Nitrous oxide to be illegal from November – Home Office
‘Possession of nitrous oxide, also known as “laughing gas”, will be illegal from 8 November 2023.’
Home Office, 18th October 2023
Source: www.gov.uk
Courts increase sentences for child sex offenders – Attorney General’s Office
‘Figures released as part the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme annual statistics for 2022 show there were 23 child sex offence sentence increases. This was followed by 10 sentences increased for rape offences and 7 for cases involving grievous bodily harm.’
Attorney General's Office, 17th October 2023
Source: www.gov.uk
Sutton-in-Craven: Drug driver jailed for killing boy, 9, in hit-and-run crash – BBC News
‘A van driver who smoked crack cocaine before crashing into a nine-year-old boy and killing him has been jailed.’
BBC News, 19th October 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Army members allowed to give evidence to living standards inquiry – BBC News
‘Members of the armed forces will be permitted to give evidence to MPs about the standard of their living quarters in a partial government climbdown.’
BBC News, 16th October 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Lucy Letby inquiry to consider hospital and NHS culture – The Guardian
‘The inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to murder seven babies will look into the direct experiences of parents, the conduct of other staff at the Countess of Chester hospital and the wider effectiveness of NHS governance, the Department of Health has said. Announcing the formal terms of reference for the inquiry, the government listed 30 questions to be considered within the three broad categories, including whether there were proper whistleblowing procedures and whether the NHS trust was “sufficiently candid” with parents.’
The Guardian, 19th October 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Sunak to push ahead with delayed ban on gay and trans conversion practices – The Guardian
‘Rishi Sunak will push ahead with long-delayed plans to ban gay and trans conversion practices after Conservative whips warned MPs could rebel if they failed to do so.’
The Guardian, 19th October 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
River Wye: Judicial review granted over agricultural pollution – BBC News
‘A judge has granted a judicial review into the way the Environment Agency (EA) in England enforces agricultural pollution laws.’
BBC News, 20th October 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Research Briefing: Reuse of graves – House of Commons Library
‘This briefing paper considers reuse of graves as a means of addressing the problem of the shortage of available space for burial.’
House of Commons Library, 16th October 2023
Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk
EAT consider when a TUPE transfer takes place in a ‘series of transactions’ case and find that (i) it does not necessarily take place at the end of the series and (ii) the tribunal can take into account matters which occur outside the UK – 3PB
‘In a judgment handed down by Mr Justice Kerr this week in a case in which I represented the Appellant, the EAT found that in a “series of transactions” case under Regulation 3(6) TUPE, the transfer did not necessarily take place at the end of the series, and that the tribunal should not focus merely on transactions which occurred within the UK.’
3PB, 1st September 2023
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
A new intermediate track– All change for the civil procedure rules – Becket Chambers
‘You can never have too many tracks, said no one ever. Apart from Sir Rupert Jackson who recommended that the small, fast and multi-track should be (and is from the 1st of October 2023), augmented to include a new intermediate track.’
Becket Chambers, 29th September 2023
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
Invitation to treat? Supreme Court clarifies the professional practice test – Gatehouse Chambers
‘In McCulloch and others (Appellants) v Forth Valley Health Board (Respondent) (Scotland) [2023] UKSC 26, the Supreme Court considered which legal test should be applied to the assessment of whether an alternative treatment was reasonable and should be discussed with a patient.’
Gatehouse Chambers, 22nd September 2023
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
Applicability of Section 33 Limitation Act 1980 to claims brought pursuant to the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 – Old Square Chambers
‘In the case of Shaw v Maguire (Re Preliminary Issues) [2023] EWHC 2155 (KB) Master Cook considered the limitation period as a preliminary issue. In doing so, Master Cook considered whether a claimant could utilise Section 33 of the Limitation Act in Fatal Accident Act claims where limitation expired prior to the deceased’s death.’
Old Square Chambers, 25th September 2023
Source: oldsquare.co.uk
When Icarus didn’t fly (again) – a tale of disclosure disaster – Drystone Chambers
‘One local authority learned last week of the dangers inherent in disclosure failures. Five members of Drystone Chambers successfully defended, four as leading juniors.’
Drystone Chambers, 12th September 2023
Source: www.drystone.com
“Wrong place at the wrong time” – but when is “mere presence “ enough? – Mountford Chambers
‘The net for potential accessories present at the scene of a crime is cast far wider than is often first appreciated. That is particularly so where a permissible inference of encouragement applies.’
Mountford Chambers, 21st September 2023
Source: www.mountfordchambers.com
Contemnor required to attend an in person hearing for cross examination (Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc and another) – Gatehouse Chambers
‘Dispute Resolution analysis: An admitted contemnor subject to a suspended warrant for committal has been ordered to attend in person for cross examination in relation to the assets of a company he controlled. His request to attend the hearing remotely by video link from Connecticut was refused.’
Gatehouse Chambers, 15th September 2023
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
Damien Bendall: Quadruple murderer put in wrong risk classification – BBC News
‘The chief probation officer said the service was facing “significant” issues while dealing with Damien Bendall, who went on to kill four people.’
BBC News, 18th October 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Suspended quashing orders and rolling judicial review as a means of monitoring compliance – Doughty Street Chambers
‘The recent judgment of Chamberlain J in R (ECPAT UK) v Kent CC, SSHD [2023] EWHC 2199 (Admin) (‘the ECPAT UK relief judgment’) provides a helpful example of the use of the new power under section 29A(1)(a) Senior Courts Act 1981 to suspend quashing orders, and the circumstances under which “rolling” judicial review may be appropriate to monitor compliance with a court order.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 4th September 2023
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
The Building Safety Act 2022 – Remediation Contribution Orders and Cost Recovery – Falcon Chambers
‘One of the things that may be surprising about remediation orders and remediation contribution orders, both potentially expensive pieces of litigation that leaseholders may be forced to pursue, is that the FtT’s jurisdiction on costs is the “no costs” jurisdiction under rule 13 of its Rules. Costs (beyond payment of application fees) can only be awarded by the FtT if a party has behaved unreasonably, a high threshold, or for wasted costs (likewise). Although the Building Safety Act 2022 did not expressly say that the FtT was to have this no costs jurisdiction (rather than its costs jurisdictions for example in relation to its Land Registration or telecoms), amendments to the Rules from 1 November 2022 make express which jurisdictions can have real cost implications. The new Building Safety Act jurisdictions are not included.’
Falcon Chambers, 18th September 2023
Source: www.falcon-chambers.com
Default judgment granted in part in long-running hacking and fraud claim (Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority v Azima and others) – Gatehouse Chambers
‘Dispute Resolution analysis: The High Court has granted default judgment on part of a counterclaim against the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority in a long-running set of proceedings, following the decision by the Investment Authority to take no further part in the proceedings. However, following submissions made by Additional Defendants in the proceedings, another part of the counterclaim will proceed to trial in 2024.’
Gatehouse Chambers, 4th September 2023
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
Are there any circumstances in which professional indemnity insurers will indemnify insured persons in respect of a loss of fees? – Hailsham Chambers
‘This was the broad question which confronted the Court of Appeal in RSA v. Tughans [2023] EWCA Civ 999, and the unanimous answer was Yes. The case is of interest both because of the result and because of the importance accorded by the Court to the policy underlying compulsion on professionals to have at least a specified minimum level of professional indemnity insurance.’
Hailsham Chambers, 4th September 2023
Source: www.hailshamchambers.com
