Legislation / Legal

OFT: The OFT has taken action to prevent consumers being misled when searching online for heating oil supplies. The OFT found that some websites offering to find consumers the best price for heating oil were not clear about whether they were price comparison sites or sites for ordering heating oil directly from a single supplier.
Press release & links
 
ICOCustodial sentences need to be available to the courts to stop the unlawful use of personal information, Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said in an appearance before the Justice Select Committee. The call for action comes as a bank cashier last week pleaded guilty to using her position to access illegally the personal details of a sex attack victim.
 
Section 55 of the Data Protection Act makes it an offence to ‘knowingly or recklessly, without the consent of the data controller, obtain or disclose personal data.’  The current penalty for committing the offence is a maximum £5,000 fine if the case is heard in a Magistrates Court and an unlimited fine in a Crown Court.
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill, has welcomed the publication of the final report of the Review Group examining the relationship between the High Court of Justiciary and theUK Supreme Court in criminal cases.  The group - chaired by Lord McCluskey - has focused on the role of the UK Supreme Court under existing constitutional arrangements.
Press release & links
 
OFT: The OFT has launched a market study which will examine whether the private and NHS dentistry markets are working well for patients. While the OFT recognises that the UK has some of the highest standards of oral care in the world, it wants to examine concerns raised by consumer bodies such as Which? that many patients are confused over dental treatments and prices.
Press release & links
 
HMT: The Government has announced that it is introducing new legislation, effective from last week, to block a tax avoidance scheme involving Manufactured Overseas Dividends (MODs).  The scheme could have resulted in companies, particularly in the financial sector, offsetting or claiming repayment of UK income tax that had in fact never been paid.
Press release & links
 
COPrime Ministers will no longer have the right to call a General Election at a time of their own choosing after Parliament passed the historic Fixed-term Parliaments Bill. The Bill, passed by Parliament last night, provides for General Elections to take place every 5 years in May, bringing to an end speculation about when an election might be called.  The next General Election is scheduled to take place on 7 May, 2015. 
Press release ~ Fixed-term Parliaments Bill
 
HO: The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill has received Royal Assent. The Act moves the decision-making on policing away from government to communities giving them the power to elect Police & Crime Commissioners. 
Press release & links
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