Ministers criticise ‘two-tier’ sentencing changes in England and Wales – The Guardian

‘Ministers have criticised plans to make the ethnic background of offenders a greater factor in determining whether to jail them, saying they amounted to a “two-tier system” of justice.’

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The Guardian, 6th March 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Comprehensive new guidance on imposing community and custodial sentences – Sentencing Council

Posted March 5th, 2025 in codes of practice, community service, imprisonment, news, sentencing by tracey

‘The Council has published a significantly revised version of the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline.’

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Sentencing Council, 5th March 2025

Source: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk

Family President publishes guidance for judges on writing to children in family court proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

‘The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has issued guidance for family judges on when, how and why to write to children in family court proceedings.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th February 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ofcom to ‘shine light’ on sites not doing enough to protect women and girls – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2025 in codes of practice, internet, news, ombudsmen, women by sally

‘Tech platforms who are not doing enough to protect women and girls online will have their inaction highlighted so the public can make a choice about whether or not to use them, Ofcom has said.’

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The Independent, 26th February 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Ofcom calls on tech firms to step up action against ‘revenge porn’ – The Guardian

‘Tech platforms should combat the rapid rise in explicit deepfakes and “revenge porn” by using a database of images to protect women and girls online, according to new guidance being drawn up by the UK communications watchdog.’

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The Guardian, 25th February 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

CAP update shows complexity of UK ‘less healthy’ food and drink advertising ban – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 14th, 2025 in advertising, codes of practice, consultations, food, health, media, news by Lily

‘The Committee of Advertising Practice’s (CAP) update regarding media restrictions on advertisements for “less healthy” food and drinks products reveals the complexity of the issues to be considered by stakeholders, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th February 2025

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Parking rules to change after ‘five-minute fines’ – BBC News

Posted February 12th, 2025 in codes of practice, fines, news, parking, time limits by sally

‘Private parking rules are set to change to ensure motorists are not unfairly penalised if they do not pay within five minutes.’

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BBC News, 12th February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Are AML breaches misconduct? High Court hears SRA appeal – Legal Futures

‘A significant appeal that should decide whether a breach of the Money Laundering Regulations is also a breach of the SRA code of conduct starts in the High Court today.’

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Legal Futures, 29th January 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New rule to help drivers avoid harsh parking fines under consideration – The Independent

Posted January 14th, 2025 in codes of practice, fines, news, parking, time limits by tracey

‘British motorists can expect a major change in private parking rules in a bid to combat unfair parking fines after legal action was launched against a driver for taking more than five minutes to pay for using a car park. The new rules, which could be implemented in the next month or two, would allow drivers more time to pay for their parking space.’

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The Independent, 14th January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK illegal content codes ‘fire starting gun’ for Online Safety Act compliance – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 17th, 2024 in children, codes of practice, internet, news by tracey

‘The outlining of new measures to address “illegal harms” “fires the starting gun” for service providers’ compliance with the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), experts have said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th December 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Social media platforms have work to do to comply with Online Safety Act, says Ofcom – The Guardian

Posted December 17th, 2024 in children, codes of practice, internet, media, news by tracey

‘Social media platforms have a “job of work” to do in order to comply with the UK’s Online Safety Act and have yet to introduce all the measures needed to protect children and adults from harmful content, the communications regulator has said.’

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The Guardian, 16th December 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Soul Survivor – Actions and Recommendations – Law & Religion UK

‘On 10 December 2024, the Diocese of St Albans published its action plan in response to the Independent Review into Soul Survivor by Fiona Scolding KC. Building on its initial response from 26 September, the plan outlines changes to be implemented within the Diocese and recommendations for the wider Church of England. Developed over three months of engagement with diocesan governance bodies, the response is issued by the Senior Staff Team. The Press Release is reproduced below, and the full response is here.’

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Law & Religion UK, 13th December 2024

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

New guidance on ‘parental alienation’ in family court battles – BBC News

‘Family courts in England and Wales should give more weight to allegations of domestic abuse than to claims of “parental alienation”, according to new guidance.’

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BBC News, 11th December 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Changes to payment practices and performance reporting for large businesses – OUT-LAW.com

‘Large businesses in the UK preparing for the 2024-25 reporting season will need to be aware of the latest changes to the payment practices and performance reporting requirements.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th November 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

CPS sets out Action Plan to tackle disproportionality in charging decisions – Crown Prosecution Service

‘An ambitious plan to tackle racial disproportionality and safeguard fair prosecution decision-making for all has been published today by the Crown Prosecution Service.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 28th November 2024

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Britain’s New Tipping Act: A Promising Path for the Regulation of Service Work – by Einat Albin – UK Labour Law

Posted November 22nd, 2024 in codes of practice, employment, news, remuneration by sally

‘On October 1, 2024, the newly adopted Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 (hereinafter: the Tipping Act), came into force, accompanied by a Code of Practice on the fair and transparent distribution of tips (hereinafter: the Code), issued by the Department for Business & Trade (hereinafter: DBT). According to the DBT, the purpose of the Tipping Act is “to ensure the fair and transparent allocation of all tips, gratuities, and service charges.” Its desired outcome is “to improve fairness for workers by ensuring that the tips consumers leave in recognition of good service and hard work are going to the workers as intended.”’

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UK Labour Law, 21st November 2024

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

The strange afterlife of blasphemy – Law & Religion UK

‘The criminal offence of blasphemy is dead. It was unceremoniously abolished by section 79(1) of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. My colleague Norman Doe and I wrote a piece entitled ‘The Strange Death of Blasphemy’, which looked at events leading up to its abolition. The offence is now long dead.’

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Law & Religion UK, 21st November 2024

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Children case law update: November 2024 – Local Government Lawyer

‘Sarah Hutchinson summarises recent Family Division rulings on an application by a father for a boy subject to a care order to be circumcised, and an application by an NHS for permission for NG feeding and restraint in respect of a 12-year old girl with anorexia nervosa.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th November 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

A new Cafcass Domestic Abuse Practice Policy – Becket Chambers

‘On 9th October 2024 Cafcass published a new policy document that outlines what actions ‘practitioners’ (Family Court Advisers and Guardians) and their managers should undertake when working with children and adults who have experienced domestic abuse. The policy is a direct response to the 2020 Harm Panel report and it sets out a clear intention of further protecting child and adult victims of domestic abuse.’

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Becket Chambers, 31st October 2024

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

Time to comply: failure to prevent fraud is a reality – Kingsley Napley Criminal Law Blog

Posted November 13th, 2024 in chambers articles, codes of practice, company law, fraud, news by sally

‘The concept of holding corporate entities accountable for their failure to prevent fraud has been debated for some time. We previously wrote in detail about the process which ultimately led to the introduction into law last autumn of a new corporate criminal offence. Section 199 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) sits alongside the UK’s existing laws on fraud and corruption and is intended to make it easier to hold organisations to account by creating an offence of failing to prevent fraud committed by employees, or other ‘associated persons’, which may benefit the organisation.’

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Kingsley Napley Criminal Law Blog, 12th November 2024

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk