Mental Capacity Act - best interests case update

A recent case gives an insight into the approach being taken by the Court to the assessment of ‘best interests’.

Letters of intent paved with good intentions

Letters of intent are used frequently in the Construction industry particularly when there is a need for a Contractor to get onto site quickly.

Framework for a Fairer Future - details of the equality bill published

Details of the government’s plans to tackle entrenched discrimination in the workplace were revealed in June with the publication of “Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill”. The announcement, by Equality Minister Harriet Harman, attracted a great deal of media interest in particular, the proposal to permit positive action which could mean for example, favouring female and ethnic minority job candidates of equal ability over a white man where there is under representation of those two groups.

Social welfare and vulnerable children

The National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Social Welfare and other Fields) Order 2008 (Vulnerable Children) was approved in Assembly plenary on Tuesday 15th July. If the Order gains Royal approval and becomes law, the Assembly will be able to pass Assembly Measures equivalent to Acts of Parliament in the fields of social welfare and education which could help Wales’s most disadvantaged children.

New guidance for public authorities

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has recently published some useful Practical Guidance to help Public Authorities understand when they should publish the minutes and agendas of meetings and in what cases they can be edited under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Rights for temporary and agency workers

The issue of extending employment rights to temporary and agency workers has been controversial. Yet, after years of delay in progressing the Temporary Workers Directive, a joint agreement reached in May between the government, CBI and TUC means that rights for temporary and agency workers are now a little closer.

Personal injury reform decision

The government recently announced its response to the personal injury claim process consultation which it launched in April 2007. The initial proposals suggested a more streamlined approach to the procedure to be followed in road traffic accident, employers’ liability and public liability claims worth up to £25,000, plus adjustments to the financial limits which determine the track to which a claim is allocated. The Ministry of Justice had also indicated that it was considering whether to make after the event insurance premiums only recoverable in cases worth more than £2500 where the Defendant has denied liability.

The Act 2008 - are we looking towards better, meta-regulation?

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (“the Act”) received Royal Assent on 21 July 2008 and brings in a new range of measures reflecting a more integrated approach to regulation. The Act aims to improve the regulation of care providers, but there are a raft of other public health measures, including powers that tighten the regulation of healthcare professionals. One of the most significant measures is the establishment of a new ‘supersize’- regulator – the Care Quality Commission (“CQC”). The CQC is set to take over all regulatory duties from the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission by April 2009.