Legislation / Legal

WAG: Education Minister Leighton Andrews has yesterday laid The School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Billto ‘strengthen school standards and reduce complexity & bureaucracy in Wales’ education system’.
Press release & links
 
DefraDangerous dogs & the people who fail to control them face a new clampdown in order to protect the public. Approximately 210,000 people a year are attacked by dogs in England alone, including 4,000 postal workers trying to deliver mail.
 
There have been 5 fatal dog attacks in homes since 2007 – 4 of them on children – and hospital admissions for serious dog bites have more than doubled over the past decade.  The Government is therefore extending existing dangerous dogs laws to any private property, closing a loophole in the current criminal law which only covers public land.
 
There will also be a short consultation (closes on 15 June 2012) on how to introduce more comprehensive micro-chipping of dogs, as called for by major animal charities & many members of the public.  In addition there will be more support for the police, councils & charities dealing with irresponsible owners & dangerous dogs.
Press release & links
 
MoJ: Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, has announced that the UK has negotiated a landmark agreement on reform of the European Court of Human Rights. The Brighton Declaration has now been formally adopted by all 47 member states of the Council of Europe following recent talks.
Press release & links
 
EHRC: The Commission believes the first judgements handed down by the Supreme Court on age discrimination will remind all employers of their responsibilities and help make the law clearer. 

Age discrimination is unlawful in the workplace, but the law allows exceptions to that general rule only if it can be justified.  The justification is if it is a 'proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim'.  This test can be confusing for employers and employees.
Press release & links
 
SOCA: 36 website domains, used to sell compromised card data, have been taken down following a day of action last Wednesday to target online criminals by SOCA working with the FBI and US Department of Justice.  SOCA has recovered over 2.5m items of compromised personal & financial information over the past 2 years.

The sites, identified by SOCA as specialising in selling stolen payment card and online bank account details, used e-commerce type platforms known as Automated Vending Carts (AVC’s) allowing criminals to sell large quantities of stolen data quickly & easily. Visitors trying to access these sites are now directed to a screen indicating that the web domain has been seized by law enforcement.
Press release & links
 
PC&PE: The Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill has published its report - See ‘In the News’ section for more information
Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story