Legislation / Legal
MoJ: The government claims that victims of stalking and domestic violence will benefit from new legislation coming into force this week designed to protect people at risk if their details appear on the electoral register.
Anyone wanting to register their details anonymously must provide evidence such as an order under the Family Law Act 1996 or the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. If an application is granted, the details that appear on the register only have a person's electoral number and the letter N.
Press release ~ Electoral Administration Act 2006 ~ Victim Support ~ Rights of Women ~ Ministry of Justice
MoJ: Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Lord Falconer has said that lawyers who cause costly delays to court cases in England & Wales could be replaced in plans for speedier and more efficient trials.
Very high cost cases - trials expected to last 41 days or more - often include cases of alleged terrorism or fraud where several people are charged. Delay can lead to collapse of a trial and incur huge costs. Half of all crown court legal aid money is spent on just 1% of the cases.
The full response is outlined in the paper Response to Consultation on Proposals to Manage Conflict of Interest and Capacity Issues in Very High Cost Cases and the policy will enable a trial judge to refer cases to the Legal Services Commission (LSC), who oversee the legal aid contracts paying lawyers in such cases, because of concerns over capacity. The LSC could then ask the defendant to find a different lawyer.
Press release ~ Response to Consultation on Proposals to Manage Conflict of Interest and Capacity Issues in Very High Cost Cases ~ Legal Services Commission (LSC) ~ Justice - a new approach - Ministry of Justice
Home Office: A new power for the police to enter & search a registered sex offender's home, to assess the risk they pose to our communities, has been welcomed by Home Secretary John Reid. The new measure, which comes into force under the Violent Crime Reduction Act, means that where an offender has denied access to the police on more than one occasion, the police can apply for a warrant to enter and search the property, by force if necessary.
For example, if a police officer sees a child's bike in the house of a registered sex offender, the officer might then decide to search for further evidence to reassess the risk posed by the offender. Where it can be demonstrated that the offender poses a risk of serious sexual harm, the police could then apply for a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) or decide whether it was necessary to alert others to the presence of the offender.
Press release ~ Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 ~ Prevention of individuals from working with children
DfT: The Department for Transport has proposed further changes to the cycling elements of the revised Highway Code laid before Parliament on 28 March 2007. The changes put forward are in order to clarify advice in the Code on the use of cycle facilities and cycle lanes. They also take account of further representations from & discussions with, the cycling organisation CTC.
Following the public consultation on proposed changes to the Highway Code in 2006, more than 40 changes were made to the cycling rules and elsewhere in the Code to improve cyclists' safety. These were included in the proposed new Code laid before Parliament in March 2007.
Press release ~ CTC ~ The Highway Code ~ British Cycling ~ DfT: Cycling ~ Cycling Plus ~ Sustrans: sustainable transport charity ~ Cycling England
