Solicitor fears legal aid system ‘collapse’

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His own firm plans to give up family legal aid work at its Amesbury and Andover offices by next summer. And he predicts the entire legal aid system could soon collapse. “Just four years ago there were five firms willing to take on family legal aid cases in Salisbury – now there are just two,” he said. “My firm has always been committed to helping the disadvantaged and vulnerable by doing a variety of legal aid work. “However, the Government has consistently refused to increase legal aid pay rates for the last eight years and introduced new fixed fee family payments on October 1, which substantially reduce those rates of pay. “It is not that solicitors are greedy, but that the new proposed rates are simply unprofitable.” He said reductions of up to 30 per cent in rates of legal aid pay, which were well below what solicitors charged private clients, coupled with the costs of running a solicitors’ practice increasing each year was “an impossible business proposition”.

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Solicitor fears legal aid system ‘collapse’

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http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/News_0480.htm
His own firm plans to give up family legal aid work at its Amesbury and Andover offices by next summer. And he predicts the entire legal aid system could soon collapse. “Just four years ago there were five firms willing to take on family legal aid cases in Salisbury – now there are just two,” he said. “My firm has always been committed to helping the disadvantaged and vulnerable by doing a variety of legal aid work. “However, the Government has consistently refused to increase legal aid pay rates for the last eight years and introduced new fixed fee family payments on October 1, which substantially reduce those rates of pay. “It is not that solicitors are greedy, but that the new proposed rates are simply unprofitable.” He said reductions of up to 30 per cent in rates of legal aid pay, which were well below what solicitors charged private clients, coupled with the costs of running a solicitors’ practice increasing each year was “an impossible business proposition”.

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Solicitor fears legal aid system ‘collapse’

Full Story:
http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/News_0480.htm
His own firm plans to give up family legal aid work at its Amesbury and Andover offices by next summer. And he predicts the entire legal aid system could soon collapse. “Just four years ago there were five firms willing to take on family legal aid cases in Salisbury – now there are just two,” he said. “My firm has always been committed to helping the disadvantaged and vulnerable by doing a variety of legal aid work. “However, the Government has consistently refused to increase legal aid pay rates for the last eight years and introduced new fixed fee family payments on October 1, which substantially reduce those rates of pay. “It is not that solicitors are greedy, but that the new proposed rates are simply unprofitable.” He said reductions of up to 30 per cent in rates of legal aid pay, which were well below what solicitors charged private clients, coupled with the costs of running a solicitors’ practice increasing each year was “an impossible business proposition”.

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Child protection review ordered

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THE Church of England today confirmed every diocese in the country will appoint an independent reviewer to look over files of clergy and church employees as part of a systematic review of child protection. The broad principles for the new procedure were outlined today following an announcement by the Archbishop of Canterbury earlier this year after two high profile cases of child abuse in the Church of England. In April former Hampshire choirmaster Peter Halliday was jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting a trail of abuse back in the 1980s. It emerged his suffragan bishop had been told of the abuse but allowed him to ‘leave quietly’. Then in May Somerset priest the Rev David Smith was jailed for five-and-a-half years for abusing boys over a 30-year period. The review will see each diocesan bishop initiate a review which will include clergy, retired priests, diocesan lay employees and readers. An independent reviewer will then be appointed by each bishop to review the files to assess whether any ‘causes for concern’ exist. Each diocesan bishop will also write to previous bishops, archdeacons, bishops’ chaplains and secretarial staff to ask whether they have any information about any cases of abuse or concerns from the past which were not followed up at the time in the way that they would be now. Additionally, any concerns expressed by other clergy or churchgoers will be included in the list for the reviewer, and any urgent issues that arise will be referred to the relevant statutory authorities. The reviewer will pass the portfolio to the Diocesan Child Protection Management Group to formulate an action plan to be led by the Diocesan Child Protection Adviser.

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BATTLE TO GET ‘LAURA’ HOME

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The unused crib, still in its box and tucked away, tells its own painful story. Rachel Pullen gave birth to baby Laura – not the child’s real name – 18 months ago. But the tot has never slept in the cradle. The little girl, born 13 weeks prematurely, was taken into care before she left hospital. Nottingham City Council claimed Rachel, 23, was unfit to care for her child, who had severe breathing problems. Rachel said the news that Laura would be taken into care was broken to her in the neonatal unit at the QMC. She said: “The social worker said Laura is being discharged. I said I would call a taxi and take her home. The social worker said, ‘You can’t. The child is going into foster care’. They told me to get a solicitor.” The authority has now taken matters a stage further and succeeded in obtaining a Placement Order from the family court in Nottingham to put Laura up for adoption, against Rachel’s wishes. Rachel claims she was never allowed to have a proper say in what happened to her little girl and is appealing. Her case has been taken up in Parliament by Liberal Democrat MP, and family court campaigner, John Hemming, who believes it could become a test of what he sees as unfair treatment of families in adoption cases. At home in Aspley, Rachel finds it difficult to make sense of what has happened. “I could not see why the council did what they did,” she said. “They said if you get a flat and get your parenting skills up I could get Laura back. I did it, but it was still not good enough.” The placement hearing took place in August. Rachel described how she sat powerless in a brief hearing in Nottingham Crown Court while the fate of her child was decided by the lawyers. Almost no evidence was put forward on Rachel’s behalf, before Her Honour Judge Joan Butler QC gave the adoption the go-ahead.

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Church confirms principles of protocol to review past child protection cases

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The Church of England yesterday confirmed the broad principles for a protocol for the systematic review of past child protection cases, as announced by the Archbishop of Canterbury earlier this year.
Each diocesan bishop is to initiate a review of clergy and other files, including priests who have retired to their diocese, diocesan lay employees and Readers (as such files are held at a diocesan level, not centrally). An Independent Reviewer will be appointed by each bishop to review the files to assess whether any ‘causes for concern’ exist.
Each diocesan bishop is also to write to previous bishops, archdeacons, bishops’ chaplains and secretarial staff to ask whether they have any information about any cases of abuse or concerns expressed that they can recall from their time in the diocese, which were not followed up at the time in the way that they would be now.
Such concerns will be listed alongside any issues raised by the diocesan file search. Additionally, any concerns expressed by other clergy or members of congregations will be included in the list. If any urgent issues arise these will be dealt with immediately by referring to the relevant statutory authorities.

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More families seeking help from social services

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More than half of people being supported by social services voluntarily seek help, it emerged today. As child protection and the role of the social worker goes under the spotlight at a one-day conference, experts revealed more and more families are coming forward for intervention. Entitled ‘Child Protection and Welfare Social Work: A Changing Profession in a Changing Ireland’, the one-day event in University College Cork (UCC) will examine the current child protection system and the social and organisational contexts in which child protection services are provided. There are more than 2,300 social workers practising in Ireland, with the majority employed with the Health Service Executive (HSE). Eamonn Collier, Principal Social Worker with the HSE South, said although in the eyes of the public social workers are often perceived as unwelcome in the lives of others, families themselves are increasingly seeking support and intervention. He said the sector has experienced unprecedented growth and investment in the last 15 years as the numbers of child abuse referrals and children in need of care rise. “Social workers are now actively engaged in preventative and welfare work, work that anticipates and avoids crisis and seeks to promote better outcomes for children,” he said. “Unfortunately, little emphasis is placed on the significant level of preventative work that is undertaken by social work departments.

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Charity fights isolation of elderly

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Thousands of lonely pensioners have gone a full month without speaking to family or neighbours in the past year, says research published today. The bleak picture of isolation for many older people comes in a study by charity Help the Aged. Pensioner groups in Norfolk said many feel physically and mentally vulnerable because they are cut off. However, there was a glimmer of good news as Norfolk County Council launched an initiative to offer escorted shopping trips which should help more people get out and about. Launching Help the Aged’s “one is the saddest number” campaign, Anna Pearson, policy manager for social inclusion, said: “For many younger people, the thought of being old and lonely is their ultimate fear, yet for thousands of older people in the UK today, it is their harsh reality. “There is no substitute for human warmth and contact and our aim with this campaign is to ensure older people no longer feel abandoned by society.” Research conducted by the charity found that nationally, 29pc of pensioners have to rely on family and friends to get out and about, but 200,000 of them are trapped in their homes as they receive no help on a regular basis. Help the Aged said 730,000 elderly people are unable to leave their homes more than once a week. The charity estimated that in 50 years, 7.5 million pensioners could be living alone – the equivalent of more than a third of the elderly population.

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Rise in families seeking social services

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More than half of people being supported by social services voluntarily seek help, it emerged today.
Child protection and the role of the social worker goes under the spotlight at a one-day conference today.
Entitled Child Protection and Welfare Social Work: A Changing Profession in a Changing Ireland, the one-day event in University College Cork (UCC) will examine the child-protection system and the contexts in which these services are provided.
There are more than 2,300 social workers practising in Ireland, with the majority employed with the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Eamonn Collier, principal social worker with the HSE South, said although in the social workers are often perceived as unwelcome in the lives of others, families themselves are increasingly seeking support and intervention.
He said the sector has experienced unprecedented growth and investment in the last 15 years as the numbers of child abuse referrals and children in need of care rise.

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Child-protection protocol agreed

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THE BROAD principles of a protocol for systematically reviewing past child-protection cases have been agreed, the Church of England confirmed yesterday.
The Archbishop of Canterbury announced the review in May, when he acknowledged on the BBC’s Today programme that errors had been made in the period before 1995, when the current guidelines were issued (News, 1 June).
He said on that occasion: “We don’t just want to look good: we want to do this properly; and so we need to have the best professional advice on how we might review these historic cases.”
The House of Bishops has been guided by the Church’s Central Safeguarding Liaison Group, and a drafting group has done more work as requested after the presentation of its first text.
Each diocesan bishop will initiate a review of files, including those of retired priests, diocesan lay employees, and Readers. An independent reviewer will be appointed to assess whether any “cause for concern” exists. Diocesan bishops will also write to previous bishops, archdeacons, bishops’ chaplains, and secretarial staff.
Concerns expressed by clerics or congregation members will be included in the diocesan files. Any urgent issues that arise will be dealt with immediately by reference to the statutory authorities.
The Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd Anthony Priddis, who chairs the Liaison Group, described the protocol as “belt and braces”. He said on Wednesday: “This gives us a focus to let us review any cases that have come up in the past. We want to make sure that if we look at them through the eyes of today’s best practice, we can satisfy ourselves that they’ve been dealt with in the best possible way.”

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