Buckland: Afghan judges can relocate to the UK
Afghan judges are eligible to relocate to the UK due to their close work with the UK government and immediate threat to safety, the lord chancellor has confirmed. The Home Office confirmed that judges are eligible to apply under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme, which was launched in April to resettle Afghan nationals who have supported British efforts in Afghanistan. In a letter to Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE QC and Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE QC, both former independent reviewers of terrorism legislation, Robert Buckland said he aimed to do all he can to protect Afghan judges "in recognition of their dedication to establishing and protecting the rule of law in the country". He added: "I have been working with cabinet colleagues and can confirm that members of the Afghan judiciary are among those eligible to relocation to the UK as a result of their close work with the UK government and the immediate threat to their safety."
Law Gazette  

Law Society backs calls to assist Afghanistan Bar Association
The Law Society of Scotland has supported calls for urgent assistance to be provided to a senior Afghan lawyer. Ken Dalling, President of the Law Society of Scotland, has written to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab backing the call from the International Bar Association (IBA), to provide urgent assistance to Mr Rohullah Qarizada, President of the Independent Afghanistan Bar Association, and his family following. In his letter, Mr Dalling writes: "Mr Qarizada has represented many in need of legal support and is an outspoken critic of the Taliban and similar groups... In his capacity as President of the Independent Afghanistan Bar Association, Mr Qarizada has been engaged in many cases advocating for human rights and justice. He has a high media profile as the public face of the Independent Afghanistan Bar Association and his face is well‐known across the country. Understandably, Mr Quarizada is extremely worried."
Law Society of Scotland  

Scottish court dismisses Clara Ponsati extradition case
A Scottish judge has dismissed extradition proceedings against former Catalan government minister Clara Ponsati, who faces charges in Spain for her her involvement in the unsanctioned Catalonia independence referendum. At Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Nigel Ross said it was a "matter for the Spanish authorities" since the former University of St Andrews academic indicated she would not move back to Scotland from Belgium; he added, "you can't extradite someone who is not here". At Thursday's hearing, she was discharged as a requested person. Her lawyer, Aamer Anwar, thanked her Scottish supporters on her behalf. Prosecutor John Scott QC said it was "highly unsatisfactory" for Ms Ponsati not to return to Edinburgh for a legal hearing. He told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that she had broken the bail conditions which allowed her to remain at liberty.
STV   BBC News   Glasgow Evening Times   Law Society of Scotland   The Guardian   Northern Scot   The Herald   The Scotsman  

Nicola Sturgeon's sister states charges dropped over house incident
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's sister has stated charges over an alleged domestic incident have been dropped. Gillian Sturgeon was arrested on 11 August over an incident at a house in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, on 7 August. Her ex-partner Steven Waite was also arrested and charged over the incident. Both were released on an undertaking to appear at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court at a later date. But in a Facebook post on Thursday, Gillian Sturgeon stated all charges against her had been dropped. She also said Mr Waite faced no further action.
BBC News   Daily Record  

Scottish social landlords impacted ‘significantly’ by pandemic
A report by the Social Housing Resilience Group (SHRG), established at the start of the pandemic, used data from the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR), Scotland’s Housing Network and Housemark Scotland to establish what impact the pandemic had on Scottish social landlords in 2020/21. It found that gross rent arrears rose from 6.3% in April 2020 to 8.2% in March 2021 for local authorities, and from 3.5% to 4.4% for housing associations. Overall rent arrears in Scotland are currently 4.1%, the third-highest rate in the UK. On lettings, the report found the average monthly tenancy turnover had fallen from a sector average of 8.4% in 2019/20 to 7.7% for housing associations and 6.7% for councils in 2020/21. 
Inside Housing  

Brussels issues data sharing warning as UK plans reform
The EU has warned it could stop sharing data on criminals and suspected terrorists with Britain and tear up a Brexit data transfer deal if the UK diverges too far from EU laws. After Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden confirmed that the Government is looking to diverge from key parts of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in 2018, the European Commission said it would be monitoring the reforms “very closely” and warned it could cancel a data sharing deal at any time. An EU official said member states could consider stopping sharing data about criminals or suspected terrorists. This would include anti-terror measures, such as sharing data such as passenger name records.
Financial Times   The Daily Telegraph   The Times   Daily Mail   The Guardian  

Circuit breaker lockdown 'an option' to tackle virus surge
Public health experts are looking at ways to tackle Scotland’s recent surge in COVID cases, with a circuit breaker lockdown one of the solutions on the table. The Times reports that the Scottish Government is being shown a range of options to tackle the increasing COVID cases, including a circuit breaker lockdown, new rules on social distancing or vaccine certificates. A source familiar with the Scottish Government’s planning told the newspaper: “There are two options: You could either put in a circuit breaker, you could shut down completely for a short period. “Or you could move back through the stages and say we are going to limit indoor gatherings, we are going to re-introduce distancing”. Earlier this week Nicola Sturgeon said she is reluctant "to go back to anything like a full lockdown", but added: "I also know that no sensible First Minister, in the face of an infectious virus, would rule anything out, because protecting the population has to be the priority".
The National   The Courier   The Daily Mirror   The Times  

Care home firm to train up Afghan refugees
UK-wide care home provider Cera has pledged to train up and employ 500 refugees from Afghanistan as carers over the next five years. The firm will work with more than 160 local councils and the government to train new arrivals. During the Covid crisis, Cera retrained staff in hard-hit industries, such as hospitality and retail, into healthcare roles.
Herald Scotland  

More than 40% of 101 police calls abandoned
More than 40% of non-emergency calls to police in June were abandoned by the caller, Scotland's chief constable has admitted. Iain Livingstone expressed his "personal regret" that more than 71,000 of the 101 calls were ended without being answered. The force said it took an average of five minutes to answer non-emergency 101 calls in June. The chief constable blamed increased demand and staff shortages as a result of the Covid pandemic. Mr Livingstone said Police Scotland was meeting its target of answering all 999 calls within ten seconds.
BBC News   The Times  

SNP auditors include fraud statement in party accounts
The SNP's auditors have included an unprecedented statement about fraud in the party’s new accounts as police investigate potential criminality around fundraising. Johnston Carmichael inserted a lengthy section on the “extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud”. Three members of the finance committee resigned earlier this year in protest over a lack of transparency, as did the then party treasurer, MP Douglas Chapman. The auditors also said they had “obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the party operates in”, with a focus on “material amounts and disclosures”. It comes as police officers investigate complaints about the fate of more than £660,000 raised by the party since 2017 for a second independence referendum. After the force launched the probe last month following a consultation with prosecutors, the SNP said it would "cooperate fully" with the investigation.
The Herald   The Courier  

FCA warns P2P lenders over lack of plans for orderly closure
The Financial Conduct Authority has written to the boards of peer-to-peer lenders warning that none of the platforms it reviewed had “adequately identified the triggers that might realistically allow for a solvent wind-down to be invoked”. The companies were warned that if they did not improve their contingency plans for orderly closure, they could be banned from writing new loans. The intervention follows a series of chaotic collapses in the sector which has led to the loss of tens of millions of pounds worth of retail investors’ money.
The Times