Parliament – Parliament, Legislation And Public Sector – page 7

Lansley vetoes NHS risk publication

On 10 May the Department of Health issued a statement saying that Health Secretary Andrew Lansley "...has today made a statement to Parliament explaining his decision to veto the disclosure of the Transition Risk Register. This follows the announcement on Tuesday 8 May that Cabinet had agreed to his use of the veto in this case."

The statement went on to say: "The Secretary of State for Health sought the Cabinet's views on the exercise of the Ministerial Veto in relation to the Information Tribunal's ruling that the Transition Risk Register should be released. He did so as part of a full commitment to act in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, which makes specific provision for the exercise of such a veto."

Met boss welcomes Winsor II

Your Expert Witness Bernard Hogan-Howe The Winsor proposals are a step in the right direction for policing: that is the view of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The opinion was offered during an appearance before the Commons Home Affairs Committee, as part of a six-month review of progress.

However, as reported in the weekly newsletter of the Police Oracle, Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe accepted that colleagues might not agree with his views on the report.

He said the Winsor proposals would reward deserving officers, with promotions being based on skill rather than longevity of service.

Legal Aid Bill: Lords' third reading

Your Expert Witness gavel Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill enters third reading for final Lords scrutiny, amendments and potential votes today (Tuesday 27 March).

Members of the House have suggested a number of amendments to Schedule One which covers the provision of civil legal services for children under 18, vulnerable young people, victims of trafficking and those unlawfully taken from the UK.

What is third reading?
Third reading is the final chance for the Lords to debate and clarify the contents of the bill.

Common committee calls for review of Legal Aid cuts

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has become the latest public body to voice criticism of the way in which cuts to Legal Aid are being implemented and has called for a review.

In its report on the Ministry of Justice accounts the committee says: “The Ministry maintains that it has followed Government guidance in producing its impact assessment for proposed changes to legal aid, but admitted that in some areas where there were insufficient data, potential impacts could not be quantified. The impact assessment has not identified the behaviour changes which may arise from the new legal aid arrangements, and should do so.

“The Ministry should arrange for the National Audit Office to review the impact assessment to ascertain whether the assumptions are sound and uncertainties have been clearly acknowledged.”

Legal bodies unite to offer LASPO alternatives

A ‘holy alliance’ of legal three leading legal organisations has drawn up suggestions on how the Government’s reform of the civil litigation system in England and Wales could be improved to protect injured victims. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), the Law Society and the Motor Accident Solicitors Association (MASS) have put forward the suggestions as potential amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Bill. They involve:

Fixing and limiting claimant lawyers’ success fees at a new lower level, while retaining the current principle of making them recoverable from the losing defendant
Enabling claimants in most cases to pay their own premiums to insure against paying the other side’s costs (‘after-the-event’ insurance premiums)
Implementing a workable method of introducing the Government’s proposal for qualified one-way cost shifting (QOCS), which would make the system truly effective in helping injured people
Putting into legislation the 10% uplift in damages recommended by Lord Justice Jackson