White, heterosexual staff still come out on top when it comes pay gap in the UK Legal Sector, findings show
The Law Society of England and Wales has published its pay gap report for 2023 and has shown median pay gaps in favour of white and male staff within the sector. The Law society, in a bid to ‘provide greater transparency’, has published disability, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation /identity and trans identity pay gap figures […]
French Parliament enshrines abortion into constitution after historical landslide vote to protect ‘women’s freedom’
Parisians saw the Eiffel Tower light up last night as a landslide Versailles vote enshrined abortion rights into the French constitution. A live-streamed joint session was held at the Palace of Versailles yesterday to protect a 1975 French law that decriminalised the termination of a pregnancy. 780 MPs and senators out of 925 of those […]
Chancellor announces £170m to reduce court delays via non-court resolution
In the Spring Budget the Chancellor announced £170m to fund non-court resolution, to cut delays in courts. Nick Gova, partner and head of family at London law firm Spector Constant & Williams said that with nearly half of all marriages ending in divorce or separation, there is a “need to invest in processes to mitigate […]
New statutory says there is ‘no such thing as the rough sex defence’ to dish out harsher punishments after tragic Grace Millane death
A new statutory aggravating factor was brought in for offenders who cause death through abusive, degrading or dangerous sexual behaviour earlier this month. Discounting the so-called ‘rough sex’ defence – which means that judges are handing out harsher sentences than ever before. After the death of British backpacker Grace Millane,22, in New Zealand in 2018, […]
Civil partnerships slightly increase in 2022 with a rise in opposite-sex unions, statistics reveal
The latest annual statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal a increase in the number of civil partnerships formed in England and Wales during 2022. A total of 6,879 partnerships were registered, marking a 2.2% rise from the previous year. The data shows a significant preference for civil partnerships among opposite-sex couples, who […]
Chair of Cafcass reappointed
The Lord Chancellor has approved the reappointment of Sally Cheshire CBE as Chair of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), from 1st April 2024 to 13th May 2026. Cafcass is the statutory body that safeguards and promotes the welfare of children in Family Court proceedings. Board appointments are made by the […]
NSPCC calls on Ofcom and tech companies to ‘take action’ on child abuse image crimes
There was a 25% rise in child abuse image offences recorded by UK police in 2022/23 and the NSPCC are urging tech companies and Ofcom to do more to keep children safe. Police data that they requested shows that, in 2022/23, police logged more than 33,000 offences where child abuse images were collected and distributed. […]
