child sexual abuse up 31%, says NSPCC – The Guardian

Posted December 18th, 2017 in child abuse, news, reports, sexual offences, statistics by sally

‘Reported cases of child sexual abuse rose by almost a third last year, according to NSPCC figures which the charity described as “deeply worrying” but said showed a greater public willingness to report the problem.’

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The Guardian, 18th December 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Church apology over Bishop George Bell abuse inquiry – BBC News

Posted December 15th, 2017 in child abuse, Church of England, clergy, news, reports, sexual offences by tracey

‘The Church of England has apologised to the relatives of a bishop for the way it investigated child abuse claims made against him decades after his death.’

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BBC News, 15th December 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BME graduates “half as likely” to obtain pupillages as white peers – Legal Futures

Posted December 12th, 2017 in equality, news, pupillage, race discrimination, reports by sally

‘Graduates from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds are half as likely to obtain pupillages as their white peers, research for the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has found.’

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Legal Futures, 12th December 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Brexit: solicitors welcome ‘breathing space’ deal – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Lawyers have welcomed with relief the declaration on ‘legal certainty and clarity’ – including mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments – in the Brexit phase 1 agreement reached on Friday. However the Law Society cautioned that the ‘real complexity’ of the deal lies ahead.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 10th December 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

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

“I made him aware he is very lucky” – Nearly Legal

Posted December 11th, 2017 in homelessness, housing, local government, news, ombudsmen, reports, statutory duty by sally

‘A Local Government Ombudsman Report on the actions of Maidstone Borough Council towards a homeless household makes for depressing reading. Both for the actions (and inactions) of the Council and for what it lays bare about the attitude to the homeless.’

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Nearly Legal, 10th December 2017

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

New research published to help inform Future Bar Training decisions – Bar Standards Board

Posted December 11th, 2017 in barristers, diversity, legal education, news, pupillage, race discrimination, reports by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published two new pieces of research that are intended to provide a qualitative and quantitative evidence base to inform its current decision-making about the future training of barristers.’

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Bar Standards Board, 11th December 2017

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Competition regulator to prioritise productivity growth in future work – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 7th, 2017 in competition, employment, news, reports by sally

‘The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will prioritise “cases in markets which underpin and enable economic growth” as part of its programme of work for next year, it has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th December 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Dramatic decline in access to legal help for immigration detainees, reports charity – Legal Voice

Posted December 7th, 2017 in detention, immigration, law centres, legal representation, news, reports by sally

‘The number of immigration detainees with no access to legal representation while in detention has tripled in the past few months, a new survey published by the immigration detention charity BID has indicated.’

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Legal Voice, 6th December 2017

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

‘Liberties of England at risk’ without more money for lawyers, warns former appeal judge – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 6th, 2017 in criminal justice, judges, legal profession, news, reports by sally

‘Bach Commission vice-chair and former judge Sir Henry Brooke has demanded action to reverse assaults on the criminal justice system, claiming the ‘liberties of England are at risk’ because of cuts in funding.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 4th December 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Corrie Mckeague police inquiry had ‘limited resources’ – BBC News

Posted December 5th, 2017 in missing persons, news, police, reports by tracey

‘Police conducted “exemplary” work in their search for the missing RAF airman Corrie Mckeague despite “limited resources”, a report has found. The 23-year-old vanished following a night out in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in September 2016. A review of Suffolk Police’s inquiry, released to the BBC, described assessing 2,000 hours of CCTV footage as a “significant achievement”.’

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BBC News, 5th December 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Prison inspectors given powers to alert minister to urgent problems – The Guardian

Posted November 30th, 2017 in ministers' powers and duties, news, notification, prisons, reports by tracey

‘The justice secretary, David Lidington, has unveiled a series of measures that the government hopes will urgently tackle failing prisons in England and Wales. From Thursday, the chief inspector of prisons has been given new powers to alert the justice secretary directly of any urgent and severe problems he finds during a jail inspection.’

Full press release

Full Story

The Guardian, 30th November 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK justice system failing defendants with mental health issues – charity – The Guardian

‘Specialist prosecutors should review all decisions to charge suspects with mental health vulnerabilities and the defence of insanity should be amended, a law reform charity has said.’

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The Guardian, 27th November 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Gig economy reform – how to balance innovation and the protection of workers – Technology Law Update

Posted November 27th, 2017 in bills, employment, flexible working, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘The position of workers in the gig economy, those on zero hours contracts and agency workers has been the focus of political attention recently. While these models provide valuable flexibility to businesses, especially those using innovative technology like using an app or a website to hire someone for a particular task, they can leave individuals with insecure incomes and future prospects, and unprotected from exploitative companies. They can also leave the most responsible businesses at a disadvantage.’

Full Story

Technology Law Update, 23rd November 2017

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk