Category: Wales

The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018: An update – 3PB

Posted November 10th, 2020 in education, legislation, news, special educational needs, tribunals, Wales by sally

‘Two key events have taken place in the last week in relation to The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (“the 2018 Act”): the publication of a commencement order and the publication of the Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator (Wales) Regulations. This article considers both documents, concluding that, based on the limited information available they do not help clarify the confusion amongst practitioners as to the details of the forthcoming special needs regime in Welsh schools.’

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3PB, 4th November 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Keith Bush and Huw Pritchard: Implications of the Independent Review of Administrative Law for Devolved Government in Wales – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted October 22nd, 2020 in constitutional law, devolution, judicial review, jurisdiction, ministers' powers and duties, news, Wales by sally

‘The devolution of legislative and executive powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has now been a feature of the UK constitution for over 20 years. The three devolution settlements establish patterns of governance for the devolved territories which involve a delicate balance between the proper spheres of activity of devolved and UK institutions. Any major reform affecting the powers of one level of government inevitably impacts on the other. As the history of the implementation of the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU has demonstrated, failure to consider, from the outset, the impact on devolved government of proposed measures, on the misconceived grounds that those measures only strictly relate to matters reserved to the UK level of government, inevitably leads to unpredicted consequences, legislative complexity and an enhanced level of political controversy.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd October 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Inquiry into failings at south Wales maternity units grows to 160 cases – The Guardian

Posted September 29th, 2020 in birth, complaints, hospitals, news, Wales by sally

‘An independent panel investigating two maternity units in south Wales where a series of failings may have put the lives of mothers and babies at risk is looking into the care given to 150 women, it emerged on Monday.’

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The Guardian, 28th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Care home business in South Wales fined £432k for fire safety failings – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 15th, 2020 in fines, fire, health & safety, news, Wales by tracey

‘A residential care home business in Cardiff has been fined more than £430,000 for serious fire safety failings, following a prosecution brought by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th September 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ensuring the lawfulness of automated facial recognition surveillance in the UK – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted September 9th, 2020 in data protection, equality, facial mapping, human rights, investigatory powers, news, police, privacy, race discrimination, sex discrimination, Wales by sally

‘In R(Bridges) v South Wales Police, the England and Wales Court of Appeal reviewed the lawfulness of the use of live automated facial recognition technology (‘AFR’) by the South Wales Police Force. CCTV camera­­s capture images of the public, which are then compared with digital images of persons on a watchlist.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 3rd September 2020

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Facial Recognition Technology not “In Accordance with Law” – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted August 14th, 2020 in appeals, data protection, equality, facial mapping, human rights, investigatory powers, news, pilot schemes, privacy, proportionality, race discrimination, sex discrimination, Wales by sally

‘The Court of Appeal, overturning a Divisional Court decision, has found the use of a facial recognition surveillance tool used by South Wales Police to be in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case was brought by Liberty on behalf of privacy and civil liberties campaigner Ed Bridges. The appeal was upheld on the basis that the interference with Article 8 of the ECHR, which guarantees a right to privacy and family life, was not “in accordance with law” due to an insufficient legal framework. However, the court found that, had it been in accordance with law, the interference caused by the use of facial recognition technology would not have been disproportionate to the goal of preventing crime. The court also found that Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) was deficient, and that the South Wales Police (SWP), who operated the technology, had not fulfilled their Public Sector Equality Duty.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 13th August 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Police’s Automated Facial Recognition Deployments Ruled Unlawful by the Court of Appeal – Doughty Street Chambers

Posted August 13th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, data protection, equality, facial mapping, human rights, investigatory powers, news, pilot schemes, police, privacy, proportionality, race discrimination, sex discrimination, Wales by sally

‘R. (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales [2020] EWCA Civ 1058 [2020] 8 WLUK 64 is thought to be the first case in the world to consider the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement agencies. In this short article, we explore the judgment and its implications for the deployment of these and similar technologies in future.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 12th August 2020

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Let’s face it: use of automated facial recognition technology by the police – UK Police Law Blog

Posted August 12th, 2020 in appeals, data protection, equality, facial mapping, human rights, investigatory powers, news, pilot schemes, police, privacy, proportionality, race discrimination, sex discrimination, Wales by sally

‘The case of R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police & Information Commissioner [2020] EWCA Civ 1058 (handed down on 11 August 2020) was an appeal from what is said to have been the first claim brought before a court anywhere on planet earth concerning the use by police of automated facial recognition (“AFR”) technology. There could be nothing wrong with posting scores of police officers with eidetic memories to look out for up to a 800 wanted persons at public gatherings. So why not use a powerful computer, capable of matching 50 faces a second with a database of (under) 800 suspects, to do this job much more cheaply and instantaneously, flagging any matches to a human operator for final assessment? According to the Court of Appeal in Bridges, this system constitutes an interference with Article 8 rights which is not such as is in accordance with the law, but which (critically) would be proportionate if a sufficiently narrow local policy were framed.’

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UK Police Law Blog, 11th August 2020

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

South Wales police lose landmark facial recognition case – The Guardian

Posted August 12th, 2020 in appeals, data protection, equality, facial mapping, human rights, investigatory powers, news, pilot schemes, police, privacy, race discrimination, sex discrimination, Wales by sally

‘Campaigners are calling for South Wales police and other forces to stop using facial recognition technology after the court of appeal ruled that its use breached privacy rights and broke equalities law.’

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The Guardian, 11th August 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Coronavirus: ‘Institutional racism left minorities exposed’ – BBC News

Posted August 3rd, 2020 in coronavirus, employment, equality, health, inquiries, news, race discrimination, racism, Wales by sally

‘Institutional racism may have contributed to the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on ethnic minorities in Wales, a top judge has claimed.’

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BBC News, 3rd August 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Pontypridd: £37m school shake-up scrapped by judicial review – BBC News

Posted July 31st, 2020 in education, judicial review, news, school children, Wales by sally

‘A £37m schools reorganisation in the south Wales valleys has been quashed after a judicial review.’

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BBC News, 30th July 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court of Appeal upholds “unparalleled” Housing (Wales) Act 2014 eviction rules – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 10th, 2020 in appeals, housing, landlord & tenant, licensing, news, notification, repossession, Wales by sally

‘Welsh law means that a landlord who is unlicensed cannot lawfully serve an eviction notice on tenants, the Court of Appeal has found.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th July 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

We don’t do that in Wales – Nearly Legal

Posted July 8th, 2020 in housing, landlord & tenant, news, notification, repossession, Wales by sally

‘The question for the Court of Appeal on this second appeal was does failing to be licensed under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 prevent a landlord from serving any notice seeking possession, or just a section 21 notice?’

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Nearly Legal, 7th July 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Cardiff youth offending service ‘inadequate’ – BBC News

Posted July 2nd, 2020 in news, probate, Wales, young offenders by tracey

‘Every part of Cardiff Youth Offending Service (YOS) has been rated “inadequate” by inspectors. It was given the lowest possible performance rating by HM Inspectorate of Probation and told to improve every aspect of its work.’

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BBC News, 2nd July 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Travel between England and Wales – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 26th, 2020 in chambers articles, coronavirus, emergency powers, freedom of movement, news, statutory interpretation, Wales by sally

‘The position in relation to cross-border travel between England and Wales has caused confusion in recent weeks. It has been subject to posts from UKHR readers and there have been news articles showing that many people have been entering Wales from England to access beauty spots, unaware that there are different regulations governing the two countries. This post will attempt to clarify the current position.’

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UK Human Right Blog, 26th June 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

One Kingdom but four nations emerging from lockdown at four different rates under four different laws – UK Police Law Blog

Posted June 2nd, 2020 in coronavirus, news, Northern Ireland, regulations, Scotland, Wales by sally

‘Laws which criminalise what would otherwise be normal daily life and which the police must enforce must be clear, unambiguous, fair and fairly applied, logical and proportionate to the public health imperative. The purpose of this blog post is to illustrate the difficulties with the amended legislation, the inconsistencies between the laws of the four nations of the UK, as well as the problems of enforcement by the police. Whatever the problems with the legislation, whatever the high profile breaches, people must socially distance and must wear masks when unable to do so. The coronavirus is not going away soon, or perhaps ever. It may be joined by other novel viruses and human life may have to change.’

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UK Police Law Blog, 2nd June 2020

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Supreme Court rejects appeal bid by Welsh Ministers over s.73 permissions ruling – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 20th, 2020 in appeals, local government, news, planning, Supreme Court, Wales by sally

‘The Supreme Court has refused the Welsh Ministers’ application for permission to appeal a ruling that s.73 permissions cannot alter the description of development, it has been reported.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th May 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Specialist support centre for female offenders to open in Wales – The Guardian

Posted May 5th, 2020 in imprisonment, news, rehabilitation, Wales, women by sally

‘A specialist centre providing accommodation and support to female offenders is to open in Wales as part of the government’s strategy to send fewer women to prison, the Ministry of Justice has said.’

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The Guardian, 5th May 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Gareth Evans: Devolution in Wales: From Assembly to Parliament – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 17th, 2020 in constitutional law, devolution, news, Wales by sally

‘On 6 May 2020, the National Assembly for Wales (hereafter “the Assembly”) will officially be renamed, adopting the new title of Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament. The change comes as a result of section 9 of the Wales Act 2017, amending the Government of Wales Act 2006 (hereafter “GOWA”) to include the new section 111A which transfers to the Assembly the power to legislate on matters relating to its electoral and operational arrangements.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 15th April 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Gethin Thomas: Back to the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 8th, 2020 in bills, climate change, constitutional law, consultations, coronavirus, duty of care, environmental protection, health, news, Wales by sally

‘On 24 March 2020, the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill 2020 was introduced into the House of Commons, for its first reading, by Caroline Lucas MP. The Bill had been introduced into the House of Lords on 21 October 2019, by Baroness Jenny Jones, on behalf of Lord John Bird (who is best known as the founder of Big Issue). Whilst the Bill is not supported by the Government, it has garnered cross party support, and the Bill’s co-sponsors are drawn from all of the major UK political parties.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th April 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org