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Legislation / Legal
IPCC: A Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer has been found guilty of common assault after pushing 16-year-old Onyeka Obi through a shop window.
IPCC Commissioner Mike Franklin said:
IPCC Commissioner Mike Franklin said:
"As a police officer PC Ballard is entitled to use force where necessary to defend himself and members of the public. However, the CCTV and witness evidence clearly shows he had no need to be aggressive - the teenager posed no threat to him or others. Despite the teenager having his hands in his pockets PC Ballard forcibly grabbed and then pushed him towards a shop window. The officer has made the already difficult task of gaining public confidence in stop and search that much more difficult”.
DWP: Jobseekers that need additional support to get back to work could be referred onto Mandatory Work Activity placements under new welfare rules laid in Parliament last week. Where Jobcentre Plus advisers believe a jobseeker will benefit from experiencing the habits & routines of working life, they will have the power to refer them to a 4 week mandatory placement.
Every work placement will offer the jobseeker the opportunity to gain fundamental work disciplines and will be of benefit to the local community. Participants will be expected to spend up to 30 hours a week, for 4 weeks, on their Work Activity placement and will be required to continue to look for work.
Press release ~ The Jobseeker’s Allowance (Mandatory Work Activity Scheme) Regulations 2011 ~ www.dwp.gov.uk
NIA: The Northern Ireland Assembly concluded its consideration of an important new Housing Bill last week. The Bill will require all private landlords to sign-up to a register; introduce a scheme to protect private tenants’ deposits and will introduce fixed penalties for landlords who breach tenancy legislation. The Final Stage of the Housing (Amendment) Bill concluded on 14 March 2011. The Bill is expected to become law later this year.
NIA: The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Finance and Personnel has welcomed a decision by the Minister of Finance & Personnel to amend existing Building Regulations to set a requirement for the installation of carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.
Press release and related links
WAG: Deputy Minister for Children Huw Lewis hailed last week as an historic time for children’s rights as Wales became the first country in the UK to make the United Nation Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC) part of its domestic law. The Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure has been approved by Her Majesty in Council and has now become a part of Welsh law.
Press release ~ Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure (scroll down)
HO: The Home Secretary has laid a parliamentary order as part of commitment to making counter-terrorism powers fairer & more effective. Police are now only able to stop & search people without reasonable suspicion where it's considered necessary to prevent terrorism. Previously, section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allowed officers to search individuals even if they didn’t have reasonable suspicion.
Press release and related links
DCMS: A bill making a number of technical changes to the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 has been introduced into Parliament by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The changes would ensure that existing advertising & trading, ticket touting and traffic management measures introduced by the 2006 Act are able to be properly implemented.
Press release and related links
Newswire – CC: The House of Lords Constitution Committee warns that the EU Bill represents a radical step-change for the in adopting referendum provisions on such a large scale. This is inconsistent with the Government’s statement that referendums are most appropriately used to decide fundamental constitutional issues. The Committee noted that the referendum provisions are unlikely to be used because the Government has said that it does not intend to use them during this parliament.
Press release and related links
MoJ: New measures to support free speech, enable people to protect their reputation and help stop the use of unreasonable threats of being sued for libel were announced last week for consultation (closes on 10 June 2011) – See ‘Consultations’ section for more information.
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