Legislation / Legal
CLG: Councillors should be freed from restrictions that prevent them from championing local issues, Ministers have asserted. Communities & Local Government, Secretary Eric Pickles has set out plans to clarify the law (with the forthcoming Localism Bill) will so that ‘councillors are able to get on with the job of representing their residents without fear of being challenged or their decisions being overturned because of accusations of inflexibility or unreasonable bias’.
At the same time, Mr Pickles has suggested a strong new deterrent of criminal sanctions to prevent genuine town hall corruption. This would mean that failing to register or disclose a personal interest that impacts on council business could result in a court case, criminal conviction, fine or a ban on serving as a councillor.
Newswire – JCHR: The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has published its Second Report on the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Bill. The JCHR published a Preliminary Report on the Bill on 22 October and following correspondence with the Government, remains concerned about use of secret evidence. It recommends a number of amendments to the legislation currently passing through the House of Commons.
Press release ~ Report: Legislative Scrutiny: Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Bill (Second Report); other Bills ~ Report: Legislative Scrutiny: Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Bill (Preliminary Report) ~ Bills before Parliament: Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Bill HL ~ The Joint Committee on Human Rights
Newswire – LCC: The House of Lords Constitution Committee has criticised the way the Government has introduced the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill without pre-legislative scrutiny or public consultation.
Press release ~ Constitution Committee Report: Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill ~ Bills before Parliament: Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill ~ Constitution Committee
DfT: Changes to fixed penalties and penalty deposits for seatbelt & number plate offences were announced last week by Road Safety Minister, Mike Penning. Draft amendments to legislation have been laid before Parliament which will, subject to Parliamentary approval, increase the on-the-spot penalty deposits for seatbelt and number plate offences that can be taken from drivers from abroad. This brings them into line with the £60 fixed penalties for those offences.
HoL DP&RRC: The House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee has published a report on the powers delegated to Ministers in the Public Bodies Bill.
Press release ~ Fifth Report: Public Bodies Bill ~ Bills before Parliament: Public Bodies Bill ~ Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee
EHRC: A woman who was dismissed from her job in a care home because she was pregnant has won a discrimination case against her former employer. The Commission funded the case of Geraldine Furbear who claimed she was dismissed from her job during her probationary period, because she was pregnant. She informed the manager at the time she accepted the job that she was pregnant.
EA: The Environment Agency is changing the way it regulates boat registration for its waterways across the country. From January 2011 it will start using new powers to harmonise registration requirements for keeping & using boats on the non-tidal River Thames, the non-tidal River Medway and also its Anglian waterways. Some of these requirements already exist on certain waterways, but for others they are brand new.
The major change across all EA waterways is owners of powered boats (boats with an engine) will be required to hold a valid ‘third party’ insurance policy. This has been a requirement for some time on most other UK inland waterways.
Boat owners will also need to register their boats and pay the annual charge simply to keep them on the waterways, even if they don’t use them. Owners of most powered boats will have to show they comply with essential safety standards by obtaining a Boat Safety Scheme Certificate (BSSC) in order to register.
Boat owners will also need to register their boats and pay the annual charge simply to keep them on the waterways, even if they don’t use them. Owners of most powered boats will have to show they comply with essential safety standards by obtaining a Boat Safety Scheme Certificate (BSSC) in order to register.
Newswire – ICO: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered the disclosure of information relating to the ratio of guards to asylum seekers on a deportation flight from Heathrow to Kabul. The Home Office has 35 calendar days from the date of the decision notice, to disclose this information, unless an appeal is served.
WAG: Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, has welcomed last week’s judgement in the Royal Courts of Justice in favour of her decision to ban the use of electronic shock collars for dogs and cats in Wales.
MoJ: Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, has recently unveiled a programme of wide-ranging reform to legal aid & civil litigation costs. Two consultations (both closing on 14 February 2011), published last week, mark the first step in a wider programme of work to radically reform & rebalance the justice system, to ‘make it quicker, cheaper and less combative wherever possible’ – See ‘Consultations’ section for more information.
