23/07/2009 – Current Awareness

“On a judicial review of the reasonableness of a local authority’s decision to seek possession of land with unauthorised occupiers, the county court could look at a series of decisions including one made at the time of the hearing. If any one of the series could be shown to be unreasonable it could be challenged. The court should go beyond the pure rationality test.”

The Times, 23rd July 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Regina (P) v Secretary of State for Justice – Times Law Reports

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in inquiries, law reports, prisons, young offenders by sally

Regina (P) v Secretary of State for Justice

Court of Appeal

“A real and immediate risk to life was required to justify a self-harming young man’s request that the State investigate treatment he received while detained in a young offenders institution.”

The Times, 23rd July 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Her Majesty’s Treasury v Information Commissioner – WLR Daily

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in disclosure, freedom of information, law reports, public interest, tribunals by sally

Her Majesty’s Treasury v Information Commissioner [2009] EWHC 1811 (Admin); [2009] WLR (D) 251

“The convention that law officers’ advice to ministerial departments should not be disclosed without their consent continued to operate after the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, but was subject to the principles of that Act.”

WLR Daily, 22nd July 2009

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Expanded plans to tackle serious youth violence announced – Ministry of Justice

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in gangs, news, offensive weapons, violence, young offenders by sally

“The government has announced details of the next phase of the Tackling Knives Action Programme, including a specialist team to take on gang-related violence.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 22nd July 2009

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Poor Relief: Repeals Consultation – Law Commission

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in consultations, Law Commission, repeals, statute law revision by sally

“In our consultation paper we propose the repeal of 57 obsolete Acts relating to the poor law relief arrangements that existed before the advent of the modern welfare state. Indeed most of them are relics of the parish-based system that existed before 1834. The earliest of them date back to 1697 during the reign of William III and made provision for the poor in areas such as Colchester, Exeter, Hereford and Shaftesbury.”

Full story

Law Commission, 23rd July 2009

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in legislation by sally

The Saving Gateway Accounts Regulations 2009

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Armed Forces) Order 2009

The Value Added Tax (Buildings and Land) Order 2009

The Value Added Tax (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2009

The Gambling Act 2005 (Gaming Tables in Casinos) (Definitions) Regulations 2009

The Taxation of Pension Schemes (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment No. 2) Order 2009

The Individual Savings Account (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2009

The Meat (Official Controls Charges) (Wales) Regulations 2009

The Education (Free School Lunches) (Working Tax Credit) (Wales) Order 2009

The Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 (Commencement No 1) Order 2009

The National Health Service (Restructuring of National Health Service Bodies: Consequential Amendments) (Wales) Order 2009

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Schoolboy is first convicted of racist harassment of classmate – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in bullying, news, racism, young offenders by sally

“A schoolboy is facing the threat of a year in a young offenders’ institute after he became the first to be convicted of racially harrassing a fellow pupil.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 23rd July 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

FSA fines HSBC units £3m for ‘careless’ handling of confidential data – The Times

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in banking, data protection, fines, news by sally

“HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, has been fined more than £3 million by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for the ‘careless’ handling of confidential details of tens of thousands of its customers.”

Full story

The Times, 23rd July 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Council punished over theft of laptops from locked room – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in data protection, encryption, news by sally

“Privacy watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has taken action against a local authority which lost two laptop computers despite the fact that they were stored in a locked office and password-protected.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 23rd July 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

The Big Question: Will phone tapping convict more people, and why are its opponents so worried? – The Independent

Posted July 23rd, 2009 in evidence, interception, news by sally

“Why are we asking this now?

Because a government watchdog has warned against the use of phone-tap evidence in court, following mock trials in which its use gave every indication of being a disaster. Sir Paul Kennedy, the Interception of Communications Commissioner and a former Lord Justice of Appeal, said he could see no way to overcome problems with such evidence, and that the Government should drop its plans. Use of the technique at trials through March and April revealed “real legal and operational difficulties inherent in using intercept as evidence in the UK”, he said, before adding: “I cannot see a way to safely overcome these”. Aside from the immediate question of whether the law should be changed, intercepted phone calls have come under the spotlight with increasing frequency. Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor who now advises David Cameron, revealed this week that he had his phone bugged during his reign at the paper. Last year Sadiq Khan, a Labour MP, had his phone bugged during conversations with a constituent who was suspected of involvement in terrorism.”

Full story

The Independent, 23rd July 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk