Role of the Attorney General examined
This Report, 'Reform of the Office of Attorney General' (HL 93), examines the role of the Attorney General as provider and co-ordinator of legal advice, and senior legal advisor to the Crown. It also examines the role of the Attorney General in individual prosecutions and its functions as a minister.
New working relations between Courts, Lord
Chancellor and the Judiciary
Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS), which is an agency
within the Ministry of Justice, manages the system of support for the carrying
on of the business of the courts, including infrastructure and resources. HMCS
provides the support necessary to enable the judiciary and magistracy to
exercise their judicial functions independently.
This Paper, 'Her
Majesty's Courts Service Framework Document' (Cm. 7350), sets out the terms of
an agreement between the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice on a
partnership between them in relation to the effective governance, financing and
operation of HMCS with a view to preserving the due and independent
administration of justice.
Bribery law reform discussed
This Consultation Paper, ‘Reforming
Bribery - A Consultation Paper’ (LCCP 185), from the Law Commission looks at
the law of bribery in England and Wales.
Legal Services Act 2007 published
‘Legal Services Act 2007’
(Chapter 29) reforms the way legal services in England and Wales are
regulated and puts the consumer interest at the heart of the regulatory
framework. It received Royal Assent on 30 October 2007.
Brown’s policy plans set out
‘Her
Majesty's Most Gracious Speech to Both Houses of Parliament’ (Cm.
Unnumbered), also known as the Queen's Speech, sets out the Government's
legislative programme for the 2007-08 session of Parliament.
Family mediation reviewed
This Report, 'Legal Services Commission: Legal Aid and Mediation for People
Involved in Family Breakdown' (HC 396), examines the shortcomings of the
current system for referring clients to mediation in situations of family
breakdown.
Mental health ‘deprivation of liberty’
safeguards introduced
The main purpose of the
Mental
Health Act 2007 is to amend the Mental Health Act 1983. It also introduces
"deprivation of liberty safeguards" through amending the
Mental
Capacity Act 2005 and extends the rights of victims by amending the
Domestic
Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.
Reform of cohabitation law needed
Cohabitation outside marriage in England and Wales has
become increasingly common over recent decades and is expected to become more
prevalent in the future.
This Report from the Law Commission
'Cohabitation:
The Financial Consequences Of Relationship Breakdown’ (Cm 7182) makes
recommendations to Parliament on certain aspects of the law relating to
cohabitants.
Government announces draft legislative
programme
This Command Paper
'The
Governance of Britain - The Government's Draft Legislative Programme' (Cm.
7175) is the first annual statement setting out a draft legislative
programme to be laid before the next Parliament.
Where previously the
legislative programme was not divulged in advance of the Queen's Speech at the
State Opening of Parliament, this new annual statement allows Parliament and
the public advance notice of the legislation that the Government plans to bring
forward.
Encouraging responsible letting
In this Consultation Paper
‘Encouraging
Responsible Letting: A Consultation Paper ’ (CP 181), the Law Commission
reaches the third stage of its programme on the reform of housing law.
This Paper addresses issues raised by ‘Renting Homes’ (Cm. 6781),
published by in May 2006 and by the Housing Disputes project ‘Housing:
Proportionate Dispute Resolution - The role of tribunals' (CP 180) published in
June 2007.
Wide constitutional reform proposed
Aimed at restoring public trust in politics, this Green
Paper
'The
Governance of Britain' (Cm. 7170) sets out the Government's vision and
proposals for constitutional renewal. Plans focus particularly on modernising
the role of the Executive in the UK system of governance.
The four main
themes are:
- Limiting the power of the executive
- Making the
executive more accountable
- Re-invigorating democracy
- Improving
the relationship between the citizen and the state.
Proposals for freedom of information reform
reviewed
The Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000 came into force
in January 2005, providing a general right of access to information held by
public authorities in the UK.
The current charging scheme for handling
FoI requests is £600 for central government and £450 for other public
authorities, based on a set rate of £25 per hour for officials' time. Where the
estimated cost is below the limit, the information is provided free of charge,
but when the limit is exceeded, the public authority can either provide the
information for a charge or refuse to provide the information on grounds of
lack of cost-effectiveness.
Finance Bill 2007 reviewed
This Report from the House of Lords
'The
Finance Bill 2007' (HL 121-I) examines the Finance Bill, which implements
measures from
'Budget
2007' (HC 342).
Openness in the family courts
The work of the family courts is crucial in ensuring the
welfare of the child is paramount when difficult decisions have to be made. It
is important that the courts can conduct their business with openness and the
confidence of the public.
Legal aid reforms “too quick”
This Report
‘Implementation
of the Carter Review of Legal Aid’ (HC 223-I) examines the Government's
proposals for radical reform of the Legal Aid system, as set out in the
Government's November 2006 White Paper ‘Legal Aid Reform: The way ahead’ (Cm.
6993)
(Read
more) published in November 2006.
Income Tax Act 2007
The
'Income
Tax Act 2007' is an Act to restate, with minor changes, certain enactments
relating to income tax. The Act received Royal
Assent on 20 March 2007.
The main purpose of the Income Tax Act 2007 is to rewrite income tax
legislation to make it clearer and easier to use.
Discrimination ban welcomed
The Government intends to use its powers in Part 3 of the
Equality Act 2006 to make regulations prohibiting discrimination on the grounds
of sexual orientation in the provision of goods, facilities and services in
education and in the exercise of public functions.
Hybrid House of Lords proposed
Reform of the House of Lords is an issue which has provoked
intense debate and policy initiatives for over 100 years. The Lords has changed
and evolved through history, and continues to do so.
This White Paper
'House
of Lords: Reform' (Cm. 7027) from the Department for Constitutional Affairs
(DCA) looks at the evolution of the House of Lords, from the
Parliament
Act 1911 to the present day, and discusses current steps towards the reform
of the House of Lords, aiming to set the stage for the upcoming free votes on
the composition of a future House of Lords.
Gowers Review on importance of intellectual property
This Report examines the importance of intellectual property (IP) - ranging from patents, copyright and design to trade marks.
Reducing EU regulations could benefit
businesses
The Davidson Review focuses on the implementation of
European legislation in the UK. It was commissioned as part of the Government's
commitment to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on the private, public and
voluntary sectors.
Government responds to Carter Review on Legal Aid
The Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Legal
Services Commission set out reforms to the system of procurement of legal aid
services, moving towards a market-based system.
This Paper is an outline
of Government responses to Lord Carter's proposals for Legal Aid
Procurement.
More agencies given parenting order powers
The Police and Justice Act came into force in November
2006. The objective of the Act is to help build safer communities: measures
drive forward both the police reform programme and the Respect Action Plan.
Major changes in company law reform
The Companies Act 2006 makes it easier to set up and run a
company. Small businesses will benefit and, for the first time, a statutory
statement of directors' duties has been created.
Reforms to tenancy law proposed
This Report contains proposals for reform of the law
regarding the termination of a tenancy by a landlord, due to the tenant having
broken the terms of the tenancy agreement.
'Ageism' in the workplace now unlawful
This Statutory Instrument (SI) came into force on October
1st 2006. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 make 'ageism' -
discrimination on the grounds of age - unlawful and have been described as the
most significant revision of employment law in 30 years.
New powers proposed to fight organised crime
The
Serious
Crime Bill (House of Lords Bill 27) will introduce new powers that will
strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to fight serious organised
crime.