The courts service (HMCTS) spent £50m last year on agency and contract staff; it spent less than £4m in 2010, whilst more than 220 courts across England and Wales have closed. Part of the increase appears to be linked to a £1bn court modernisation programme aimed at transferring more court hearings online or operating them…
New rules for recording domestic violence published in the journal Criminology & Criminal Justice argues that multiple incidents as serious as grievous bodily harm would be lumped together under the umbrella of one offence under the Domestic Abuse Bill. The Home Office said that “We will introduce a landmark Domestic Abuse Bill to protect and…
Online fashion retailer Asos saw strong sales over the Christmas period as total sales rose by 30% to £790m in the final four months of 2017. Online Manchester-based rival, Boohoo, which also owns PrettyLittleThings and Nasty Gal brands, saw revenues double to £228m in the four months to the end of December. The performance of…
Lloyds Bank has said it will provide £50m to support its small business customers who are struggling following the failure of outsourcing company Carillion and after the government refused to insure its debts. Meanwhile, Nationwide building society has said it will take in-house jobs which were performed by Carillion. Lloyds said its fund was for…
Phone-hacking allegations against both The Sun and the now defunct News Of The World are due to be heard at the High Court. The latest round of the long-running litigation involves four individuals – including comedian Vic Reeves, and Coronation Street actor Jimmi Harkishin. The others are TV presenter Kate Thornton and talent manager Chris…
The presenter, who co-hosts several shows with Declan Donnelly including I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here and Britain’s Got Talent, released a statement, asking for privacy “for both himself, Lisa and their immediate families”. The couple met in 1994 when they were performing as singers on the Smash Hits tour in Newcastle. Lisa…
Changes to evidence requirements in private family law disputes came into effect on 8 January 2018. There will no longer be a time limit on abuse evidence, which previously stood at five years. Additionally, the range of documents accepted as evidence of abuse has been widened to include statements from domestic violence support organisations and…
The US firm said it was teaming up with London-based Wenn Media Group to carry out the initial coin offering (ICO). It is part of a blockchain-based initiative to help photographers control their image rights. Kodak is the latest in a series of companies to see its value jump after revealing plans for blockchain-related activity.…
If you have suffered a personal injury following a collision with a vehicle and the driver does not stop or leaves the scene quickly – you can still claim compensation for your injuries. Such incidents are known as “Hit and Run” cases. The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) is a non-profit organisation that was set up…
Toys R Us, which has 100 stores and outlets in the UK, has put forward a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), which is a step short of going into administration. Under its CVA plans, Toys R Us is proposing to close at least 26 loss-making UK stores, which would put up to 800 jobs at risk…