Download or read book The procurement of criminal legal aid in England and Wales by the Legal Services Commission written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-11-27 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are risks to value for money from the way the Legal Services Commission (the LSC) administers and procures legal aid for criminal cases. In 2008-09, the Commission spent more than £1.1 billion on criminal legal aid - legal assistance for people suspected of or charged with a criminal offence. The LSC should do more to understand the market for criminal legal aid to make the most of its ability to control price and quality. In particular, while the Commission holds good information locally about its suppliers it does not bring this information together centrally. The LSC is undergoing a major transformation to reduce administrative costs and to improve effectiveness. The LSC has implemented some significant market reforms in the last few years, but it has not always piloted reforms or evaluated their impact, nor has it confirmed the financial savings generated. The NAO also found that the Commission is not always making accurate payments to solicitors for criminal legal aid, overpaying by £25 million in 2008-09. An NAO survey of solicitors has also revealed tensions in the relationship between the profession and the LSC.
Download or read book The procurement of legal aid in England and Wales by the Legal Services Commission written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-02-02 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Legal Services Commission spends GBP 2.1 billion a year on buying civil and criminal legal aid, mainly from solicitors and barristers, and a further GBP 125 million on administration. This title reports confusion and uncertainty about the respective roles of the Commission and the Ministry of Justice.
Download or read book The Procurement of Legal Aid in England and Wales by the Legal Services Commission written by Great Britain. Parliament House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Legal Aid Reform written by Great Britain: Department for Constitutional Affairs and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-11-28 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The legal aid system is one of the cornerstones of the post-war Welfare State, and since its creation nearly 60 years ago, it has enabled millions of people to access legal advice, support and representation; many of whom would otherwise have been denied access to justice because they could not have afforded to pay. However, the expectations and pressures faced by the legal aid system today are very different to those when it was created, and this document sets out the Government's proposals to reform the system to ensure its sustainability and effectiveness in contributing to the fight against social exclusion. These proposals follow on from three other documents: i) the Government's long-term strategy for legal aid 'A fairer deal for legal aid' published in July 2005 (Cm 6591, ISBN 0101659121); ii) the recommendations of the independent review of legal aid procurement undertaken by Lord Carter of Coles (details are available at www.legalaidprocurementreview.gov.uk/publications.htm) published in July 2006; and iii) a consultation paper jointly issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Legal Services Commission (details available at www.dca.gov.uk/consult/legal-aidsf/sustainable-future.htm) published in July 2006.
Download or read book Financial management report 2011 written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-11-23 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Financial management at the Ministry of Justice has improved considerably since the National Audit Office last examined this subject in 2010 (HC 187, ISBN 9780102965339). The Ministry now has effective governance structures in place and, in 2010-11, managed its money far more effectively, allowing it to redeploy funds to where they were most needed. Financial management is now much more central to the operation of the organisation and the quality and consistency of financial planning and forecasting have improved. Financial information for decision making is more relevant and useful, with the Ministry's planning work allowing it to bring together a wide range of business information to estimate the financial implications of its workload. It has also improved oversight of its arm's-length bodies. The Ministry still has gaps in financial reporting skills and some of its underlying systems need further improvement. It was one of only two government departments that failed to produce their financial accounts by the 2011 summer Parliamentary recess, mainly due to the accounts for the National Offender Management Service being produced late. The Legal Services Commission, an arm's-length body of the MOJ, had the audit opinion on its 2010-11 accounts qualified owing to the potential level of error, put at an estimated £50 million. There has also been little change in how the Ministry monitors and collects assets due under confiscation orders, with the amount of outstanding debt having increased by almost £400 million in 2010-11.
Download or read book Media Entertainment Law written by Ursula Smartt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-02-03 with total page 690 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Media & Entertainment Law presents a contemporary analysis of the law relating to the media and entertainment industries both in terms of its practical application and its theoretical framework, providing a broad and comprehensive coverage of these fast changing branches of the law. Fully restructured to complement how media law is taught today in the digital age, this third edition explores recent updates in the law including the outcomes of the Google Spain case and the ‘right to be forgotten’, the use of drones in breach of privacy laws, internet libel and the boundaries of media freedom and press regulation following the Leveson inquiry. Media & Entertainment Law uses the most up-to-date authorities to explore privacy and confidentiality subjects, such as the Prince Charles 'black spider' letters, the Maximilian Schrems and the celebrity superinjunction PJS v Newsgroup Newspapers cases. The book also covers defamation, contempt of court and freedom of information, plus Scots law. New to this edition: A brand new chapter is dedicated to exploring technology and the media, including contemporary issues such as the dark web, the surveillance state, internet censorship and the law and social media, including bloggers, vloggers and tweeters. The chapters on regulatory authorities have been expanded to provide greater clarification and explanation of broadcasting, press and advertising regulation, including the protection of journalistic sources and comparisons with EU Law. The chapter on intellectual property and entertainment law has been streamlined to match media law courses more effectively. This text provides students with detailed coverage of the key principles, cases and legislation as well as a critical analysis of this vibrant subject.
Download or read book Sessional returns written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-07-27 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees
Download or read book Evaluation of the Public Defender Service in England and Wales written by Lee Bridges and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-07-31 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report presents the findings of the independent evaluation of the Public Defender Service based on an evaluation of its work over the first three years of its existence, between 2001 and 2004. Chapter 1 sets out the policy background to the establishment of the PDS. Chapter 2 presents findings relating to the background of the clients and complexity of the cases. Chapter 3 compares the way the PDS and private criminal defence firms process cases. Chapter 4 contains findings on the quality of work; Chapter 5 analysis the time spent on cases. Chapter 6 reports on a survey on the effectiveness, quality, and independence of the PDS. Chapter 7 reports on a survey of experiences of working with the PDS.
Download or read book Lawyers and the Public Good written by Alan Paterson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-09-15 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the 2010 Hamlyn Lectures, Alan Paterson explores different facets of three key institutions in a democracy: lawyers, access to justice and the judiciary. In the case of lawyers he asks whether professionalism is now in terminal decline. To examine access to justice, he discusses past and present crises in legal aid and potential endgames and in relation to judges he examines possible mechanisms for enhancing judicial accountability. In demonstrating that the benign paternalism of lawyers in determining the public good with respect to such issues is no longer unchallenged, he argues that the future roles of lawyers, access to justice and the judiciary will only emerge from dialogues with other stakeholders claiming to speak for the public interest.
Download or read book Sanders and Young s Criminal Justice written by Mandy Burton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 767 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Sanders and Young's Criminal Justice' is an engaging account and a rigorous critique of the criminal justice system, drawing on a wide breadth of research in the field.
Download or read book English Legal System written by Steve Wilson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 715 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clear, complete, and contextualized; this guide to the English legal system provides the strongest foundation for students at the start of their studies. Straightforward explanations of key topics are paired with learning features showcasing the law in its everyday context to give students a firm grasp on the fundamentals of the legal system.
Download or read book Implementation of the Carter Review of Legal Aid written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Constitutional Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-05 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the Government's proposals for radical reform of the Legal Aid system, as set out in the Government's White Paper (Cm. 6993, ISBN 9780101699327) published in November 2006. These proposals follow on from three other documents: i) the Government's long-term strategy for legal aid 'A fairer deal for legal aid' published in July 2005 (Cm 6591, ISBN 9780101659123); ii) the recommendations of the independent review of legal aid procurement undertaken by Lord Carter of Coles (details are available at www.legalaidprocurementreview.gov.uk/publications.htm) published in July 2006; and iii) a consultation paper jointly issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Legal Services Commission (details available at www.dca.gov.uk/consult/legal-aidsf/sustainable-future.htm) published in July 2006. The Government plans to change the basis on which Legal Aid is to be procured by introducing a transitional system of fixed and graduated fees for cases (rather than payment on an hourly basis as is the practice now in many areas of legal aid work) as a way of preparing for full competitive tendering for Legal Aid contracts by solicitors. Overall, the Committee finds that while it supports the fundamental aims of the reforms and recognises that there is an urgent necessity to limit Legal Aid expenditure, the Government has introduced these plans too quickly, in too rigid a way and with insufficient evidence.
Download or read book Equality and Human Rights Commission written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-04 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the events leading to the qualified audit opinion on the Equality and Human Rights Commission's 2006-08 accounts and on the continuing weaknesses in the Commission's controls. The Commission took up its new powers, and those of the former Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission (the Legacy Commissions), on 1 October 2007. Serious errors were made in setting up the Commission, not helped by three changes of sponsor department in the months immediately before its launch. The Commission now accepts that it was not ready for business when the doors opened on 1 October 2007 and that its set-up process, which cost £39 million, was flawed and inefficient: it did not have in place sufficient senior staff, a transition strategy, business strategy, organisation design or job descriptions. Skills gaps were filled by bringing back former employees of the CRE as consultants, even though they had all received severance payments. The Treasury, which should have been consulted about these appointments, did not grant approval retrospectively as the Commission could not prove that the re-engagements gave good value for money. This expenditure was therefore deemed irregular and the Comptroller and Auditor General issued a qualified opinion on the Commission's 2006-08 accounts. This is not the way that the Public Accounts Committee expects public bodies to be run. Strong controls need to be in place to ensure that such errors do not recur.
Download or read book Vehicle and Operator Services Agency written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-11 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the extent to which the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (the Agency) is effective in targeting high risk vehicles and whether its approach to enforcement is appropriate for today's world. The Agency has successfully increased by over 25 per cent the number of dangerous vehicles and drivers that it removed from the roads in recent years. There is scope to do better by bringing the Agency's working practices up to date to reflect current road traffic patterns and the opportunities afforded by technology and working with others. More needs to be done to address the significant risk to road safety posed by foreign commercial vehicles. They appear to contribute little in the way of revenue and pose a particular challenge in terms of enforcing regulations. The Department for Transport and the Agency have not done enough to secure access to HM Revenue and Customs' Freight Targeting Database which would allow the Agency to target non-compliant vehicles and drivers as they enter the country and so prevent them from travelling on Britain's roads. The Agency needs to develop its targeting systems further so that they reflect better the known risks to road safety. Likewise the location of staff and checksites needs to reflect more closely current traffic patterns. The Department's new Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) compliance strategy is under development and provides an opportunity to make better use of data to analyse risk and to target resources more effectively.
Download or read book The sale of the Government s interest in British Energy written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-24 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report, the 22nd from the Public Accounts Committee (HCP 356, session 2009-10, ISBN 9780215545084), looks at the sale of the Government's interest in British Energy. In January 2009, the Government sold its 36 per cent interest in British Energy, as part of EDF's purchase of the Company. The sale had potentially important implications for future energy security as British Energy, though not financially strong enough to invest in new nuclear power stations itself, owned land viewed by industry as being in the most suitable places for them. The Department did not, however, secure a binding commitment from EDF to build new nuclear power stations. The report adds it also failed to establish whether EDF had previously built any new nuclear power stations without public subsidy. A number of factors, including planning decisions, could result in EDF abandoning its plans to build new nuclear powers stations, with or without public subsidy. The Shareholder Executive hired investment bankers UBS at a cost of £4 million, equivalent to a monthly payment of around £400,000, to advise on sale tactics, assist with negotiations and provide valuations of British Energy. The Committee considers it unacceptable that the Shareholder Executive considered it necessary to spend so much on external advice when it is supposed to possess expertise in these areas. The Government was fortunate in selling its interest in British Energy when energy prices were at a peak. The £4.4 billion sale proceeds were allocated to the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, to put towards the future cost of decommissioning British Energy's existing power stations.
Download or read book Media Entertainment Law 2 e written by Ursula Smartt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 924 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Media and Entertainment Law presents a contemporary analysis of the law relating to the media and entertainment industry both in terms of its practical application and its theoretical framework. It provides a clear, current and comprehensive account of this exciting subject. Fully updated and revised, this second edition is one of the first texts to contain a full analysis of the Leveson Inquiry and the implications for our press and media that are arising from it. The new edition contains; a new chapter analysing the Defamation Act 2013; the Digital Economy Act 2010 which aimed to toughen up against copyright infringement online and has been subject to parliamentary review since coming into power; and the liability of internet service providers, including recent cases such as Tamiz vs Google 2012, which goes some way to define the extent to which an ISP may or may not be found liable for their bloggers content. With integrated coverage of Scots and Northern Irish law, Media and Entertainment Law also highlights comparisons with similar overseas jurisdictions, such as with the liability of ISPs where there are differences in both US and European law, in order to help students demonstrate an awareness of media laws, which may then influence UK legislation. Looking at key aspects such as TV and radio broadcasting, the print press, the music industry, online news and entertainment and social networking sites, this text provides detailed coverage of the key principles, cases and legislation as well as a critical analysis of regulatory bodies such as OFCOM and the new regulator for the UK's newspapers and magazines (and online editions), the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso). The text also provides the most comprehensive and up to date coverage of the law relating to Intellectual Property law for the entertainment industry with recent changes in EU law relating to performers' rights. See what goes behind the writing of Media & Entertainment Law: http://youtu.be/XiCGmnRDvb0
Download or read book Services for people with rheumatoid arthritis written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-02-23 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rheumatoid arthritis is a lifelong, progressive, musculoskeletal disease that causes severe pain, swelling and inflammation of the joints, and can lead to reduced joint function and disability. An estimated 580,000 people in England have the disease, with 26,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Annual healthcare costs to the NHS are £560 million, with costs to the economy of £1.8 billion in sick leave and work-related disability. Early diagnosis is crucial: starting treatment within three months can stop the disease getting worse and yet the time between experiencing symptoms and receiving treatment is typically nine months, unchanged since 2003. People's low awareness of the disease, causing them to delay seeking medical help, and GPs failing to spot the early symptoms and refer quickly enough for diagnosis by a specialist, cause the delay. Once diagnosed there may be a postcode lottery of care and wide variation in spending on rheumatoid arthritis across Primary Care Trusts. Access to the range of services needed to manage rheumatoid arthritis also varies. Three quarters of people with rheumatoid arthritis are diagnosed when of working age, and one third of people stop working within two years of being diagnosed. People with the disease often lack the right support mechanisms to help them maintain their independence and make an economic contribution to society. Dame Carol Black's review "Working for a healthier tomorrow" (2008, ISBN 9780117025134) recommended help for people with musculoskeletal conditions to remain in work, but this has yet to filter through to action on the ground.
