Civil news: CCMS update for international child access cases
News story
New online civil funding application features for international disputes about rights of access to a child falling under Article 21 of 1980 Hague Convention.
We have introduced new features to help with Client and Cost Management (CCMS) funding applications about rights of access to a child.
The improvements are specifically for funding applications falling under article 21 of the 1980 Hague Convention. These concern international disputes about rights of access to a child.
The new features include:
How do the new features work?
When making an application in CCMS providers will come to a drop-down menu with options which include 2 new selections:
‘Article 21 Hague Convention 1980 – non-means’
‘Article 21 Hague Convention – respondent’
If appropriate, making the ‘non-means’ selection from the matter type categories listed for article 21 work will shorten the application process.
This is because you will only be asked to provide limited information when completing the means assessment interview.
Where can I find out more?
Guidance for creating initial applications on behalf of applicants is available on our training and support website.
Home Secretary meeting with Rwandan Minister Dr Vincent Biruta
Home Secretary Priti Patel today (Wednesday, 18 May) hosted Rwandan Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Dr. Vincent Biruta, to formally update each other on progress since the signing of the landmark Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
The engagement came five weeks after they formally signed the agreement in the Rwandan capital Kigali, which set out a bold, ground-breaking international plan to help address the global migration crisis.
The ministers updated each other on developments since the signing and discussed progress on operationalising the agreement.
The Home Secretary noted that the first tranche of illegal migrants with no right to be in the UK have now been notified of the government’s intention to relocate them to Rwanda.
She also commended Dr. Biruta and the Rwandan Government on all the hard preparatory work being done in advance of their hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next month.
Today’s meeting comes ahead of further joint engagements for both ministers, who will be travelling together to Geneva for discussions with the UNHCR and other key UN agencies, on Thursday.
Rwandan Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Vincent Biruta, said:
I’m pleased to be in the UK to continue working with the Home Secretary to advance our pioneering migration partnership.
This partnership builds on Rwanda’s strong record of providing safety to those fleeing danger, with our country currently providing sanctuary to over 130,000 refugees from multiple countries – including vulnerable migrants evacuated from Libya, Afghanistan and neighbours like the DRC and Burundi.
These programmes have seen Rwanda work with international partners such as the African Union and the UNHCR and others, to provide safety, dignity and opportunity to those in need.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said:
I am proud of the partnership agreed between our two countries, which aims to break the people smugglers’ business model and prevent further loss of life in the English Channel, while ensuring protection for the genuinely vulnerable.
We are pushing ahead with delivering this world-leading plan which epitomises the kind of international approach that is required to tackle an international challenge like the migration crisis.
I look forward to meeting UNHCR representatives with Minister Biruta this week, as we continue the vital conversation on illegal migration and the importance of global cooperation.
Following this meeting with the Home Secretary, Dr. Biruta and his wider delegation fulfilled engagements with other counterparts in the British Government, including ministers at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Supporting holistic efforts to stabilise the Sahel through security, governance, and development
Thank you, President, and thank you to our briefers.
I would like to make three points.
First, the peoples of the Sahel can continue to count on the United Kingdom’s steadfast support. The challenges facing the region are complex, interlinked and require holistic solutions. We are working with our partners in the Sahel to foster long-term stability by addressing drivers of conflict, including climate change.
We are also working to protect the most vulnerable in the Sahel from the impacts of the global food crisis caused by Russia’s illegal and unjustified aggression against Ukraine. In addition to agreeing unprecedented World Bank financing to protect vulnerable countries from the economic impacts of Russia’s invasion, the United Kingdom’s previous funding of $200 million, plus our new humanitarian funding, will help over 300 million people in the region with food assistance.
Secondly, I want to emphasise the importance of ensuring that all actors in the Sahel promote and protect human rights, and comply with international human rights and humanitarian law.
In this respect we remain seriously concerned by the presence of the Wagner Group in Mali. Allegations of human rights violations and abuses have increased significantly since Wagner deployed to Mali in December 2021. Wagner also has a track record of exploiting natural resources and spreading destabilising disinformation.
We urge the Malian authorities to end their relationship with the Wagner Group, in the interests of national and regional stability. The Malian authorities should also allow MINUSMA unfettered access to Moura to conduct a transparent and independent investigation into allegations that Malian troops, operating alongside Wagner mercenaries, massacred civilians in March.
Thirdly, President, lasting peace and stability in the Sahel will depend on good governance, built around the rule of law, accountable and effective state institutions, and development of sustainable livelihoods. We therefore support ECOWAS efforts to encourage timely transitions back to constitutional order in Mali and Burkina Faso. We encourage the transitional authorities in both countries to continue to engage constructively with ECOWAS on timetables for political transition and practical steps to prepare for elections.
In conclusion, President, the United Kingdom is proud to be supporting efforts to stabilise the Sahel, including through our deployment in MINUSMA and our humanitarian and development partnerships. We remain committed to helping address the Sahel’s challenges through a holistic approach incorporating security, governance, and development.
And I thank you, President.
South-East anglers hook benefits from Fisheries Improvement Fund
In the South East, funding has helped many projects such as the creation of new fish passes, protecting fish stocks, providing new angling platforms, and improving accessibility so more people than ever are able to enjoy the sport.
A number of significant projects across the South East have already been completed in the last year (see examples below) with more projects due to finish over the next few months thanks to the funding.
Arnie Warsop, an Environment Agency local fisheries officer said:
Anglers often ask us about how we spend the money raised from the sale of fishing licences. The Fisheries Improvement Programme is a prime example of the wide range of activities this income pays for to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries and boost the popularity of angling.
The programme is also a great demonstration of our partnership efforts, with many of the projects completed with the support of landowners, local businesses and fisheries clubs – it’s a real team effort! The more people who go fishing, the more we can invest and the more projects we can deliver.
All the projects will benefit anglers and local partners provide significant match funding and input from volunteers to make them a success. We want to hear from more clubs and fisheries about the work and projects they would like to see undertaken.
Hassocks Angling Club (AC) Swim Creation (West Sussex)
FIP funding was used to purchase decking and construction materials which club members then used to create disabled angling platforms to improve lake access for all club members.
Laybrook Lake habitat Improvement (West Sussex)
The banks on Byron lake were suffering from erosion and undercutting, potentially causing them to be unsafe for anglers at the Worthing & District Piscatorial Society. Funding enabled the eroded bank to be re-graded and the surrounding habitat enhanced. The works included bank re-profiling, new angling swims, emergent marginal planting to create fish refuge and spawning locations with hedge (hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel) and pollinator/wildflower meadow planting.
Peewit Lake (Hampshire)
Funds from the Environment Agency contributed to a project run by Eastleigh and District Angling Club which saw the construction and improvement of 16 swims (areas where anglers can access the water) at Peewit lake – improving the angling experience for all.
Panshanger Park, River Mimram (Hertfordshire)
Improvements in the in-channel habitat for riverine fish species such as wild brown trout, grayling, bullheads and minnows within an important Hertfordshire chalk stream. Strategic felling of 25 trees allowed sunlight to penetrate the already over-shaded channel. Soft engineering methods were used such as tree hinging which helped to create marginal cover. Work undertaken will help improve overall biodiversity in the chalk stream, improve refuge areas for juvenile fish and provide cleaner more suitable spawning gravels for fish and the invertebrate communities for years to come.
Improvements in the in-channel habitat for riverine fish.
## Fordcombe River Medway (Kent) With the help of the Environment Agency, the Royal Tunbridge Wells Angling Society purchased and installed coir rolls, flow defectors and stone on the River Medway, downstream of Fordcombe. This will help continue to improve instream habitat for spawning and juvenile fish, leading to increased and sustainable fish populations.
Railway Pond (West Oxfordshire)
Wantage & Grove Angling Club’s Railway Pond venue was suffering from bank erosion. The funding helped to pay for bank repair work which also included the installation of a British Disabled Angler Association approved platform. To mitigate for the loss of natural bank, several floating islands, planted with native plant species, were also installed. The Environment Agency Fisheries Team has been working with the club for a number of years to help make improvements to the fishery and to provide resilience in times of prolonged dry weather.
Since FIP was established in 2015, over 850 projects have been successfully completed, with a total of £6 million invested from fishing licence sales alone. These projects continue to positively impact fisheries, angling, ecosystems, and local communities across England.
Every penny the Environment Agency receives in fishing licence income is reinvested to improve our fisheries and protect England’s waterways.
Abusive partner receives increased prison sentence following hearing at the Court of Appeal
News story
Luke Lyndsay will serve a longer prison sentence for abusing two partners in two separate relationships.
A London man who was abusive in relationships with two women has received an increased prison sentence after the Solicitor General Alex Chalk, QC MP, referred his case to the Court of Appeal.
Luke Lyndsay, 25, abused two partners in two separate relationships.
Lyndsay acted violently towards the first victim, choking her and stabbing her in the hand. He also exhibited controlling and coercive behaviour against her, which included excessively aggressive behaviour, controlling what she wore and restricting her social media use.
In another relationship, Lyndsay deliberately damaged the victim’s possessions and repeatedly threatened her with violence. He acted violently against the victim on multiple occasions, including throwing dinner plates at her, with one incident leaving a permanent scar on the victim’s arm. On one occasion Lyndsay also took an explicit video of the victim without her knowledge before he shared it via social media without her consent.
On 28 February 2022 Lyndsay was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months’ imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court for offences carried out during both of the relationships. He was also made subject to a lifetime restraining order against both of the victims.
The Solicitor General referred the original sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme because he believed it did not reflect the severity of the abuse.
On 18 May the Court of Appeal found Lyndsay’s sentence to be unduly lenient and increased it to 6 years’ imprisonment.
Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General Alex Chalk QC MP said:
Luke Lyndsay’s physical and mental abuse of two separate partners was both shameful and shocking. I welcome the decision of the Court of Appeal to increase the sentence, and to send a clear message that those who abuse their partners can expect to feel the full force of the law.
