Grenfell Tower fire: Police ask for £38m to fund investigation – BBC News
‘The Metropolitan Police has asked the Home Office to pay £38m for its Grenfell Tower fire investigation.’
BBC News, 4th January 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: budgets
Costs lawyers urge government to limit fixed costs to fast-track only – Litigation Futures
‘The government should curb Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendation to expand the use of fixed recoverable costs, limiting them only to the fast-track, according to a survey of costs lawyers.’
Litigation Futures, 12th December 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Stephen Hawking joins lawsuit aimed at foiling Hunt’s NHS shake-up – The Guardian
‘Stephen Hawking has reignited his public dispute with Jeremy Hunt by joining a legal action aimed at scuppering an NHS shake-up that he fears will lead to greater privatisation and rationing of resources.’
The Guardian, 8th December 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
More than 30 child protection departments in special measures – The Guardian
‘The children’s services departments of more than 30 councils in England are in special measures, an Observer analysis has revealed.’
The Guardian, 10th December 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Justice minister pours cold water on growing calls to fund early legal advice – Legal Futures
‘The government yesterday damped down hopes that it would consider funding greater access to early legal advice.’
Legal Futures, 6th December 2017
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
New hot-tubbing and ‘costs of costs management’ rules come into force – Litigation Futures
‘Variations that judges can adopt in orders for concurrent expert evidence – known as ‘hot-tubbing’ – came into force last week, along with a new provision that clarifies how the costs of costs management should be calculated.’
Litigation Futures, 1st December 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
High Court tells parties: Don’t abuse our tougher approach – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The High Court has sent a message through a new judgment that litigants should not seek advantage from judges’ hardline stance on costs budgeting.’
Law Society's Gazette, 28th November 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Leading judge warns litigants not to start playing games over “minor procedural glitches” – Litigation Futures
‘The incoming deputy head of civil justice has warned parties not to abuse the courts’ tougher approach to rule compliance.’
Litigation Futures, 28th November 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Making the most of Cost Budgeting – Hardwicke Chambers
‘Love it or loathe it (for most it is the latter), cost budgeting is here for the foreseeable future. It can be a time consuming and tiresome exercise. But unless lawyers roll up their sleeves and get stuck in they risk significantly disadvantaging their clients and opening themselves up to negligence claims. On the other hand, forethought and preparation can reap tactical and financial benefits. What follows is an outline of the budgeting process and some suggested methods of making the most of it.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 20th November 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Re-classifying housing associations – Nearly Legal
‘Slightly under the radar (possibly), but of enormous significance, the ONS has re-classified housing associations (or private registered providers of social housing – in the new language which I can’t get used to) as private sector, and in so doing has wiped around £60billion off the public sector debt. It is this re-classification which has given Hammond room to manoeuvre in the coming budget (although the rumours are that he is going to put £5billion only, and that appears to be going towards home ownership – plus ca change), which kind of proves the value in spreadsheets and the significance of audit practices.’
Nearly Legal, 21st November 2017
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
MoJ reveals massive budget cut as new advice deserts open – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The deeply worrying scale of the budgetary pressures bearing down on the Ministry of Justice is laid bare in new figures which will dampen already faint hopes of public funding reform. In a written parliamentary answer, justice minister Dominic Raab revealed that the MoJ will have suffered a cumulative 40% real terms cut in its budget over the fiscal decade ending in 2020.’
Law Society's Gazette, 20th November 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Bach to the future – Counsel
‘Time for legal aid to break free from party political discourse? Yes, argues Lucie Wibberley, in light of the recommendations of the Bach Commission for a new Right to Justice Act.’
Counsel, November 2017
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
A cautionary tale on the importance of client service – Practical Law: Construction Blog
‘The recent decision in Riva Properties Ltd v Foster + Partners Ltd, considers the duties that an architect owes to its client, specifically in the context of working in accordance with the client’s budget. Helena White and Matt Malloy have recently written about issues of contributory negligence and evidence arising out of the case. One of the most interesting aspects of the decision for me is that, over the course of a searing 313 paragraph judgment, Fraser J delivers a forceful reminder that client service is at the heart of the construction industry. Although the case specifically concerns the provision of architectural design services, it is a cautionary tale of the consequences of failing to put clients’ objectives first, which is just as relevant to lawyers, professional advisers of any specialism and indeed to all parties involved in the delivery of construction projects.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 15th November 2017
Police ‘to give up on minor crimes without major funding increase’ – The Guardian
‘More police forces are poised to give up investigating minor offences such as car crime and retail thefts without a significant funding increase in the budget next week, police and crime commissioners have warned.’
The Guardian, 14th November 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Rogue landlords enjoy an easy ride as councils fail to prosecute – The Guardian
‘Councils across Britain have been accused of letting rogue landlords off the hook, after new figures revealed that most have failed to secure a single prosecution.’
The Guardian, 28th October 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Don’t be late – Hardwicke Chambers
‘Much has been written about the court’s discretion to grant relief from sanctions pursuant to CPR 3.9 over recent years, due to the reformulation of the rule in April 2013 and the landmark Court of Appeal decision in Mitchell MP v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013]. The strictness of the approach in Mitchell led to an outcry from academics and practitioners, but that has now been allayed by the Court of Appeal in Denton v TH White Ltd [2014].’
Hardwicke Chambers, 5th October 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Transactions in land tax rules: unexpected implications – OUT-LAW.com
‘New ‘transactions in land’ UK tax rules took effect from 5 July 2016. The rules were aimed at larger property developers with the means to implement cross-border structures to avoid UK income or corporation tax.’
OUT-LAW.com, 17th October 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
Understandable Relief – CPR 3.9 Appeal – Late Filing Of Costs Budget – Zenith PI
‘I recently represented the Claimant/Appellant before HHJ Gosnell in Leeds in relation to an appeal against the refusal of an application for relief from sanctions at first instance. The appeal was successful, with relief being granted and the Claimant being permitted to rely on his costs budget, despite it having been served over two months late, rather than being treated as having filed a budget comprising only the applicable court fees.’
Zenith PI, 16th October 2017
Source: zenithpi.wordpress.com
Senior judge warns over ‘shaming’ impact of legal aid cuts – The Guardian
‘One of the most senior family court judges has warned about the impact of legal aid cuts and said it was “shaming” to preside over cases in which individuals are forced to represent themselves.’
The Guardian, 13th October 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Low-level crimes to go uninvestigated in Met police spending cuts – The Guardian
‘The Metropolitan police are to stop investigating many lower level crimes as a result of spending cuts, a senior police officer has said.’
The Guardian, 16th October 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
