Adoption should not just be about speed – The Guardian
“The government fails to recognise that post-adoption support is as important as finding families quickly.”
The Guardian, 5th March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Q&A: Legal aid changes – BBC News
“In an effort to cut the £2bn annual legal aid bill in England and Wales by £350m a year, there are soon to be fewer types of civil proceedings for which people can get funding, while changes to funding for criminal cases also looks set to change.”
BBC News, 5th March 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Bedroom tax: ministers given 14 days to make case against judicial review – The Guardian
“A high court judge has given the work and pensions secretary 14 days to show why there should not be a judicial review of the government’s ‘spare bedroom tax’, amid concerns that disabled people will be disproportionately affected by the change in benefit rules.”
The Guardian, 5th March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Colm O’Cinneide: Human Rights, Devolution and the Constrained Authority of the Westminster Parliament – UK Constitutional Law Group
“The debate over the place of human rights in UK constitutional law continues to run and run. The Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, has recently criticised the manner in which UK judges are interpreting the right to family life protected by Article 8 of the ECHR. A private members bill tabled by Tory MP Charlie Elphicke, the Human Rights Act 1998 (Repeal and Substitution) Bill, which would de-incorporate Convention rights and replace them with diluted ‘British’ replacements, received its Second Reading on the 1st March 2013. Furthermore, at the time of writing, the Mail on Sunday is quoting Theresa May again to the effect that the next Tory election manifesto will include a commitment to withdrawing from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, de-incorporating Convention rights, or some such equivalent measure.”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 4th March 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
Legal aid: Chris Grayling plans further cuts – BBC News
“Plans to make further savings to the £2bn bill for legal aid in England and Wales have been announced by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.”
BBC News, 5th March 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
The Universal Credit Regulations 2013
The Identification and Traceability of Explosives Regulations 2013
The Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Repeals, Revocations and Amendments) Regulations 2013
The Trade Marks (International Registration) (Amendment) Order 2013
The Trade Marks and Registered Designs (Amendment) Rules 2013
The Care Standards Act 2000 (Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013
The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013
The Financial Services Act 2012 (Transitional Provisions) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2013
The Financial Services Act 2012 (Transitional Provisions) (Enforcement) Order 2013
The Financial Services Act 2012 (Transitional Provisions) (Permission and Approval) Order 2013
The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2013
The Social Security (Loss of Benefit)(Amendment) Regulations 2013
The Social Security (Overpayments and Recovery) Regulations 2013
The Social Security (Payments on Account of Benefit) Regulations 2013
The Rent Officers (Universal Credit Functions) Order 2013
The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2013
The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 2013
The Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013
The Personal Independence Payment (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2013
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk
Financial Services Authority v Sinaloa Gold plc and others (Barclays Bank plc intervening) – WLR Daily
“There was no general rule that the Financial Services Authority acting pursuant to a public duty should be required to give to the court a cross-undertaking in damages in favour of third parties affected by the obtaining of a freezing injunction under section 380(3) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and/or section 37(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981.”
WLR Daily, 27th February 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Hunt v Hosking and ors – WLR Daily
Hunt v Hosking and ors [2013] EWHC 311 (Ch); [2013] WLR (D) 89
“When bringing an application under section 238 of the Insolvency Act 1986 there needed to be a transaction to which the company was a party and that involved mutuality. It did not extend to unilateral actions taken by somebody who had acted without authority.”
WLR Daily, 22nd February 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Court of Appeal downplays Aarhus – UK Human Rights Blog
“There have been important pronouncements over the years by the Aarhus Compliance Committee (ACC) about whether the UK planning system complies with the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention).”
UK Human Rights Blog, 4th March 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk
Britain’s most senior judge takes aim at gender imbalance – The Guardian
“The stereotypical image of judges as male and white may be so deeply entrenched that there could be an ‘unconscious bias’ against women, the United Kingdom’s most senior judge has suggested.”
The Guardian, 5th March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Lettings agents ‘breaking the law’ by not revealing fees – The Independent
“Lettings agents have been accused of breaking the law by not revealing their fees to renters.”
The Independent, 5th March 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Why secret justice is bad for Britain – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
“As Parliament prepares to vote on the Justice and Security Bill today, Terry McGuinness outlines why Closed Material Procedures (CMP) are an affront to open justice.”
Garden Court Chambers Blog, 4th March 2013
Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com
Prison cuts ‘could lead to more crimes’ – Daily Telegraph
“Serial criminals could commit even more crimes, MPs have warned, because cuts to prison services risk rehabilitation programmes being scaled back.”
Daily Telegraph, 5th March 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Caste discrimination should be outlawed, say Lords – The Guardian
“The House of Lords voted on Monday to outlaw discrimination against people on the basis of their caste.”
The Guardian, 5th March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
QB Master warns of “blood on the floor” after 1 April – Litigation Futures
“The Jackson reforms will leave ‘blood on the floor’ and a lack of resources behind the reforms will leave courts and judges ‘overwhelmed’ by the extra workload, Master Cook of the Queen’s Bench Division has predicted.”
Litigation Futures, 5th March 2013
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
PPI complaints rise ‘unprecedented’, says ombudsman – BBC News
“The financial ombudsman service is taking on 2,000 new cases a day following payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints, with numbers rising at “unprecedented” rates.”
BBC News, 4th March 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Secret court hearing plans pushed through by government – The Guardian
“The government pushed through its plans for secret court hearings on Monday night, defeating amendments tabled by the Labour frontbench with significant majorities.”
The Guardian, 4th March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Voyeur Reverend Richard Lee walks free from court over indecent pictures of girls and woman – The Independent
“A Church of England vicar has walked free from court after admitting using secret cameras to spy on and film intimate pictures of three girls and a woman.”
The Independent, 4th March 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
