Legislation / Legal
NE: Recently Natural England announced changes to the licensing situation, which will be implemented from 1 January 2010, regarding the control of monk & ring-necked parakeets. Some media reports have indicated that Natural England is calling for the eradication of these species. They are not.
Other reports have suggested that because of the licensing changes, both species are now classed as pests and can be freely removed by members of the public. This assertion is completely inaccurate and it is important to emphasise that the licensing changes do not affect the legal protection for either of these species.
It remains illegal for anyone to kill or interfere with monk and ring-necked parakeets, except in exceptional circumstances. These circumstances are defined in special licences that enable people, on land they own or occupy, to deal with specific problems caused by parakeets.
WAG: Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones has outlined developments with regard to the proposals to secure legislative competence for the Welsh language for the National Assembly for Wales. WAG is committed to seeking the power to enable the National Assembly for Wales to legislate to confirm official status for both English & Welsh, linguistic rights in the provision of services and establish the post of Language Commissioner.
The Minister is looking to develop an Assembly Measure before the end of the Assembly term in 2011 which will allow Ministers to deliver on their One Wales commitments on the Welsh language.
MoJ: Changes to the Criminal Procedure Rules, affecting procedures used in magistrates' courts, the Crown Court and the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal, came into effect last week. This is the eighth amendment of the rules.
Press release ~ Criminal Procedure Rules ~ The Criminal Procedure Rules (Amendment) Rules 2009 - guide for court users, staff and practitioners ~ The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2009 ~ Criminal Procedure Rules: guide to changes 2006-09 ~ The Criminal Procedure Rules, the Consolidated Practice Direction and forms ~ Criminal Procedure Rule Committee ~ Criminal Procedure Rules policy
OFT: The Office of Fair Trading has announced that banks have agreed to make personal current account costs more transparent and the switching process more reliable & trusted. This announcement follows the OFT's 2008 market study, which identified 3 major problem areas - transparency of cost to consumers, real and perceived difficulties over switching and the way in which unarranged overdraft charges function.
The OFT is taking steps to help consumers understand & compare the costs of their accounts through new advice & tools, including an interest calculator, on its Consumer Direct website. A new consumer guide & websitewill be made availableas part of efforts to increase consumer awareness of the automatic switching process.
The OFT is pursuing a separate investigation, alongside the market study, into the fairness of unarranged overdraft charging terms under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The OFT expects to make more substantive comments on unarranged overdraft charges in due course after the pending Supreme Court judgment.
Press release ~ Executive summary of the follow-up report ~ PFT Market study into personal current accounts
GC: The Gambling Commission (the Commission) has published a set of documents, which restate the principles that guide its regulatory approach and replace the previous versions published in 2007. The documents have been revised to take account of the Commission’s experience since the Gambling Act 2005) came fully into force in September 2007. Amongst other things the documents emphasise the Commission’s pursuit of the Hampton and Macrory principles in promotion of the licensing objectives.
There are 4 documents:
* a revised Statement of principles for licensing & regulation
* a revised Licensing, compliance & enforcement policy statement
* a revised Statement of principles for determining financial penalties
* a new document entitled .Licensing & regulatory decisions: procedures & guidance
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