Justice short changed – public funding of the justice system – The Bar Council

Posted September 5th, 2024 in budgets, civil justice, criminal justice, news, reports by sally

‘Public funding for justice is down by 22.4% in real per person terms since 2009/10, according to new analysis of government spending under the last government published by the Bar Council.’

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The Bar Council, 4th September 2024

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Court hits claimant who pitched up with ‘unrealistic’ budget – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 27th, 2024 in budgets, costs, negligence, news, penalties by tracey

‘A clinical negligence claimant who saw their unrealistic costs budget slashed cannot claim for the costs of sorting out the argument, a court has ruled.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd August 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MoJ refused to repay living costs to wrongly convicted partly to save money – The Guardian

‘A controversial decision to refuse refunds to wrongly convicted prisoners who were charged for bed and board while in jail was made in part to save money, the Guardian has learned.’

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The Guardian, 21st August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal bid to stop 25% cut in affordable childcare – BBC News

‘Hackney Council is facing a High Court challenge by campaigners battling to save two children’s centres from closure.’

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BBC News, 18th August 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Revealed: Rachel Reeves’s huge £47bn compensation bill for historical injustice, cover-up and negligence – The Independent

‘The efforts of the chancellor Rachel Reeves to get control of Britain’s finances are being hampered by a massive £47bn bill in outstanding compensation claims which could balloon even further, The Independent can reveal. Analysis of a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) showed £84bn has been pledged by previous governments, with 12 compensation schemes for injustice, cover-ups and negligence.’

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The Independent, 11th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Government saves three times what it spends on early legal advice, finds new report – The Bar Council

Posted August 6th, 2024 in budgets, government departments, legal advice, news by tracey

‘Providing free specialist legal advice could save the government £4.5billion for every half a million people who receive it, a new report has found, as leading legal organisations renew calls to “spend to save on justice”.’

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The Bar Council, 5th August 2024

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Statutory homelessness (England): Causes and government policy – House of Commons Library

Posted July 31st, 2024 in budgets, homelessness, housing, news by sally

‘Outlines the main drivers of homelessness and summarises the UK Government’s approach to tackling homelessness in England, including stakeholder views and comment.’

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House of Commons Library, 30th July 2024

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

County court has “borne brunt” of court reform failure – Legal Futures

Posted May 9th, 2024 in budgets, civil justice, county courts, news, select committees by sally

‘The county court has “borne the brunt” of the failure of the court modernisation programme to deliver, a former adviser to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said.’

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Legal Futures, 8th May 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New Acts – legislation.gov.uk

Posted March 25th, 2024 in budgets, legislation, national insurance by tracey

2024 c. 5 – National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Act 2024

2024 c. 4 – Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Act 2024

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Profession disappointed with slim Budget pickings – Legal Futures

‘The legal profession yesterday expressed disappointment at the lack of attention given to the justice system in the Spring Budget, which will see the Ministry of Justice’s expenditure fall next year by half a billion pounds.’

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Legal Futures, 7th March 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court reverses circuit judge’s decision to reduce costs budget – Legal Futures

Posted February 29th, 2024 in appeals, budgets, costs, news, personal injuries by sally

‘The High Court has taken the unusual step of reversing a circuit judge’s decision to reduce a costs budget, finding she “closed her mind to any argument” based on a comparison with the other side’s.’

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Legal Futures, 28th February 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Infected blood victims step up compensation battle – BBC News

Posted February 29th, 2024 in blood products, budgets, compensation, HIV, news, personal injuries, victims by sally

‘Victims of the contaminated blood scandal have urged the government to set out a compensation scheme, for those affected, in next week’s Budget.’

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BBC News, 28th February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

£1.2bn Is Spent Convicting People By Association, Including Innocent Bystanders – Each Other

Posted February 21st, 2024 in bills, budgets, criminal justice, homicide, joint enterprise, news, prosecutions, statistics by sally

‘A recent report by Manchester Metropolitan University, ‘The Mounting Cost of Injustice: Calculating the Economic Cost of Joint Enterprise’, reveals that £1.2bn of taxpayer money is spent annually to convict an average of 1,088 individuals under joint enterprise.’

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Each Other, 19th February 2024

Source: eachother.org.uk

Austerity contributing to rise in children in care – head of Family Court – BBC News

‘Austerity has contributed to a rise in the number of children in care, the most senior judge in the family courts has told the BBC.’

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BBC News, 29th January 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Around 100 courtrooms closing every week due to ‘endemic’ dilapidation, warns Lady Chief Justice – The Independent

‘Dilapidation is “endemic” in Britain’s crumbling court system, with around 100 unplanned courtroom closures every week exacerbating trial delays, the head of the judiciary has warned.’

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The Independent, 18th January 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Chief Coroner’s Report: The coroner service 10 years post-reform – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted January 15th, 2024 in budgets, coroners, HM Courts Service, inquests, judges, local government, news by tracey

‘The Chief Coroner has published a report reflecting on the impact of the reforms to the coroner service that came into effect 10 years ago, the current state of the service and its challenges for the future.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 11th January 2024

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Chief coroner calls for new bout of modernisation – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 15th, 2024 in budgets, coroners, HM Courts Service, inquests, judges, local government, news by tracey

‘The chief coroner has called for another overhaul of a service that has become a postcode lottery following deep cuts to local authority funding.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lifetime allowance – abolished, but not quite! – Pensions Barrister

Posted January 11th, 2024 in budgets, news, pensions, taxation by sally

‘Even the most seasoned pensions tax expert will surely have found the period since the government’s announcement on pension tax in the Spring Budget of 15 March 2023 bewildering, as the number of hyperlinked documents in this article demonstrates.’

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Pensions Barrister, 11th January 2024

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

Saying you are broke isn’t enough to avoid a duty – suitable accommodation and resources – Nearly Legal

Posted December 4th, 2023 in appeals, budgets, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, statutory duty by tracey

‘Imam, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Croydon (2023) UKSC 45. This is the long awaited Supreme Court decision in Imam v Croydon on what conditions a court should have regard to in deciding whether to make a mandatory order that the local authority comply with its section 193(2) Housing Act 1996 duty to provide suitable accommodation. At first instance, Croydon have avoided a mandatory order, despite Ms Imam having been in what was acknowledged to be unsuitable accommodation for what was then 5 years, in part on the basis of a fairly general assertion that LB Croydon had no suitable houses and no money (our note here). This was reversed by the Court of Appeal (our note here), which held that a pleading of lack of resources would have to be demonstrated in detail, with evidence of steps taken, before a court would accept this as a reason not to make a mandatory order.’

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Nearly Legal, 3rd December 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

The state of prisons in England and Wales – in numbers – The Guardian

Posted September 26th, 2023 in budgets, death in custody, news, prisons, statistics by sally

‘A prisoner escape, widespread overcrowding and the refusal of a German court to extradite a man to the UK because of concerns about jail conditions in Britain have all put the focus back on the creaking prison system.’

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The Guardian, 26th September 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com