Watchdogs release damning reports on Marie Stopes abortion clinics – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 21st, 2016 in abortion, charities, consent, health, learning difficulties, news, reports by sally

‘Staff at Britain’s biggest abortion provider tried to give a vulnerable woman a termination even though she did not understand what was going on, a damning report has found.’

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Daily Telegraph, 20th December 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Jedi order fails in attempt to register as religious group – The Guardian

Posted December 20th, 2016 in charities, freedom of expression, news by sally

‘A Star Wars-inspired organisation has failed to use the force of its arguments to convince the charity watchdog that it should be considered a religious organisation.’

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The Guardian, 19th December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Richard Clayton QC: New Directions for Article 10: Strasbourg Reverses the Supreme Court in Kennedy – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v Charity Commission was striking from many points of view. Mr Kennedy was a journalist frustrated by the way the Commission handled his allegations concerning George Galloway MP’s controversial Iraq charity, the Miriam Appeal. He applied for disclosure of documents under the Freedom of Information Act, arguing that a prohibition from disclosure under s 32 should be interpreted compatibly with Article 10, as required by s 3 of the HRA. However, the Supreme Court declined to follow the recent ECtHR case law, holding that Article 10 did not encompass a right of access to information, deprecating the parties’ failure to rely upon the common law right to information and disagreeing over the question of whether proportionality should replace Wednesbury unreasonableness: see my previous post on this here.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 13th December 2016

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Charity bequests shouldn’t have special status, Supreme Court hears – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 13th, 2016 in appeals, charities, news, Supreme Court, wills by sally

‘Charities should be treated no differently from any other beneficiary of a will when resolving disputes, seven Supreme Court judges heard today in a long running legal battle over a £468,000 bequest to animal charities. In Ilott v The Blue Cross and Others, the court is considing an appeal by three animal charities case against a Court of Appeal ruling setting aside a will on the grounds that it did not make reasonable provision for the testator’s daughter.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 12th December 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Supreme Court to hear ‘unfair wills’ test case – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 12th, 2016 in appeals, charities, news, Supreme Court, wills by sally

‘The Supreme Court will today hear a case that should clarify the law on challenging wills on the grounds that they do not make reasonable provision. Animal charities are appealing a Court of Appeal decision in July last year in favour of Heather Ilott, who had been excluded from her mother Melita Jackson’s will.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 12th December 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Charities fined over ‘wealth screening’ data breaches – BBC News

Posted December 7th, 2016 in charities, data protection, fines, news by sally

‘Two charities have been fined over data protection breaches after secretly screening donors so they could be targeted for more money.’

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BBC News, 6th December 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ilott v Mitson: A storm in a Teacup? – Zenith Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in appeals, charities, news, wills by sally

‘With Ilott due to be heard in the Supreme Court on 12th December 2016[1], Nicola Phillipson considers the impact the case has had upon claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Act”) and wonders whether the importance of the various decisions has in fact been overblown?’

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Zenith Chambers, 31st October 2016

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

NSPCC rejects plan for ‘mandatory reporting’ of suspected child abuse – The Guardian

Posted November 7th, 2016 in charities, child abuse, news, victims by sally

‘Plans to compel professionals to report their concerns that children are being abused have been rejected by the UK’s leading child protection charity, provoking fury from a victim support group.’

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The Guardian, 5th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

13,000 British paedophiles request help to stop looking at child sex abuse images in one year – The Independent

‘More than 13,000 people have sought help to stop them from viewing indecent images of children in the past year, according to a leading charity.’

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The Independent, 13th October 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

What does the Sunday Mirror allege Keith Vaz did – and is it illegal? – The Guardian

‘Is it against the law to buy sex or to offer to pay for cocaine? And are poppers legal?’

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The Guardian, 5th September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Slavery reports rise fivefold, Salvation Army says – BBC News

‘The Salvation Army says it has seen nearly a fivefold rise in the number of slavery victims it has helped in England and Wales since 2012.’

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BBC News, 22nd August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Monkey selfie: Animal charity Peta challenges ruling – BBC News

Posted August 15th, 2016 in animals, charities, copyright, intellectual property, news by sally

‘An animal charity has appealed against a court decision which ruled a monkey could not own the copyright to a selfie photograph it took.’

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BBC News, 12th August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Jehovah’s Witnesses under pressure over handling of sexual abuse claims – The Guardian

‘The Jehovah’s Witnesses organisation is under increasing pressure to address its handling of sexual abuse allegations as it faces legal setbacks, bills of over £1m and a fight to prevent the Charity Commission examining its records of abuse claims.’

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The Guardian, 12th August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Law amounts to unnecessary death sentence for dogs, claims RSPCA – The Guardian

Posted August 9th, 2016 in charities, dogs, euthanasia, news, reports by sally

‘Hundreds of dogs are being put down unnecessarily, an animal charity has warned, as it calls for a government law change.’

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The Guardian, 9th August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Threefold rise in number of sex offences in schools reported to police – The Guardian

‘The number of sex offences in schools reported to police has almost trebled in four years, a study has shown.’

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The Guardian, 8th August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Funeral director Alison Pople stole £14k charity donations – BBC News

Posted August 4th, 2016 in burials and cremation, charities, fraud, news, sentencing, suspended sentences, theft by Mark L

‘A funeral director who stole money donated by grieving families to charities in memory of their loved ones has been handed a suspended sentence.’

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BBC News, 3rd August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court rules council acted unlawfully in cuts to short break funding – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 28th, 2016 in budgets, charities, children, equality, holidays, local government, news by sally

‘The High Court has ruled that a local authority acted unlawfully when it reduced funding to voluntary sector organisations that offer short breaks to disabled children.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th July 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Pair found guilty of stealing nearly £700,000 from the RHS – The Guardian

Posted July 19th, 2016 in charities, conspiracy, fraud, news, theft by sally

‘Two people have been convicted of stealing almost £700,000 from the Royal Horticultural Society over the course of a decade.’

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The Guardian, 18th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New tough charity regulator to name and shame bullying ‘chuggers’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 7th, 2016 in charities, codes of practice, news, regulations, reports by sally

‘Charity fundraisers who harass the elderly and shoppers in street will be “named and shamed” by a tougher new regulator to be launched today.’

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Daily Telegraph, 7th July 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Restraint use on child prisoners doubles, says Howard League – BBC News

Posted June 20th, 2016 in charities, children, inquiries, news, prisons, restraint, statistics, young offenders by sally

‘Children held in custody in England and Wales are twice as likely to have force used against them by staff than they were five years ago, research suggests.’

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BBC News, 20th June 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk