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The Children and Families Act 2014 became law on the 22nd April 2014 and has been hailed as the greatest shake up to the Special Educational Needs system in 30 years. A further Code of Practice for Special Education Needs was published on the 16th April...
An investigation by the Care Quality Commission revealed 67 doctors from private and NHS clinics had signed blank forms allowing women to have abortions. The doctors illegally signed blank abortion forms for women they had never met. For an abortion to be...
In 2012, the regulation of social workers in England was taken under the wing of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Since then, the number of social workers appearing before their regulator and coming away with an imposed sanction has...
I did a blog a couple of years ago following a very interesting development in Inheritance Act claims by adult children. In the case of Ilott v Mitson [2011] EWCA Civ 346 , the Court of Appeal upheld the original County Court decision of a District Judge,...
A story in the news recently has caught my eye, after a family in Scotland has been ordered to demolish their £500,000 dream home. The Murray family had bought a plot of land and engaged architects and builders to build their luxury home on it, to...
The recent decision from the Court of Appeal in Mehjoo v Harben Barker has given accountants something to be happy about following the worrying decision previously given in the High Court. In June 2013 Mr Mehjoo was awarded £1.4 million in damages...
If you require legal advice on a particular issue do you just instruct the “family solicitor” who has acted for you for many years? How do you know whether this is the right solicitor to use? To ensure you instruct the right solicitor for...
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which? said recently, with regards to financial complaints by consumers, that “It’s good to see the number of complaints overall is falling but the figures are still far too high, and it’s unacceptable...
This was first published in the Wigan Observer on 22nd April 2014. Q: Is using online divorce and family law services a good idea? A: It’s now 12 months since the loss of Legal Aid for most family law cases not involving issues of domestic abuse....
The latest release by the Office for National Statistics from the 2011 Census reveals that in 2011 12% (5.3 million) of adults living in households in England and Wales were living as part of a cohabiting couple which represents a 9.8% increase (4 million...
The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Conduct and Competence Committee removed a registered nurse from the NMC’s register having found her fitness to practise was impaired after pictures were found of her with a respite care patient who has severe...
The Football Association has proposed new robust and wide-ranging restrictions on betting within football. The proposed regulations would come into force at the beginning of the 2014-15 season and would see players, coaches, managers and other individuals...
On the 6th April this year, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment and Consequential Provisions) (England) Order 2014 (the Order) came into force, the purpose of which was to amend the GPDO. The Town and Country Planning...
On 1 April 2014 the Financial Conduct Authority took over regulation of consumer credit from the OFT (Office of Fair Trading). From that date, all businesses who hold a Consumer Credit Licence under the old system will not be able to trade unless they have...
In a recent Freedom of Information request made to the DVLA, it was disclosed that 10,797 new drivers had their driving licence revoked in 2012. New drivers are classified as those who have held their full UK licence for less than two years. If they...
The changes to the Civil Procedure Rules brought in as part of the Jackson reforms provide that a cost budget must be filed 7 days before the first Case Management Conference in multi-track litigation, unless the Court orders otherwise. This rule is subject...
A man with schizophrenia, known as MS, who believes he is a prophet ‘one level down from the holy trinity’ has been deemed to have the capacity to donate 10% of a recent inheritance totalling almost £70,000 as a tithe to the Church of...
This case concerned an appeal of a decision made in the Brighton County Court when the Official Receiver’s application for an income payments order was dismissed. A bankruptcy order had been made against Mr Baker on 10 November 2011 and the Official...
The recent decision of the Supreme Court in Coventry v Lawrence [2014] is an important case in the development of the law of private nuisance. The case was brought by the claimants who sought an injunction to restrain the defendant racing track...
Newly released Home Office figures have revealed that Taser use by the Police in the south of England doubled between 2012 and 2013. The devices were drawn 998 times as opposed to 433 times in 2012 and were actually discharged 192 times in 2013 compared...
BBC News has recently reported, after receiving information requested through the Freedom of Information request from 331 social housing providers, only 6% of those households who have been affected by the bedroom tax have actually moved homes. For those of...
The most recent research carried out by the RAC has concluded that one in 20 drivers suffer from sleep apnoea syndrome. The condition can be responsible for people falling asleep at the wheel and would lead to a highly dangerous driving situation. Further...
Many 'non-sophisticated businesses' who have been mis-sold interest rate hedging products , ranging from swaps to caps and collars, may have already received notifications from the various banks that these sales will be reviewed for the...
The bedroom tax was introduced in April 2013 with promises from the Government that it would save the taxpayer £1 million per day and increase the availability of larger properties to families that need them. However, the BBC has reported that 28% of...
A survey by trade boy R3 has found that late payments by customers for goods and services are responsible for 20% of insolvency events. The survey also found that 47% of insolvency practitioners questioned had seen at least one instance of late payment...
