Council Member's Report

Ishould like to introduce myself as the Council Member

for Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. I have taken over from Paul Davies who has had to leave Council because the profession voted to require that members of the Council who had served more than 12 years should retire. Following an election I took up my position on 14th October 2021 at the AGM.

I was a sole practitioner for almost 25 years in Bedford, initially doing civil litigation and latterly matrimonial and in January 2022 I moved to Susan Hall & Co in Hitchin, concentrating on family work. The matter of the proposed SIF closure was of considerable concern to me and I responded to the consultation as well as contributed to the debate.

Since the beginning of the year there have been two Council Meetings on Teams and I also attended a SARLLS meeting with Steve Hamilton. There follows some of the main issues (known as Part One business, arising from the Council Meeting on 30th March 2022):

Criminal Legal Aid Review

In communications received both before and after publication of the recent consultation, the unmistakable impression had been given that proposed government investment in criminal legal aid rates for solicitors and barristers alike amounted to 15%, as recommended by Sir Christopher Bellamy and reinforced by the Lord Chancellor, Dominic Raab, in the House of Commons on 22nd March 2022.

On studying the detailed analysis of the proposals, it emerged that while investment for barristers amounted to 15%, the value of investment for solicitors was only 9%. The Law Society is now campaigning, engaging MPs and raising awareness for our members though social media and press coverage. TLS will continue to work hard to get the message across that continuous erosion of the criminal justice system is unacceptable and our members deserve to be treated fairly and with respect. Please consider responding to the Ministry of Justice consultation Ministry of Justice consultation which ends on 7th June 2022.

Human Rights

On 14th December 2021 the Lord Chancellor announced the Government’s plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a “modern Bill of Rights.” The Government’s proposals included plans to remove the duty on UK courts to follow case law of the European Court of Human Rights, introduce a permission stage for human rights claims and restrict the ability of foreign national offenders to challenge deportation orders under human rights law. The consultation closed on 8th March 2022. TLS submitted a full response and is engaging with key stakeholders.

Events: In the first quarter of 2021-22, TLS Events Team held 27 event, with 8,464 registered delegates, 4,030 live views and 2,562 on-demand views. Event satisfaction has remained high at 4.4 (out of 5). The Domestic Abuse Act webinar in December 2021 was the most popular event that year.

If you would like to contact me to raise any issues, please do so either at Susan Hall on josephine@susanhall.co.uk tel: 01462 427554 or josephine@duchennes.com / 01234 356678.

HERTSLAW22

Quote code for 5% discount

www.atlas-translations.co.uk

ISO accredited and corporate member of the UK’s top institutes for translation and interpreting.

TRANSLATION

Certified, notarised and apostilled translation wills and witness statements to diplomas and contracts. Contact us to discuss Legal Aid rates.

TRANSCRIPTION

Audio to text transcription of court hearings and reports, police interviews and conference recordings.

INTERPRETING

Court interpreting using only suitable, qualified legal interpreters familiar with the court process, retaining impartiality and confidentiality. We also offer remote interpreting for mediation and liaison interpreting for client meetings.

01727 812725

team@atlas-translations.co.uk

From September 2018 the University of

Hertfordshire’s Law School will be Education

27/04/2022 13:45