Whistleblowing judges: protected by human rights? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The UK Supreme Court has unanimously granted an appeal by a district judge against the Court of Appeal’s decision that she did not qualify as a “worker” under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (the “1996 Act”), and therefore could not benefit from the whistleblowing protections it conferred.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th October 2019

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Courts chief: closures weren’t based on “real travelling times” – Legal Futures

Posted October 17th, 2019 in budgets, courts, HM Courts Service, Ministry of Justice, news, transport by sally

‘Many court closures in the past have not been based on the real travelling times it would take people to get to an alternative building, the chief executive of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has admitted.’

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Legal Futures, 17th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New Judgment: Gilham v Ministry of Justice [2019] UKSC 44 – UKSC Blog

‘The issue in the appeal was whether a District Judge qualifies as a ‘worker’ or a ‘person in Crown employment’ for the purpose of the protection given to whistle-blowers under Part IVA of the Employment Rights Act 1996. If not, was this discrimination against her in the enjoyment of her right to freedom of expression, protected by article 14 taken together with article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights?’

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UKSC Blog, 16th October 2019

Source: ukscblog.com

‘Whistleblowing’ judge wins landmark appeal at Supreme Court – BBC News

‘A judge, who says she was bullied and had a breakdown after speaking out about government cuts, has won a landmark appeal at the Supreme Court.’

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BBC News, 16th October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court of Appeal orders council to pay cost of attendance of young woman at weekly placement – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that North East Lincolnshire Council should have paid the cost of a disabled young woman attending a weekly placement, overturning an earlier High Court decision.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th October 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Trade union firm faces trade union-organised strike – Legal Futures

Posted October 9th, 2019 in budgets, costs, employment, law firms, news, personal injuries, remuneration, trade unions by sally

‘Leading trade union law firm Thompsons is facing a strike over pay – and pickets lines at its offices across the country – organised by a trade union.’

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Legal Futures, 9th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Children being ‘set up to fail’ on release from custody by authorities, watchdog finds – The Independent

‘Children jailed for criminal offences are being “set up to fail” by authorities who fail to give them the support they need to stop offending, a watchdog has found. Half of the 12 to 17-year-old boys whose cases were examined by HM Inspectorates of Probation and Prisons, were being investigated by police again within three months of being released from young offender institutions.’

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The Independent, 8th October 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Families lose challenge over special-needs funding – BBC News

Posted October 8th, 2019 in budgets, disabled persons, judicial review, news, special educational needs by tracey

‘Three families who challenged the government over its approach to special needs and disability (Send) funding have lost their case at the High Court.’

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BBC News, 7th October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

First police force found to be ‘failing’ in all areas as watchdog finds performance worsening across country – The Independent

Posted September 27th, 2019 in budgets, crime prevention, Ministry of Justice, news, ombudsmen, police, standards, statistics by tracey

‘A scandal-hit police force has become the first to be branded “failing” in all areas after inspectors found it was not preventing crime or protecting vulnerable people.’

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The Independent, 27th September 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cut-off between budgeted and incurred costs to be clarified – Litigation Futures

Posted September 19th, 2019 in budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, drafting, news, practice directions by tracey

‘A change to the CPR coming into force on 1 October should provide clearer guidance on the cut-off between budgeted and incurred costs, it has been argued.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th September 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

77 more courts in England and Wales to close – The Guardian

Posted September 13th, 2019 in budgets, courts, delay, HM Courts Service, live link evidence, news, ombudsmen, statistics by tracey

‘Nearly 80 more courts in England and Wales are due to close under a justice transformation scheme that is falling behind schedule, a watchdog’s report has revealed.’

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The Guardian, 13th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘VIP abuse’ accuser Carl Beech inquiry to cost Met Police £4m – BBC News

‘An investigation into false claims of murder and child sexual abuse against public figures could cost the Metropolitan Police £4m.’

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BBC News, 4th September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

SEND reforms have “failed to make system less adversarial for parents” – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 4th, 2019 in budgets, children, disabled persons, news, special educational needs by sally

‘A key aim of the SEND (special educational needs and disability) reforms introduced in England five years ago – to make the system feel less adversarial for parents – has not been achieved in relation to children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), it has been claimed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd September 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Costs lawyers “see opportunities” in helping clients challenge bills – Litigation Futures

Posted September 3rd, 2019 in appeals, budgets, costs, news, proportionality, solicitors, statistics by sally

‘A majority of costs lawyers think there is a business opportunity in helping unhappy clients challenge their solicitors’ bills, a survey has found.’

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Litigation Futures, 3rd September 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Budgeting “not inevitable” in catastrophic injury cases – Litigation Futures

‘Costs budgeting is not “inevitable” in high-value injury cases and lawyers should consider whether the best approach may be to dispense with it altogether, a leading practitioner has suggested.’

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Litigation Futures, 29th August 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Costs budgeting is not inevitable – Charlie Cory-Wright QC – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted August 27th, 2019 in budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Generally speaking, we lawyers dislike procedural change. While we may well understand that a particular change is necessary and we will certainly recognise that we need to adapt to it when it comes, such changes nonetheless tend to make us feel ignorant and highly uncomfortable. We have to treat any new procedural regime as a known unknown, which presents pitfalls for the unwary, at least until we become familiar with it. And in the meantime, a culture of half-knowledge develops, an uncertain and dangerous combination of a little learning, anecdote, and false assumptions. This very often leads to negative over-simplification.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, August 2019

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Drink drivers escaping prosecution as officers have to drive more than an hour to police station – Daily Telegraph

‘Drink drivers are getting away with breaking the law because police are having to drive them up to an hour and 45 minutes to the nearest custody cells, it has been warned.’

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Daily Telegraph, 18th August 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Cost of outside legal advice doubles at 42 councils – BBC News

Posted August 16th, 2019 in budgets, contracting out, legal services, local government, news by tracey

‘A doubling of spending on outside legal advice by more than 40 local councils has been labelled “ridiculous” by people fighting funding cuts. Figures from 270 of the 408 councils asked by the BBC showed £322m was spent last year on in-house legal teams and £142m on external legal services.’

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BBC News, 16th August 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge rejects court action against Boris Johnson over £350m Brexit claim – The Guardian

‘An attempt to bring a private prosecution against Boris Johnson for allegedly telling lies during the 2016 referendum campaign appears to have been dealt a fatal blow with the rejection of an application to take the case to the supreme court.’

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The Guardian, 14th August 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Number of people dealt with by criminal justice system falls to lowest level since records began – The Independent

‘The number of people prosecuted or handed penalties for crimes in England and Wales has fallen to a record low as offences rise. Statistics released by the Ministry of Justice showed the figure dropped by 2 per cent to 1.59 million people in the year to March.’

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The Independent, 15th August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk