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Legislation / Legal
DCMS: The Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill - which allows social security information to be disclosed to the BBC to help target those who will benefit from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme – recently received Royal Assent.
The help scheme, which the BBC will establish & fund, is intended to provide practical help with the transition for people 75+ or with a significant disability. An estimated 7m UK households will qualify for assistance from the scheme between 2008 and 2012.
Once the Act comes into effect, social security information can be disclosed to Capita subject to final discussions on DWP's security requirements. The initial responses will be cross-checked with DWP data to confirm that people are eligible and they will receive assistance in due course.
Press release ~ Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Act ~ Persuasion or Compulsion? Consumers and analogue switch-off ~ Television Licences (Disclosure of Information) Act 2000 ~ Report of the Bolton Digital Television Project ~ Support Scheme ~ BBC digital website ~ Digital TV Group ~ Freeview ~ DigiTV website
MoJ: Plans to promote a culture of openness in family courts, while protecting the best interests of children, have been unveiled for consultation (closes 1 October 2007) by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Lord Falconer. Working closely with the judiciary and court staff, a pilot scheme will be devised to gauge the full impact, implications and benefits to people involved in family proceedings.
The package follows a consultation last year on improving both transparency and privacy in family courts. The aim was to make the culture of family courts more open, while maintaining the privacy of those involved in proceedings - especially children. The paper also seeks views on the following further proposals:
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Whether to widen disclosure rules on information by parties
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How best to protect the identity of children beyond the end of proceedings
Press release ~ Confidence and confidentiality: Openness in family courts - a new approach ~ Confidenc e and confidentiality: Improving transparency and privacy in family courts
MoJ: Introducing greater choice on how young people give evidence in court is among government proposals published for consultation (closes 19 October 2007) that are intended to place victims & witnesses at the heart of the Criminal Justice System.
Giving evidence in court can be a daunting task for children and young people, particularly when it is against people they know, including family members. Measures being considered include the use of video recorded pre-trial cross-examination for a small number of the most vulnerable young witnesses; enhanced use of technology such as remote live links and concealing the visual image of some children to protect them whilst they give evidence.
Press release ~ 'Improving the Criminal Trial process for Young Witnesses' ~ Are special measures working? Evidence from surveys of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses ~ Intermediaries scheme ~ Witness section of CJS Online
MoJ: In his response to the Constitutional Affairs Committee Report, Implementation of the Carter Review of Legal Aid, Lord Falconer said the overall reform programme, including the extension of fixed & graduated fees to pay for legal aid work, was necessary to ensure spending remained under control and was focused on helping those most in need.
Lord Falconer accepted the Committee's recommendations that the processes needed to implement best value tendering for legal aid work would require careful design.
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) announced final fee schemes for family private help and for help & representation by solicitors in child care cases last week. The LSC and MoJ also published a consultation document Creating a Quality Assurance Scheme for Publicly Funded Criminal Defence Advocates, for advocates working in the Crown courts and above (closes 17 September 2007).
