A Change of Culture: the CJC Working Group report on Low Value Clinical Negligence Claims – No. 5 Chambers

Posted October 31st, 2019 in costs, negligence, news, reports by sally

‘The CJC working group brought together a range of stakeholders with the aim of producing recommendations for the Department for Health and Social Care in relation to fixed recoverable costs (FRC) in low value clinical negligence claims. Broad, but not universal, consensus was reached on most issues. Further consultation by the DHSC is envisaged before a final framework is put in place.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 21st October 2019

Source: www.no5.com

Grenfell Tower inquiry: the chair’s findings so far – The Guardian

‘Firefighters’ ‘stay put’ tactics and apparent lack of preparation and construction materials criticised.’

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The Guardian, 30th October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Grenfell families must sign gagging orders to view report – Daily Telegraph

‘Grenfell families are to be required to sign non disclosure agreements before viewing a long-awaited report in to the fire which killed 72 people, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. The bereaved and survivors of the tragedy will tomorrow meet Sir Martin Moore-Bick, chairman of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, for a private briefing where they will receive an embargoed copy of the report covering the probe’s first phase, ahead of its publication on Wednesday.’

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Daily Telegraph, 27th October 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Risks facing social housing sector on the rise, warns regulator – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 24th, 2019 in health & safety, housing, news, rent, reports by sally

‘Strategic and operational risks facing the social housing sector are on the rise, the Regulator of Social Housing’s Sector risk profile 2019 has suggested.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd October 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Post-Legislative Memorandum: The Defamation Act 2013 – Ministry of Justice

Posted October 18th, 2019 in defamation, legislation, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘This post-legislative memorandum contains information on the operation of the Defamation Act 2013 for consideration by the Justice Select Committee.’

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Ministry of Justice, 17th October 2019

Source: www.gov.uk

Law Commissions looks to future with self-driving vehicles – Law Commission

‘Law Commissions publish proposals on the regulation of highly automated vehicles that operate without a driver (or “user-in-charge”).’

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Law Commission, 16th October 2019

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Push for tougher line on witness statements – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 18th, 2019 in drafting, evidence, news, reports, witnesses by sally

‘Initial proposals for the reform of witness statements are due to be considered by the senior judiciary in November, a High Court judge said this week. Mr Justice Baker, a member of the Witness Evidence Working Group, told delegates at the Law Society’s Commercial Litigation Conference on Tuesday that the group has now completed its report, which is due to be considered by judges at a “higher pay grade” next month.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 18th October 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Met Commissioner apologises over ‘Nick’ inquiry as ‘whitewash’ report clears officers of wrongdoing – Daily Telegraph

‘Dame Cressida Dick has apologised for the mistakes made during Scotland Yard’s disastrous Operation Midland investigation as a “whitewash” report from the police watchdog absolved all her officers involved of any wrongdoing.’

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Daily Telegraph, 7th October 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Sir Richard Henriques report – Metropolitan Police

‘Chapters 1 – 3 of Sir Richard Henriques’ Independent Review of the MPS’s handling of non-recent sexual offence investigations alleged against persons of public published following the conclusion of criminal proceedings against Carl Beech.’

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Metropolitan Police, 4th October 2019

Source: www.met.police.uk

‘Unprecedented’ level of special needs complaints upheld – BBC News

‘Breaches of children’s legal right to have special educational needs support have reached unprecedented levels, says an official complaints body. England’s local government ombudsman said not only had there been a spike in complaints, but nine out of 10 of them were upheld in 2018-19.’

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BBC News, 4th October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Scotland Yard to publish long awaited report into disastrous handling of ‘Nick’ case – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 2nd, 2019 in child abuse, news, police, reports, sexual offences by sally

‘Scotland Yard is to publish the long awaited report by Sir Richard Henriques into its disastrous handling of the Operation Midland investigation on Friday, it has confirmed.’

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Daily Telegraph, 1st October 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

HMP Coldingley prisoners ‘throw human waste out of cell windows’ – BBC News

Posted September 26th, 2019 in health & safety, news, prisons, reports by sally

‘Prison inmates have been resorting to throwing human waste out of their cell windows because of a lack of toilets, a report has found. The Independent Monitoring Board said it was “appalled at the lack of in-cell sanitation” at Surrey’s HMP Coldingley.’

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BBC News, 26th September 2019

Source: www.innertemplelibrary.com

Report on legal services regulation presents case for further reform – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 18th, 2019 in consumer protection, legal services, Legal Services Board, news, reports by sally

‘The potential harm to consumers arising from enduring weaknesses in legal services regulation justifies further reform, says a report published today by University College London’s Centre for Ethics and Law.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th September 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Illegal work practices ‘far too common’ says think tank study – BBC News

Posted September 16th, 2019 in employment, employment tribunals, holiday pay, news, remuneration, reports, young persons by sally

‘About one in 20 workers does not get paid holidays, while one in 10 does not get a payslip, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation think tank.’

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BBC News, 16th September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Report on special guardianship orders urges changes in mindset, regulations and protocols – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 16th, 2019 in carers, children, guardianship, news, reports by sally

‘The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory has called for major changes to special guardianship orders (SGOs) to ensure that family members who become carers have direct experience beforehand of looking after the child concerned. Its research review was undertaken in response to the Court of Appeal’s call for authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the use of SGOs.’

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Local Government Lawyer,16th August 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Police agree to publish full report into disastrous VIP sex abuse inquiry sparked by Carl Beech’s claims – Daily Telegraph

‘Scotland Yard has finally agreed to publish the damning report into its disastrous handling of the VIP paedophile investigation.’

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Daily Telegraph, 6th August 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Report calls for reform to special guardianship to protect and support children and carers – Family Law

Posted August 6th, 2019 in children, guardianship, news, parental responsibility, reports by sally

‘A recent report calls for significant changes to Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs), which includes ensuring family members who might become carers have direct experience of looking after the child before the court order is made. The review was commissioned by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory in response to the Court of Appeal’s call for authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the use of SGOs. It was led by Dr John Simmonds from CoramBAAF and Professor Judith Harwin from Lancaster University.’

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Family Law, 5th August 2019

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Improving Access to Justice: Community-based Solutions – Asian Journal of Legal Education

Posted August 5th, 2019 in equality, legal representation, legal services, pro bono work, reports by sally

‘Inaccessibility to justice is a major issue internationally, and in some countries access to justice has decreased in recent years. For example, the growth of inequality and decline of state support have left access to justice in the UK and the US in a worst state in decades. There is therefore an urgent need to find solutions to protect peoples’ rights. This paper outlines key issues of access to justice, and identifies a number of solutions – from grass-root efforts to organizational changes. The paper highlights the importance of community-based solutions, such as mass pro bono contributions from individuals, law service providers and
other organizations.”

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Asian Journal of Legal Education, May 2019

Source: https://research.gold.ac.uk/

Robert Thomas and Joe Tomlinson: How Immigration Judicial Review Works – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 31st, 2019 in human rights, immigration, judicial review, news, reports by sally

‘Two years ago on this blog, we drew attention to the immigration judicial review system—by far the most active area of judicial review litigation and the vast majority of all judicial reviews in England and Wales. In that post, we identified why there was a pressing need for further empirical exploration of the topic: not only was there a lack of understanding of litigation patterns but, on the basis of the evidence available, it seemed there was an issue of whether disputes were being channelled appropriately to judicial review (Paul Daly’s reflections on this post are available here). Since then, we have set about trying to build the evidence base that we argued was necessary to advance understanding. We collected data on the types of immigration judicial review claims and the views and experiences of people involved in the system. Our approach to the research was to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. We then combined the data gathered through these methods to inform our analysis. Our data included case-file analysis of Upper Tribunal judicial review cases and interviews with judges, representatives, users of the system, and others. We also undertook observations. Our full findings are set out in a detailed report, which we are publishing today. In this post, we provide a summary of our key conclusions.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 1st July 2019

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Police failing to solve crimes committed against elderly people, report finds – The Independent

Posted July 17th, 2019 in criminal justice, elderly, news, police, prosecutions, reports, victims by sally

‘Police are failing to solve crimes committed against elderly people and letting perpetrators walk free, watchdogs have warned. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate found that care for older victims was not good enough in more than half of cases examined.’

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The Independent, 17th July 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk