DWP employees with disabilities paid almost £1m in discrimination cases across four years – The Independent

‘The Department for Work and Pensions has had to pay out almost £1m to employees with disabilities in discrimination cases in the space of four years.’

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The Independent, 9th March 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Child slavery victims ‘falling through cracks’ as Home Office delays support promised four years ago – The Independent

‘The Home Office has been criticised for allowing thousands of child trafficking victims to “fall through the cracks” by failing to implement a policy designed to protect them for four years after it first pledged to do so.’

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The Independent, 5th March 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Top civil servant begins legal case against Priti Patel and Home Office – The Guardian

‘Sir Philip Rutnam, the senior civil servant who resigned on Saturday claiming he was bullied and forced from office, has begun legal action against the government over his treatment by Priti Patel, his union has told the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 3rd February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Judgment: R (DN (Rwanda)) (AP) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – UKSC Blog

‘The appellant, DN, is a Rwandan national who was granted refugee status in the UK pursuant to the 1951 Refugee Convention. DN was subsequently convicted of a number of offences, the most serious of which occurred when he pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful entry of a non-EEA national in the UK. The Secretary of State for the Home Department used the powers under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 to order the deportation of DN. DN’s attempt to assist unlawful immigration to a member state country was a serious offence by way of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (Specification of Particularly Serious Crimes) Order 2004. The Secretary of State ordered DN’s deportation and detention pending deportation.’

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UKSC Blog, 26th February 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Unmarried partners still missing bereavement payments – BBC News

‘Means-tested payments of up to £10,000 are made to parents whose husband, wife or civil partner has died.’

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BBC News, 3rd March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Anti-slavery tsar calls for councils to take on child trafficking cases – The Guardian

‘The UK’s independent anti-slavery commissioner has called for decision-making on child trafficking cases to be taken away from the Home Office.’

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The Guardian, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

DWP criticised for ‘incredible secrecy’ over deaths of benefit claimants – The Guardian

‘The head of an influential cross-party committee of MPs has criticised the “incredible secrecy” surrounding the government’s handling of the deaths of vulnerable benefit claimants following the case of Errol Graham, a severely ill man who died of starvation after his benefits were cut off.’

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The Guardian, 1st March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Harry Dunn lawyers call for High Court to publish US secret immunity papers – The Guardian

‘Lawyers acting for a teenager who died after a collision with a car allegedly driven by an American woman want the High Court to publish a secret document protecting her from prosecution.’

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The Guardian, 1st March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Cover-up’: DWP destroyed reports into people who killed themselves after benefits were stopped – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2020 in benefits, data protection, government departments, news, suicide by tracey

‘The Department for Work and Pensions has been accused of “a cover-up” after destroying reports into suicides linked to benefits being stopped. Around 50 reviews into deaths following the loss of social security payments before 2015 have been shredded, officials have admitted – blaming data protection laws.’

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The Independent, 26th February 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

DWP ordered to pay former trainee £400k over racism and ageism – The Guardian

‘A woman is to receive nearly £400,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions after a judge ruled that her colleagues there had deliberately created a “hostile environment” of racism and ageism that forced her out of work.’

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The Guardian, 25th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘How do I convince the Home Office I’m a lesbian?’ – BBC News

‘More than 1,500 people seek asylum in the UK on sexuality grounds every year.

The Home Office’s decision on whether to grant or refuse it depends on whether the interviewer finds the asylum-seeker’s account authentic and believable – but each interviewer may have his or her own assumptions about what an authentic and believable account should look like.’

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BBC News, 26th February 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Cardiff woman wins £400k in DWP race discrimination row – BBC News

Posted February 25th, 2020 in age discrimination, damages, government departments, news, race discrimination by sally

‘The Department for Work and Pensions has been ordered to pay out nearly £400,000 after a Cardiff woman won her claim for race and age discrimination.’

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BBC News, 25th February 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK venues could face legal duty to provide protection from terrorism – The Guardian

‘The owners and operators of businesses and public spaces such as concert halls, shopping centres and parks will be legally bound to protect such venues from terrorism under a new statutory duty proposed by the government.’

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The Guardian, 24th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office to release information about detainees’ access to lawyers – The Guardian

‘The Home Office has agreed to release information about whether it has deported immigration detainees who did not have access to working phones to contact their lawyers.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

British woman repeatedly trafficked for sex after Home Office failures – The Guardian

‘A young and highly vulnerable British sex trafficking victim was re-trafficked by county lines drug gangs on multiple occasions after the Home Office repeatedly refused to fulfil its legal obligation to provide her with safe accommodation.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Corona-vires: Has the Government exceeded its powers? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘One can appreciate the desire to bypass the cumbersome mechanics of Parliament to save the country from a potentially deadly virus. But in the fullness of time, the resulting Regulations might well be held up as an excellent advertisement for Parliamentary scrutiny.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 13th February 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Woman cleared of assaulting Yarl’s Wood guards during struggle – The Guardian

Posted February 12th, 2020 in assault, deportation, detention, government departments, immigration, news, restraint by sally

‘A Nigerian rape survivor who was under constant supervision at an immigration detention centre because she was at high risk of self-harm has been cleared of assaulting four guards who restrained her and tried to force her on to a charter flight.’

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The Guardian, 11th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

What is judicial review and why doesn’t the government like it? – The Guardian

Posted February 12th, 2020 in government departments, judicial review, news, parliament, rule of law by sally

‘Downing Street’s frustration over what it believes is excessive use of the judicial review process to overturn ministerial decisions – this week preventing deportations – has focused political attention on the complex courtroom process.’

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The Guardian, 11th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Standards committee backs AI “regulatory assurance body” – Legal Futures

Posted February 11th, 2020 in artificial intelligence, government departments, local government, news by sally

‘A body that identifies gaps in the regulatory landscape on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and advises individual regulators is needed as the technology develops, the government has been told.’

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Legal Futures, 11th February 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Begum still barred from returning to UK or reclaiming British citizenship – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 10th, 2020 in appeals, citizenship, government departments, human rights, news, terrorism by sally

‘When she was fifteen Shamina Begum slipped unimpeded out of the country to join ISIL. Only her image, walking with two school friends, was captured as she made her way through Gatwick Airport onto the aircraft. Her return to the UK, five years on is proving more difficult.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th February 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com