MAIB’s report on the grounding of the Marshall Islands registered semi-submersible rig Transocean Winner on the Isle of Lewis following the loss of tow from the Dutch registered tug ALP Forward on 8 August 2016, is now published.
The report contains details of what happened and the subsequent actions taken, read more.
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[unable to retrieve full-text content]The AAIB has sent a team to investigate an aircraft accident that occurred at Caernarfon Airport read more
Commenting on the impact of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, said: The thoughts of the British people are with all those affected by Hurricane Irma and Britain has already taken swift action to respond. … read more
Make sure you understand the rules when self-granting emergency representation in the housing category.
Providers must ensure they do not carry out judicial review housing work we cannot pay them for when attempting to self-grant emergency representation via delegated functions. We know of several examples of this happening and firms should be reminded that delegated functions cannot be exercised for judicial review save for specified exceptions.
Specific exceptions where self-granting emergency representation is possible includes:
These are dealt with under paragraph 5.3 (b) of the Standard Civil Contract which states: “Public interest cases: you do not have the power to make a determination that a client qualifies for civil legal services on the grounds that the case has a significant wider public interest.”
Standard Civil Contract 2015 – to download Standard Civil Contract 2015 specification (sections 1 to 6)
Deadline is 15 September 2017 for Bristol providers invited to take part in pilot scheme.
Bristol providers invited to join a pilot to simplify certificated work processes in certain family proceedings have until 15 September to respond.
The pilot scheme is due to start on Monday 25, September 2017 and those providers invited have been contacted directly.
The scheme will involve legal aid certificates being granted with a wider limitation for scope or costs restrictions.
This will allow providers to free up administrative time currently spent collating and submitting evidence before they can carry out work.
We want to reduce the paper burden for providers because this will allow them to act more quickly for clients and spend less time having to contact us for further information.
There will be no changes to fee schemes, claimable work or Legal Aid Agency (LAA) evidence requirements and no impact on court proceedings.
It just means evidence LAA needs to see can be submitted when proceedings are concluded rather than upfront.
An added benefit is that our caseworkers will have more time to spend on complex applications and providing a quality service.