The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will have a wide-ranging impact on the leasehold sector if it is brought fully into force. But there are aspects of the Act that are currently in force. From 24 July 2024: The Act abolishes the s121 LPA 1925 remedies for the ‘historic’ rent charges (which can no …
Continue reading “LFRA 2024 – what is in force?”
New mandatory and discretionary disregards to financial eligibility tests for civil legal aid have been introduced under the Civil and Criminal Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Contribution Orders) (Amendment) Regulations 2024. From 20 November 2024, applications for legal aid made from that date are affected and some people already receiving legal aid (and paying legal …
Continue reading “Legal aid – means testing”
Practitioners will benefit from a new Commons briefing paper on child maintenance, arrears and enforcement which has just been published. It sets out information on what action the Child Maintenance Service can take and its powers to collect unpaid maintenance. If payments are not made in full or on time under a statutory child maintenance …
Continue reading “Child maintenance – research on collecting unpaid maintenance”
Fundamental defects in a suspended committal order prevented the court from activating it. The order for committal suspended for 18 months had been made against F following breaches of various return orders requiring him to procure the return of a child from Algeria to England. M applied for the order to be activated. The activation …
Continue reading “Committal proceedings – sentencing; procedural defects”
Whistleblowing continues to be a hot topic and the EAT has recently heard a case involving the interesting mix of a research scientist, whistleblowing and Oxford University. The case summary is as follows: ‘C was employed by the R1 as a senior post-doctoral research scientist in R2’s lab on a series of fixed-term contracts the …
Continue reading “EAT – whistleblowing”
New mandatory disregards to the financial eligibility tests for criminal legal aid have been introduced (under The Civil and Criminal Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Contribution Orders) (Amendment) Regulations 2024). From 20 November 2024, applications for criminal legal aid made from that date are affected. Clients already receiving legal aid (and paying legal aid contributions) …
Continue reading “Legal aid – means testing”
In excluding evidence as inadmissible hearsay, the trial judge had erred in law in principle. At issue in this case was whether certain evidence was inadmissible hearsay. The four defendants are awaiting trial for money laundering offences. The case against them is that they purchased Apple gift cards to launder the proceeds of frauds perpetrated …
Continue reading “Evidence – hearsay”
Sentencing failed to reflect the corruption of a nine-year-old girl and the persistent adverse attentions paid to her in the form of sexual assault and penetration by the offender, the CA ruled. It had significantly failed to reflect the level of offending. A had been sentenced to a total of 9.5 years’ imprisonment for rape …
Continue reading “Sentencing – sex offences”
Note that from 2 December 2024 HMLR is changing its address. This might not seem that significant as most firms will use the portal but remember that HMLR will require original deeds to be sent to it for first registrations from 1 October 2024 (see our November edition (p8)). So, the HMLR postal address will …
Continue reading “HMLR – address change”
Property practitioners will be aware of the furore created by the Law Society’s proposed update of the Property Information Form to the 5th edition. This update incorporates the material information requirements which estate agents are supposed to have been advertising since November 2023. The Law Society told CQS firms that using the updated form would …
Continue reading “TA6 changes – delayed again”