Legislation to counter state threats – Home Office

‘This is the government’s response to the Legislation to Counter State Threats (Hostile State Activity) public consultation.’

Full Story

Home Office, 12th July 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Female doctors launch campaign against harassment in UK healthcare – The Guardian

Posted July 11th, 2022 in doctors, equality, harassment, hospitals, news, sex discrimination, statistics, women by tracey

‘Female doctors have launched an online campaign that they say exposes shocking gender-based discrimination, harassment and sexual assault in healthcare.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th July 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Warning of ‘tsunami of online child abuse’ as figures show grooming cases rise – The Independent

‘A “tsunami” of online child abuse is taking place in the UK, the NSPCC has said as it published data showing a more than 80% rise in online grooming crimes being recorded by police over the last four years.’

Full Story

The Independent, 5th July 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Watchdogs condemn police response to domestic abuse claims against officers – The Guardian

‘Police forces in England and Wales are responding to reports of their own officers committing domestic abuse in a way that is “significantly harming the public interest”, with just 9% of such allegations leading to criminal charges, a joint watchdog investigation has found.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 30th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Dramatic fall in successful high court challenges to government policy – The Guardian

‘Successful high court challenges to government policy and decisions by public bodies have fallen dramatically, prompting warnings that ministers’ attacks on lawyers could be having a chilling effect on judges.

The proportion of civil judicial reviews in England and Wales, excluding immigration cases, which claimants won out of total claims lodged fell by 50% on 2020, according to analysis seen by the Guardian. The figure is 26% if the success rate is measured out of cases that went to a final hearing.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 23rd June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Windrush: only one in four applicants have received compensation – The Guardian

‘Only one in four applicants to the Windrush compensation scheme have received payments four years after the government promised redress for those wrongly classified by the Home Office as illegal immigrants.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 22nd June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

New data reveals decline in access to justice – The Bar Council

Posted June 20th, 2022 in barristers, courts, legal aid, news, statistics by tracey

‘The Bar Council is calling for more funding for the justice system, as it launches a new, live, interactive map of key national and regional data on access to justice across England and Wales.’

Full Story

The Bar Council, 20th June 2022

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Black people in Merseyside twice as likely to be arrested – report – BBC News

Posted June 17th, 2022 in equality, news, police, race discrimination, racism, statistics by tracey

‘Black people in Merseyside are twice as likely to face arrest than white people, a police report has revealed.’

Full Story

BBC News, 17th June 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Society fails women by not believing rape victims, campaigner says – The Independent

‘Society must stop “failing” women by assuming rape victims are lying, a campaigner who helped shape the Government’s landmark review of serious sexual offences has said.’

Full Story

The Independent, 15th June 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Barristers to be balloted on possible walkouts in row over legal aid rates – The Guardian

‘Barristers are to be balloted this weekend on escalating industrial action over legal aid rates as figures reveal the number of crown court cases adjourned because of a shortage of lawyers has increased nearly fivefold over the decade.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

No future in criminal defence, juniors tell Law Society – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 6th, 2022 in criminal justice, fees, Law Society, news, remuneration, solicitors, statistics by tracey

‘Few junior lawyers see criminal defence as a viable long-term career, according to the unsurprising results of a Law Society survey.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 1st June 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Raab promises to put victims ‘firmly at heart of justice system’ – The Independent

Posted May 25th, 2022 in bills, criminal justice, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics, victims by sally

‘The Government has promised to put the “needs and voices” of victims “firmly at the heart of the justice system” with a series of legal reforms.’

Full Story

The Independent, 25th May 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lawyers limit community care cases “to help firms stay afloat” – Legal Futures

‘Community care lawyers are limiting the amount and type of legal aid work they do to ensure that their firms remain financially viable, a report has found.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 6th May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Joint enterprise ruling has not led to fewer homicide charges, report finds – The Guardian

‘A landmark UK judgment that was expected to lead to a reduction in joint enterprise prosecutions and convictions for homicide has had no discernible effect, while the number of Black people convicted of murder under the controversial doctrine has risen, research suggests.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Number of children in custody in England and Wales set to double by 2024 – The Guardian

Posted April 28th, 2022 in imprisonment, minorities, news, reports, statistics, young offenders by sally

‘The number of children in custody in England and Wales is expected to double by 2024, according to a report by Whitehall’s public spending watchdog, which also highlights that black and minority ethnic children are increasingly over-represented in the youth justice system.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 28th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

MPs lament “missed opportunities” of court reform programme – Legal Futures

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have “missed opportunities to swiftly deliver an ambitious court reform programme”, MPs on the justice select committee say today.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 27th April 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

No-fault evictions: 200,000 renters in England served notices in three years – The Guardian

Posted April 27th, 2022 in housing, landlord & tenant, news, repossession, statistics by sally

‘More than 200,000 private renters in England have been served eviction notices without doing anything wrong in the three years since the government first promised to ban the practice, housing campaigners have claimed.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 26th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sexual offence victims face longest-ever court waits – BBC News

‘Recent cases involving serious sexual offences have taken the longest time on record to go through Crown Courts in England and Wales, the BBC has found.’

Full Story

BBC News, 25th April 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Breaches of English farm pollution laws rise as rules remain largely unenforced – The Guardian

Posted April 22nd, 2022 in agriculture, environmental health, news, pollution, statistics, water by sally

‘The number of documented violations of legislation designed to reduce water pollution caused by agriculture in England has hit record levels as the rules remain largely unenforced.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 21st April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

NEWS ‘Defendants in the bath’: magistrates reveal remote-hearing concerns – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Three-quarters of magistrates do not want remote links to be used as extensively as they were during the pandemic, according to landmark research on their experiences in the criminal courts. After canvassing the views of 865 magistrates, a report published by the Magistrates Association, assisted by legal charity Transform Justice, concludes that audio and video links negatively impact communication and effective participation, particularly for vulnerable court users.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 12th April 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk