Cost of care up by 24% as review reveals need for reform
Heightened demand to protect vulnerable children at risk of harm has seen spending to provide support skyrocket over the past five years. This comes as the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, described as “once in a generation”, was published this week. A report from the Local Government association revealed that councils in England spent […]
Marriage rates continuing to plummet, ONS data reveals
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that marriage rates re continuing to decline, falling to 219,850 marriages in England and Wales in 2019 – a decrease of 6.4% from 2018. 213,122 of the marriages were between opposite-sex couples, down 6.5% from the year prior. Marriages between same-sex couples also […]
Need for more fact-finding hearings an “urban myth”
Speaking at the recent Resolution annual conference, Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the family division, called for fewer fact-finding hearings in family cases. McFarlane noted that judges and magistrates had received guidance so as to correct an “urban myth” that arose in Re H-N and Others (Children) last March. He said that the “default position” […]
Supreme Court rules SRA should retain costs protection
The Supreme Court handed down its judgment in CMA v Flynn Pharma Ltd on Wednesday, wherein it clarified its position that the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) should be eligible to receive costs protection as a default when bringing prosecutions. The case saw the involved pharmaceutical companies successfully challenge the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) fining […]