Reunite’s Acting Director, Alison Shalaby, said:  

“It is concerning that we have seen such a large increase in the number of children abducted, especially as we know this is just the tip of the iceberg – many cases go unreported either to ourselves or government departments.

“There are many reasons why a parent may abduct their child. For some it may be a deliberate act to deny the other parent contact, for others there may be sociological or economic factors, or in some instances a parent may abduct their child out of fear for the child´s safety. Whatever the reason, parental child abduction causes real harm to children who potentially suffer great emotional trauma by suddenly being ripped away from all they know and being denied contact with their left-behind parent and extended family.

“For the left-behind parent the shock and loss are unimaginable and they face unfamiliar legal, cultural and linguistic barriers when seeking the return of their child.”

 If you have concerns that a child may be abducted, there are steps you can take to prevent this from happening, including alerting the authorities at places people can travel out of the country, and seeking a court order preventing a parents from removing children from the country.

To discuss this further, please contact us on 0800 999 8880.

The Ministry of Justice has launched a new website which allows people to compare the length of time cases take to be resolved at different courts in the country.

The Open Justice website aims to improve the transparency and accessibility of the justice system. The data on the length of time court cases take in criminal, civil and family proceedings is based on the latest quarterly court statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on 12 January 2012.

Figures reveal that East Midlands courts are ahead of the national average, with Small Claims cases being resolved in 27 to 29 weeks in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham compared to 30 weeks across the country. Child Care cases are also resolved more quickly, with a decision being reached in the East Midlands an average of 47.5 weeks following a Local Authority application across Derby, Leicester and Nottingham, compared to 55 weeks national average.

Click here to view the site: http://open.justice.gov.uk/

On 25 January 2012, the House of Lords voted against Government plans under the Welfare Reform Bill for parents to have to pay to use the services of the Child Support Agency with a large majority.

The Government has now announced it will attempt to overturn the defeat once the Bill is back in the House of Commons tomorrow. Public and professionals are concerned that the new plans could mean parents who are entitled to and need of child support are reluctant to seek necessary help and are more likely to accept less than their entitlement or nothing at all.

Along with welfare reforms such as lowering the threshold for Tax Credit eligibility and placing a cap on household benefits, critics say the proposals serve only to take from already disadvantaged families and children.

In response, the Department of Work and Pensions has announced plans to invest £20 million into supporting families reach maintenance agreement outside of the CSA system, double the current spending on separation support. The DWP claims a typical CSA case can cost the taxpayer around £25,000 and so removing this cost would save around £45 million per year.

The main bone of contention with both these bills is that they seek to hold foreign websites to the same laws of that of the US, essentially this is a case of the US trying to legislate the world. Whilst many governments and people around the world agree with the core message of protecting intellectual property it is the idea that the US government is trying to legislate on behalf of foreign countries that is causing a real issue. What’s more, the draft bills could potentially be unlawful because the US government does not have jurisdiction over foreign websites.

Adding to what is already a controversial document is the punishment for those who stream music, films and video online which will be 5 years imprisonment. Just to put that in prospective, in the UK if you are convicted of ABH, the maximum sentence is 5 years imprisonment. Consider that your children who stream a few songs causing a loss of £10, £20 maybe a £100 to the multibillion pound music industry will share a cell with criminals who have beaten people up or worse.

Both bills originally contained clauses that allowed the US government to conduct domain name blocking (Domain Name System (DNS)). DNS is the system that China uses to censure the internet to its people. This was of course a real embarrassment to US politicians who were supporting the bills as most of them are on record as opposing the DNS in China.

Notwithstanding the arguments for or against SOPA and PIPA the need to regulate the internet and prevent piracy is a growing issue that is affecting the average man in the street more and more. Hacking of bank accounts, online fraud, paedophilia and organised crime of varying descriptions occurs online and it is getting worse (especially with criminals using the untraceable online currency that can traded for drugs and other illegitimate goods and services online without being traced). The US government’s draft bills are undoubtedly flawed but at least politicians are finally getting the message that the internet needs to be regulated.

An application to register land as a village green can be made if a significant number of local inhabitants have used the land for lawful sports and pastimes for a minimum of 20 years; claims as diverse as berry picking and flying a kite have been made.

Even where land is fenced so as to prohibit current general use can be registered where it can be shown that there has been a history of past use. For activities which ceased before April 2007, locals have only until April 2012 to make their application. Where the activity continued beyond April 2007, the deadline is 2 years from the date that activity stopped.

With these deadlines approaching, do you live on the village green?

At 54% of the current FOS workload, fresh complaints about PPI policies still far outstrip the other types of problem being dealt with by the ombudsman.

Credit cards, current accounts and mortgages between them accounted for just 18% of all complaints received between October and December last year.

PPI insurance was supposed to cover loan repayments if a borrower became ill or lost their job.

But after years of campaigns by consumer groups, and investigations by regulators, it became clear that many of the polices had been mis-sold, for instance to people who did not need them or to people who would never have been able to make a valid claim.

The renewed volume of PPI complaints indicates that the banking industry – the main seller of this type of insurance – still has a long way to go before the PPI scandal is finally cleared up.”

If you have been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance in Leicester, Loughborough or Market Harborough, telephone our offices today for a free consultation.

In a statement, the OFT said that it may need to consider whether there is likely to be “a substantial lessening of competition” which “warrants reference to the Competition Commission for investigation and report”. CSC have responded to confirm that they are co-operating with the OFT and “do not believe that there are any competition issues in relation to the purchase of Broadmarsh”.

While the owners of the Broadmarsh lease, Nottingham City Council, do not expect the referral to be successful, it is likely to delay future development; Westfield had previously promised a £500m redevelopment of the site.

Redevelopment of the south end of the city centre has been an ongoing issue for almost twenty years. With more than 6,000 jobs expected to be created by any redevelopment, the city council are keen to continue discussions as to  future plans with CSC irrespective of the latest developments.

The dispute between these two companies involves the working of their smart phones. Apple has patented 1000′s of ideas relating to its market leading IPhone in an attempt to stave off rivals from developing similar products that could dent its market share.

The difficulty for Apple is that much of the technology in the IPhone is not unique, it is simply an amalgamation of several different technologies already avaiable e.g. touch screen, camera, wi-fi and MP3. Its operating software that ensures all these applications and more work together is where the argument lies.

There is no end in sight to this war and we shall no doubt see patents disputed over the coming months and years.

Who do you think will come out on top?

Mr Batten continued; “Growth is likely to fall into two phases in 2012.  The first six months are expected to be flat at best, with the possibility of a slight dip. But the second half should be brighter. Hard evidence on the direct economic effects of international sporting events is patchy, but they often mark a turning point in sentiment.  It is hoped that the London Olympics will provide a much-need boost to confidence. This along with the benefits of another burst of asset purchases by the Bank of England should begin to have an economic stimulus after mid-2012, when activity is expected to improve, albeit fairly slowly.”

Andrew Burrell, Director of EMEA Research appears to support Mr Batten’s contentions, concluding that while this year will “not be a vintage year for rental growth, especially in the difficult early months”, commercial sectors show much greater rental stability than during the global downturn of 2008-09.”

PPI – Payment Protection Insurance – has made headlines in recent years as many people have realised their policy does not cover them, or significantly increases the total amount they owe.

PPI is a kind of insurance usually attached to a loan or mortgage, and promises to cover the cost of repayments if illness, injury or redundancy leaves the policyholder unable to pay.

But claims of misselling arose after some policyholders found they were not covered – and never could have been, for example due to being self-employed.

Meanwhile, some lenders added the cost of the policy to the amount borrowed in the loan, and then charged interest on it, vastly increasing the cost of PPI over the life of the loan.

PPI and financial education

The APPG warns that even individuals with a strong mathematical background are unlikely to know the exact details of specific financial products, unless they have been separately taught about them.

Andrew Percy MP, chairman of the inquiry into financial education and the curriculum, says many of the decisions faced by financial services customers actually get more difficult with age.

“Too many of our school leavers, who can perform complex mathematical equations and algebra, have no idea what basic financial terms like APR and PPI mean, leaving them without the necessary level of  financial literacy to make decisions in an increasingly complex financial world.”

Have you been missold PPI?

If you were sold PPI without proper information, you might have a good case to reclaim the cost of the policy.

Check your policy smallprint carefully to see if any of its exemptions mean it is not suitable for you – if it would never have paid out in the first place, your claim of misselling is likely to be seen as being stronger.

Also check how you are paying for your PPI policy – is it included in your loan, and subject to interest in the same way as the initial amount borrowed? This is another hallmark of misselling that has come to light during the months of claims already made.

Let us help

Contact Edward Hands & Lewis’ solicitors in Leicester, Loughborough or Market Harborough if you think you have a valid PPI misselling claim, or if you think you have been missold PPI and would like expert advice on whether you have a case.

Our team are experts and are friendly and approachable, helping you to reclaim much-needed funds – particularly if you have fallen foul of a missold PPI policy that wasn’t there for you when you needed it the most.