Legislation (a selection) Mental Health Act 2007 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2008, SI 2008/2828, commencement 3 November 2008 except for arts 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 (b), 18 (b), 19 (b) which come into force on 4 May 2009: consequential amendments made to four acts and 11 eleven SI’s as a result of the commencement of […]
The Latest Housing Law News New Premises Closure Orders: these new orders become available from today (1 December 2008) with the commencement of the relevant provisions of the Criminal Justice & Immigration Act 2008. For a copy of the commencement order, click here. The provisions greatly extend the scope for closing premises which are the […]
The Latest Housing Law News Legal aid for Housing Cases: faced with the increased demand created by the present housing crisis, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) has announced that it will award additional Housing matter starts to some current providers of legal services who are taking the strain of that increased demand. Applications for additional […]
COURT OF APPEAL Equal Pay Blackburn & Anor v Chief Constable of West Midlands Police [2008] EWCA Civ 1208The special priority payment scheme which was paid to those who work the 24/7 rotating shift pattern had a disparate impact on women and put them at a particular disadvantage when compared with men. However the scheme […]
News The UK Border Agency has announced that on the 27th November 2008, tiers 2 and 5 of the points-based system will open for applications. As these tiers open the schemes which they are set to replace will close down. more info The Legal Services Commission has published its response to the Bar Council’s ‘Legal […]
Brenda Campbell & Winsome Levy will bravely attempt to scale the heights of Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Just for Kids Law. Please come and support their efforts at our fundraising evening, complete with drinks, food, & great prizes to be raffled
Maya Sikand and John Beckley both shortlisted
The Latest Housing Law News Housing for EU nationals: the House of Commons Library has produced a helpful briefing paper "EU migrants: entitlement to housing assistance (England)" dealing with access to housing and homelessness assistance in England for non-UK EU nationals. For a copy of the paper, click here. Homelessness: the Welsh Assembly Government has […]
News The retired persons of independent means route will be closed from 27 November 2008. more info The number of jobs available to foreign workers through the shortage occupation route will be reduced, the Government announced on 11 November 2008. The shortage occupation list sets out those jobs for which there are not enough resident […]
Latest Housing Law News Housing work on legal aid: the blueprint for provision of publicly-funded Housing Law services after April 2010 has been set out by the Legal Services Commission in its consultation document Civil Bid Rounds for 2010 contracts: A consultation. The LSC proposes to let no Housing-only contracts. Future contracts will provide either […]
News The UKBA has announced that the age at which someone can apply for a marriage visa will increase from 18 to 21 from the end of this month. From 27 November both parties in a marriage will have to be 21 before a marriage visa can be issued. New immigration rules for business and […]
Two new housing seminars are taking place this month, Book your place now!
Mark Muller QC and Brenda Campbell were part of Access to Justice in Afganistan Project, which jointly involved: Garden Court Chambers, 20 Essex Street, Matrix Chambers and Blackstone chambers.
Latest Housing Law News Housing Ombudsman: the 2008 Annual Report of the Housing Ombudsman Service sets out the details of the ombudsman’s work over the past year and contains useful digests of concluded cases. For a copy, click here. Homelessness: the October 2008 Update from the Homelessness Action Team based at the Housing Corporation reviews […]
News The Australian Government has announced an investigation into reports that up to 20 rejected asylum seekers from Afghanistan were killed after being returned. more info The judicial arm of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) ruled that Niger had failed in its obligations to protect a 24 year old woman who had […]
The Master of the Rolls gave judgment today in Birmingham City Council v Shafi, dismissing the appeals brought by the Council. Maya Sikand, who represented the First Respondent Shafi
Latest Housing Law News Mortgage Repossession: on 22 October 2008 the Civil Justice Council (CJC) announced that the new pre-action protocol for mortgage possession cases had been approved and would come into force on 19 November 2008. For a copy of the announcement, click here. For a copy of the approved protocol itself, click here. […]
EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE Age discrimination Bartsch v Bosch C-427/06Under the guidelines of the employer’s pension scheme payments would not be made to a widow(er) of a member of the scheme if they were 15 or more years younger than the former employee. The ECJ held that such a provision was not covered by the […]
News On 16 October 2008 the Home Office announced "Tough new rules to safeguard the visitor route into the United Kingdom from abuse and keep Britain an attractive place to do business". Visa nationals wishing to come to the UK on business for up to six months must apply for a dedicated new business visa […]
News UNHCR official has accused Greece of violating the Refugee Convention by routinely rejecting asylum claims by migrants from war-torn states like Afghanistan. Greece’s record on asylum is so bad that UNHCR has advised EU countries not to return asylum seekers there until conditions improve. More info More generally the UNHCR’s top protection official has […]
