Category: budgets

Police ‘picking up pieces of mental health system’, says watchdog – The Guardian

Posted November 27th, 2018 in budgets, mental health, news, ombudsmen, police, statistics by tracey

‘Overstretched police forces are having to “pick up the pieces of a broken mental health system” on top of tackling crime, the emergency services watchdog has found. More than half of all mental health patients who need help in a place of safety are taken there in a police car rather than an ambulance, according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference 2018: David Gauke speech – Ministry of Justice

Posted November 26th, 2018 in artificial intelligence, barristers, brexit, budgets, courts, divorce, fees, speeches by tracey

‘Lord Chancellor David Gauke spoke about the revised Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme in his speech on 24 November 2018.’

Full speech

Ministry of Justice, 24th November 2018

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Scrapping juries in rape trials risks rise in miscarriages of justice – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2018 in budgets, criminal justice, juries, miscarriage of justice, news, rape, sexual offences, statistics by sally

‘There is no evidence juries are failing their duty. Abolishing them could increase pressure on judges to boost conviction rates.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Junk food ad ban on London transport to take effect in February – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2018 in advertising, budgets, food, London, news, obesity, statistics, transport by sally

‘Junk food adverts will be banned on London Underground, train, tram and bus services from February under plans announced by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 23rd November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Litigants in Person – an inherent problem with the justice system – Family Law Week

Posted November 21st, 2018 in budgets, legal aid, legal representation, litigants in person, news, statistics by tracey

‘Matthew Richardson, barrister at Coram chambers considers the fundamental problem with re-shaping our justice system around a huge increase in litigants in person, caused by the removal of legal aid provision from most cases.’

Full Story

Family Law Week, 9th November 2018

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Criminals may escape conviction due to lack of resources for forensics, says Lord Chief Justice – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 21st, 2018 in budgets, criminal justice, disclosure, diversity, forensic science, judges, judiciary, news, remuneration, retirement by tracey

‘Criminals may be escaping conviction because of a lack of resources for forensic investigations, the Lord Chief Justice warned yesterday.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 20th November 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Tax tribunal rules that Arron Banks suffered political discrimination – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 15th, 2018 in budgets, human rights, news, Northern Ireland, political opinion discrimination, political parties, taxation, tribunals by tracey

‘Banks v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2018] UKFTT 617 (TC). Donations made by Arron Banks to the United Kingdom Independence Party (‘UKIP’) are subject to a tax regime which discriminates against the donor on grounds of his political opinion, the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) has found.’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 14th November 2018

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Orkambi: Family of girl with cystic fibrosis launch legal challenge over lack of NHS funding for breakthrough drug – The Independent

Posted November 15th, 2018 in budgets, children, disabled persons, health, judicial review, learning difficulties, medical treatment, medicines, news by tracey

‘The family of a six-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis who was denied funding for a breakthrough drug which could extend her life has launched a judicial review against the NHS.’

Full Story

The Independent, 14th November 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The return of Crown preference – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 14th, 2018 in budgets, insolvency, news, taxation by sally

‘A Budget measure concerning tax and insolvency effectively puts the UK’s tax authority back among preferential creditors in an insolvency. Is this a failure to learn from history?’

Full Story

OUT-LAW.com, 13th November 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

The challenges facing England’s new prosecution chief – BBC News

Posted November 14th, 2018 in budgets, Crown Prosecution Service, disclosure, evidence, news, prosecutions by sally

‘Max Hill QC takes up his role as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the chief agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales, at a hugely challenging time.’

Full Story

BBC News, 13th November 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New research questions link between austerity and legal aid cuts – The Bar Council

Posted November 8th, 2018 in budgets, criminal justice, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, press releases, statistics by tracey

‘New research commissioned by the Bar Council reveals the full scale of a decade of dis-investment in justice and argues that decisions to make wholesale budget cuts cannot be blamed on austerity measures alone.’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 1st November 2018

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Landmark day for state pension equality – BBC News

Posted November 6th, 2018 in budgets, equality, national insurance, news, pensions, statistics, women by sally

‘From Tuesday women in the UK will begin to qualify for their state pensions at the same age as men – currently 65.’

Full Story

BBC News, 5th November 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Environmental Law News Update – Six Pump Court

Posted November 5th, 2018 in appeals, budgets, climate change, consultations, disclosure, environmental protection, financial regulation, local government, news by sally

‘In this latest Environmental Law News Update, Christopher Badger and Mark Davies consider the environmental implications of yesterday’s Budget, a consultation between the FCA and the PRA on climate change and finance, and a recent case holding that an EIR request was “manifestly unreasonable”.’

Full Story

Six Pump Court, 30th October 2018

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk

Barristers becoming as vulnerable to cyber-attacks as solicitors – Legal Futures

Posted November 1st, 2018 in barristers, budgets, complaints, computer crime, consultations, courts, disclosure, fees, legal aid, news, solicitors, statistics by sally

‘Increased use of technology at the Bar and in the court system has left barristers as vulnerable to cyber-attacks as solicitors, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has warned.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 1st November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Budget 2018: Here’s What It Means For Our Human Rights – Rights Info

Posted October 30th, 2018 in benefits, budgets, education, health, housing, human rights, mental health, news, roads, statistics by sally

‘In his final budget before Brexit, Chancellor Philip Hammond has declared that austerity is coming to an end and reiterated Theresa May’s £8.4 billion spending pledge to the NHS.’

Full Story

Rights Info, 29th October 2018

Source: rightsinfo.org

Crown Prosecution Service head: justice system can’t cope – The Guardian

Posted October 30th, 2018 in budgets, Crown Prosecution Service, disclosure, fraud, news, police, rape, select committees, statistics by sally

‘Britain’s criminal justice system is “creaking” and unable to cope with the huge amounts of data being generated by technology, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service has warned in her final interview before stepping down.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th October 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Bar Council: LASPO has failed – The Bar Council

Posted October 26th, 2018 in barristers, budgets, civil justice, criminal justice, legal aid, litigants in person, press releases by tracey

‘Legislation passed five years ago has failed to meet its aims and has created an unfair and inefficient justice system, says the Bar Council as new research shows the true impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO).’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 25th October 2018

Britain’s equality efforts overshadowed by ‘backwards steps’, EHRC warns – The Guardian

Posted October 25th, 2018 in benefits, budgets, disabled persons, equality, health, minorities, news by tracey

‘Progress on making Britain a more equal country has been overshadowed over the last three years by “alarming backward steps”, the government’s own equalities watchdog has warned.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 25th October 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police Federation launches legal action against government for ‘cheating officers out of pay rise they deserve’ – The Independent

Posted October 24th, 2018 in budgets, judicial review, news, police, remuneration, statistics, stop and search, violent offenders, weapons by tracey

‘An association representing 120,000 police officers has launched legal action accusing the government of “cheating officers out of the pay increase they should receive”. The Police Federation said it had lodged an application for a judicial review of the decision to ignore an independent body’s recommended 3 per cent increase amid a rise in crime, demand and the terror threat.’

Full Story

The Independent, 23rd October 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Short Cuts – London Review of Books

Posted October 18th, 2018 in appeals, budgets, criminal justice, legal aid, magistrates, news, sentencing by sally

‘If you want to appeal against a guilty verdict given by a crown court jury you first have to seek permission from the Court of Appeal. For permission to be granted, a judge has to be satisfied there is an ‘arguable case’ that the conviction was ‘unsafe’. If so, the appeal is heard in full by a panel of three judges. The latest figures show that in 2016-17 the court received 1305 applications for permission to appeal, and dealt with 850, refusing permission to 695 (82 per cent). It heard 215 appeals, and allowed 78 – 36 per cent of those heard.’

Full Story

London Review of Books, 11th October 2018

Source: www.lrb.co.uk