Suspension of refugee family reunion route – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘On 1 September, then home secretary Yvette Cooper announced the suspension of new applications under the refugee family reunion (RFR) route. This was the dedicated category for those granted refugee or humanitarian protection in the UK to be joined by their partner and children, and imposed relatively few restrictions. This closure will carry significant legal and humanitarian consequences.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 18th September 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

UK immigration reform: implications, unintended consequences and the need for strategic policymaking going forward – EIN Blog

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘The UK’s recent and forthcoming immigration reforms represent a significant shift in policy, aiming to balance the country’s economic needs with the objective of developing a strong domestic workforce. While these changes are designed to reduce reliance on overseas labour and encourage investment in local talent, they also introduce a range of considerations for businesses and other sectors.’

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EIN Blog, 17th September 2025

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Policing, social media, and riots: user responses to the police during the 2024 UK summer protests and riots – Policing and Society

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘Protests and riots occurred across eight days during the summer of 2024 in the UK. Throughout this time, the police shared countless messages with users via the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). This paper sheds light on how users responded to this content. Using a rigorous research strategy, we studied user comments on 124 police threads. Research findings illustrate that users had overwhelmingly right-wing political, social, and cultural views, describing protestors and rioters as largely peaceful ordinary British citizens, while criticising the police for so-called two-tier policing and tyranny. This is significant because it shows that users who believed that the police no longer served their interests instead identified with the protestors and rioters. For the police, our research findings highlight the need to remain on X, and to both challenge and combat hate speech.’

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Policing and Society, 16th September 2025

Source: www.tandfonline.com

Windrush officials must improve after neglecting dying woman’s claim, says ombudsman – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘The Windrush compensation scheme must improve after it failed to consider a dying woman’s claim properly and wrongly refused to compensate her husband for the loss of his pension, an ombudsman has said.’

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The Guardian, 18th September 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Francesca Jackson: The Oath of Allegiance, and the Battle for Independence – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘In the UK and Commonwealth, an oath of allegiance is a promise to be loyal to the monarch, their heirs and successors. Also known as ‘swearing in’, it is pledged in various contexts, including at the beginning of a Parliament and when government ministers assume office. The allegiance is pledged to the monarch as the personification of the Crown – the symbol of British state authority.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 17th September 2025

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Preparing for Martyn’s Law: The Role of the Competent Person in the Workplace (CPiW) Qualification – Kingsley Napley Regulatory Blog

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘The UK’s approach to counter terrorism preparedness has taken a significant step forward with the passing of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (Martyn’s Law).’

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Kingsley Napley Regulatory Blog, 12th September 2025

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

Barrister referred to Bar Standards Board for using false AI-derived precedents in court – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) has referred a barrister to the Bar Standards Board for presenting a bogus court decision generated using the ChatGPT artificial intelligence tool.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th September 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ombudsman sets out position on pension transfer claims – Pensions Barrister

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘Edward Sawyer of Wilberforce Chambers considers a recent determination on the British Steel Pension Scheme, in which the PO set out his general approach to claims by victims of pension transfer scams for due diligence failures by the transferor scheme trustees.’

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Pensions Barrister, 18th September 2025

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

Law Commission recommends “simplified and unified” legal framework for disabled children’s social care law, sitting within Children Act 1989 – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘The Law Commission has recommended a set of reforms to disabled children’s social care law, after acknowledging that elements are “out of date” and “potentially unfair”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th September 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court of Protection overrules council over the capacity of woman with learning difficulties to engage in sex or to marry – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘A woman with learning difficulties has capacity to engage in sex and to marry, the Court of Protection has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th September 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

In Defence of Classical Administrative Law – Public Law for Everyone

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘In a recently completed paper, Philip Murray and I develop a defence of what we term the classical account of administrative law. The question with which we are centrally concerned is whether (as the classical account holds) unlawful administrative acts are void ab initio, such that they can be treated without more as if they had never been committed, or merely voidable, meaning that they are valid and effective unless and until set aside by a competent court. While that question might seem highly technical — and, in one sense, it is — it is also a question that goes to the doctrinal and conceptual heart of administrative law, and which has profound practical and constitutional implications. The idea that unlawful acts should be treated as merely voidable — or that courts should be able to decide whether they are void or voidable — may be superficially attractive because it appears to replace conceptual rigidity with remedial flexibility. But in the article, we argue that the flip side of that coin is one that must not be ignored, and that abandoning the classical account is ultimately incompatible with upholding the rule of law.’

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Public Law for Everyone, 16th September 2025

Source: publiclawforeveryone.com

Blue Badge fraud: ‘More fakes than ever before’ – BBC News

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘Blue Badges are being faked, doctored, stolen and sold online, fraud investigators are warning.’

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BBC News, 18th September 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Shabana Mahmood accuses asylum seekers of making ‘vexatious, last-minute claims’ – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2025 in news by sally

‘Shabana Mahmood has accused asylum seekers of making “vexatious, last-minute claims” to avoid removal to France as the Home Office said it would review modern slavery laws to save Keir Starmer’s returns deal.’

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The Guardian, 17th September 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted September 17th, 2025 in law reports by michael

High Court (Administrative Court)

Thompson & Anor v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2025] EWHC 2355 (Admin) (16 September 2025)

High Court (Commercial Court)

Atten Bidco Ltd v Assassa & Ors [2025] EWHC 2347 (Comm) (16 September 2025)

High Court (Family Division)

H (A Child), Re (Appeal: Child Maintenance) [2025] EWHC 2361 (Fam) (17 September 2025)

High Court (King’s Bench Division)

Mazur & Anor v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB) (16 September 2025)

Source: www.bailii.org

What the court decision to block deportation means for Labour’s ‘one in, one out’ deal with France – The Guardian

Posted September 17th, 2025 in news by michael

‘The decision by a high court judge to block the deportation of a man under Labour’s “one in one out” agreement with France has cast doubt on the future of the policy. Here, the Guardian examines the significance of the court’s decision and what it means for the removal scheme.’

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The Guardian, 17th September 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Law and religion roundup – Law & Religion UK

Posted September 17th, 2025 in news by michael

‘There has been some debate as to the role of the House of Lords in scrutinising this Bill, especially over whether it is appropriate for the House to debate the principle of assisted dying which has now been accepted by the Commons.’

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Law & Religion UK, 17th September 2025

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Family court sitting days to be cancelled in 2026 reshuffle – Law Society Gazette

Posted September 17th, 2025 in news by michael

‘The president of the family division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, informed representative bodies this week that 13% of family court sitting days for 2025/26 was allocated to the London Financial Remedies Court under a concordat agreed between the lord chancellor and lady chief justice, but this has not proved enough. As a result, planned financial remedies sitting days will have to be cancelled.’

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Law Society Gazette, 17th September 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Law Commission U-turns on separate framework for disabled children – Law Society Gazette

Posted September 17th, 2025 in news by michael

‘The Law Commission has U-turned on a proposal to create a separate legal framework for disabled children to ensure their social care needs are met, amid warnings that the proposal could lead to disabled children being deprioritised.’

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Law Society Gazette, 16th September 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Richard Brant and Lauren Butler: Reform UK’s Plans for “Getting Tough on Illegal Immigration”: From Legal Reset to Sunset – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted September 17th, 2025 in news by michael

‘The policy document proposes to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), replacing it with a “British Bill of Rights”, and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as “disapply” various international conventions. This is meant to enable deportations and removals. Notwithstanding the objectives of the plan to “identify, detain, and deport illegal migrants”, the terms “illegal migrant” and “illegal migration”, are not defined in Reform UK’s plan, and neither are they terms of art in domestic law.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 15th September 2025

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Warning for companies as Supreme Court rules on VAT groups – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 17th, 2025 in news by michael

‘The Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Prudential’s appeal over whether it was liable for VAT on performance fees, bringing to a close a long-running dispute between the insurance giant and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over whether VAT was due on performance fees it had to pay.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th September 2025

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com