Claimants secure key High Court ruling on timeframe for reviewing Education, Health and Care plans – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 10th, 2022 in delay, local government, news, notification, special educational needs by sally

‘The High Court has ruled in favour of three claimants in a dispute over whether there is a fixed timeframe in respect of steps in the amendment of an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan where a local authority accepts amendment is necessary, during the compulsory statutory annual review.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Serial fly-tipper jailed after three councils pool legal resources and bring joint prosecution – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 10th, 2022 in local government, news, prosecutions, sentencing, waste by sally

‘A joint prosecution by three councils has seen a serial fly-tipper sentenced to 21 months in prison and his van seized. Hillingdon Council teamed up with Buckinghamshire Council and Sutton Council to tackle what was described as Dean Stanley’s “deliberate and flagrant” campaign of dumping.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Gender equality: More flexible working, less unconscious bias training – Legal Futures

Posted March 10th, 2022 in equality, legal profession, news, reports, women by sally

‘The legal profession is “making progress” towards more equitable gender representation at a senior level, but there is plenty of scope for improvement, new research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 10th March 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

8% of judges report facing bullying and/or harassment – Legal Futures

Posted March 10th, 2022 in bullying, harassment, judiciary, news, statistics by sally

‘Around one in 12 judicial office-holders have experienced bullying and/or harassment in the last 12 months, while 5% reported that they had faced discrimination, according to research published yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 10th March 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Speech by Lord Justice Birss at the UCL and Intellectual Property Awareness Network event – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted March 10th, 2022 in intellectual property, judiciary, small businesses, small claims, speeches by sally

‘Lord Justice Colin Birss, Deputy Head of Civil Justice, gave the keynote speech at the University of College London and Intellectual Property Awareness Network (IPAN) event. In his speech, entitled “Can the IP system serve small businesses better?”, he said: “In its broadest sense intellectual property is doing its job most acutely when it is in a David and Goliath situation.”‘

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 9th March 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

TikTok: lawyers ‘unwisely’ waited until last minute – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has dealt a blow to the claimant in a high-profile privacy claim against social media platform TikTok after refusing an extension of time for service.
In SMO (A Child) v Tiktok Inc & Ors Mr Justice Nicklin said that the “inescapable reality” of why the claimant needed an extension was that she had waited until the last minute to meet key deadlines.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 9th March 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Three million dead can be part of Mastercard action – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Around three million now-dead people can continue to be part of a mammoth group action against Mastercard after the Competition Appeal Tribunal today ruled that anyone living in the UK when the claim form was filed should be part of the class.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 9th March 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Widow ‘mourned at wrong grave for 27 years after husband’s ashes secretly given to his mother’ – The Independent

Posted March 10th, 2022 in burials and cremation, news, personal injuries, psychiatric damage, widows by sally

‘Kathleen Walsham is suing funeral giant Dignity for psychological personal injury after she claims she was told in 2016 that her husband’s remains had been buried 10 miles away in Essex.’

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The Independent, 9th March 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Andy Burnham’s move to bring bus services under public control ‘not unlawful’ – The Independent

Posted March 10th, 2022 in consultations, contracting out, local government, news, transport by sally

‘Andy Burnham’s decision to reform bus services to bring them under public control in Greater Manchester was not unlawful, a High Court judge has found in a ruling against two bus companies.’

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The Independent, 9th March 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Catholic church bans visit by gay author to London school – The Guardian

Posted March 10th, 2022 in Christianity, education, equality, homosexuality, news by sally

‘The Catholic church has banned a visit to a London school by a gay author and removed a number of governors who supported the event, in a move that has drawn comparisons to the notorious 1980s section 28 ban on “promoting homosexuality”.’

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The Guardian, 9th March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Landowner facing legal action over ‘decimation’ of Herefordshire river – The Guardian

‘A landowner is facing legal action for what environmental regulators say is the decimation of a protected river.’

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The Guardian, 9th March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Domestic abuse: The ‘forgotten’ victims failed by the system – BBC News

Posted March 10th, 2022 in domestic violence, immigration, news, victims by sally

‘Many women arrive in the UK in a happy relationship and the legal right to live with their partner. But some of those relationships break down and turn into a life of physical and sexual abuse. For those with an insecure immigration status, it can be difficult to escape, with very few legal rights and limited access to help. One charity is calling for better support for these “forgotten” victims of domestic abuse.’

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BBC News, 10th March 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Protecting the identity of a child whose sibling has been killed by their parents – Transparency Project

‘This was the issue in the landmark human rights case, Re S [2004] UKHL 47, in which Lord Steyn formulated the test in balancing privacy interests under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights with freedom of expression interests under Article 10. Lord Steyn’s formula is relied on (or should be) every time the media argue that it’s in the public interest to breach someone’s Article 8 rights. Likewise, every time an individual argues their privacy rights outweigh freedom of expression, we go to Re S.’

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Transparency Project, 8th March 2022

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

UK owes EU money over customs fraud, court rules – BBC News

Posted March 9th, 2022 in fraud, HM Revenue & Customs, news, taxation by sally

‘The UK faces making a potentially hefty payment to the EU after its top court ruled it did too little to prevent fraud on imports of Chinese clothing.’

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BBC News, 8th March 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK introduces new safety rules for enclosed spaces aboard ships – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 9th, 2022 in health & safety, news, ships by sally

‘The UK government has introduced new regulations which for the first time clearly define ‘enclosed spaces’ aboard merchant shipping and fishing vessels, and set out safety rules governing those spaces.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th March 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Lancaster mum wins legal fight for son’s kidney transplant – BBC News

‘A mother has won a legal battle to ensure her teenage son has the right to a potentially life-saving transplant.’

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BBC News, 8th March 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NHS pair accused of bribery cleared after trial collapses – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 9th, 2022 in bribery, disclosure, doctors, hospitals, medicines, news by sally

‘Senior NHS officials accused of accepting £70,000 in bribes have been acquitted after their trial collapsed.’

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Daily Telegraph, 9th March 2022

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Just over half of judicial review judgments are available to the public on Bailii: report – Local Government Lawyer

‘Of the 5,408 unique judgments given by the Administrative Court from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020, only 55% (3,001) are available to the public on BAILII, research has suggested.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

MPs slate Ministry of Justice over Crown Court backlog and judges – Legal Futures

‘MPs today slated the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) “meagre ambition” to reduce the Crown Court case backlog and warned that efforts to recruit judges will ignore the need to improve diversity.’

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Legal Futures, 9th March 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Internet scams to be included in UK online safety bill – The Guardian

‘Measures to protect people from internet scams will now be included in proposed online safety laws, the government has said.’

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The Guardian, 8th March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com