Legal Matters Scotland
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7th February 2022

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THE LAW
SNP's worst breaches of FOI laws revealed
Ministers did not answer questions on the Coronavirus outbreak at the Nike conference for almost a year, it has been revealed, as the worst breaches of transparency legislation by the Scottish Government are revealed. One member of the public had to wait almost 18 months for answers on hospital and care home admissions policy during the pandemic, requesting the information in May 2020 and only receiving a response in late October 2021. Opposition parties said the SNP deliberately try to "hide and obfuscate the truth", operate with a "dismissive attitude towards transparency", and are "addicted to secrecy". The news comes just weeks after Nicola Sturgeon claimed her government is "totally transparent" - despite being found to have unlawfully withheld Covid-19 modelling data from the public and being rebuked by the Scottish Information Commissioner over a £586m guarantee for the Lochaber aluminium smelter.



 
FIRMS
Burness Paull launches family law arm with two high-profile hires
Burness Paull has hired two leading family law advisors as partners to bolster its offering. The independent law firm said the duo are among Scotland’s most highly-regarded experts in their field – with Richard Smith, who will lead the newly-formed team, ranked in the Chambers and Legal 500 legal directories as an “outstanding practitioner” in divorce and family law. It added that he is both an accredited specialist and accredited family law mediator, who regularly advises businesspeople, and has acted for various high-profile clients. He is joined by Jennifer Wilkie, also an accredited specialist in family law and mediation, who has a particular interest and expertise in international-related issues.
Neil MacKenzie QC elected as Keeper of the Advocates’ Library.
Members of the Faculty of Advocates have appointed Neil Mackenzie QC as the new Keeper of the Advocates' Library. Mr Mackenzie was Director of Training and Education at Faculty between December 2017 and June 2021. During this period he enhanced the devils’ training programme and devised and implemented a training programme for members that included lunchtime talks, practical workshops, and increased use of technology to facilitate remote learning. He was also involved in training and coaching for the Faculty’s Quality Assurance Assessment programme.
New appointment at Macdonald Henderson
Macdonald Henderson has hired Gail Docherty to lead its residential conveyancing team. Ms Docherty has an impressive range of experience in the residential property market having acted as an advisor to private clients and lending institutions, developers and management companies. She has worked as an in-house solicitor to a national homebuilder and in addition to her own client caseload, Ms Docherty is a tutor on the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at Strathclyde University.

 
INDUSTRY
Scots having to stump up an extra £7m over debts
People in Scotland have paid £7m more in court judgment claims over unpaid bills in just one year, it has been reported. Analysis has revealed the total value of consumer decrees in Scotland has surged by 19%, from £37m to £44m in a year, with 1,000 more people falling foul of debt claims in the courts than in the first year of the Covid crisis. The Registry Trust has called on government, policymakers, regulators, the financial sector, and civil society organisations to collaborate to protect financially vulnerable households from further financial harm, saying the worst may be yet to come as Government support for business during the Covid pandemic winds down. The total number of court judgments over consumer debt north of the Border has also gone up by 9%, from 13,308 in 2020 to 14,444 in 2021. Cases involve money owed on credit cards, overdrafts, loans and rent arrears. The Trust, a non-profit organisation that collects judgment information in Scotland on small claims and summary cases, said there was an urgent need for help to repair people's finances and promote financial resilience against future financial shocks.
PROPERTY
Scotland's biggest Passivhaus programme in Midlothian
Midlothian Council is working on Scotland's most ambitious Passivhaus affordable housebuilding programme - with 182 new green council homes to be built to the demanding energy efficiency standard. Cabinet member for housing Cllr Stephen Curran commented: "I am very proud to say Midlothian Council is at the forefront of making sure our council tenants can live in affordable, warm and energy efficient homes, which is good news for them – especially as we are all facing soaring utility bills – while helping us towards our ambition of being a carbon neutral council by 2030."
CASES
Orkney killer Michael Ross admits third prison escape attempt
A former Army sniper serving a life sentence for a murder on Orkney has admitted attempting to escape from one of Scotland's highest security prisons. Michael Ross, 43, tried to climb a fence at HMP Shotts in Lanarkshire in 2018 - his third escape attempt. Appearing via video link at Hamilton Sheriff Court, he was sentenced to two years to run alongside his life term. Ross was convicted in 2008 of murdering waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood, 26, in 1994 but maintains his innocence.
EMPLOYMENT
Union criticises handling of thank-you payments
The GMB trade union has criticised the handling of the Scottish Government's £500 thank-you payment for health and social care staff to recognise their work during the pandemic, after it emerged that just over 15% of recipients employed by local authorities were on pay grades of £40,000 or more, with recipients including senior managers, heads of services and directors with chief officer grades who, in many cases, were working remotely during the pandemic. GMB organiser Keir Greenaway said the payments "were meant to be an acknowledgement for those putting their lives on the line during the pandemic. Instead, millions of pounds of public money has been used to give a bonus to well-paid staff who weren't on the frontline of the pandemic response."


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    CRIME
    Fake police IDs used to con victim out of £25,000
    Scammers posing as police officers stole £25,000 after conning their victim with what is believed to have been fake ID badges. Police Scotland is investigating the theft, which took place on Friday. A man claiming to be from the fraud office of a bank had phoned a householder in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire. Later the same day two men attended the property claiming to be detectives investigating bank fraud. The two scammers are said to have spent some time at the property, and showed ID badges which police said are "believed to be fake". Police Scotland said it has received more than 30 reports from the public in the Renfrewshire area after being visited or contacted by individuals claiming to be from the force.
    COVID
    Call for fire safety talks over classroom door plans
    Firefighters have called for the Scottish government to resolve concerns over school safety following reports that classroom doors could be trimmed.. Councils have a new fund to improve classroom airflow to slow Covid spread. Nicola Sturgeon said cutting the bottom off some doors was "common sense". Councils have been given £4.3m of funding to improve air flow in about 2,000 classrooms to slow the spread of Covid. But concerns have been raised about the impact such a move could have on fire safety. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has requested immediate talks to address "mixed messaging" around fire safety and the ventilation required to reduce coronavirus risks
    SOCIAL
    Over 7,500 children in temporary accommodation
    The Herald reports on new figures showing that the number of children living in temporary accommodation has risen from 6,795 in March 2019 to 7,510 at the end of September 2021. Over the same period, the number of temporary accommodation placements found to be in breach of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order has risen from 110 to 250, while the number of children placed in "unsuitable" B&B rooms has risen from 40 to 85. Homeless Action Scotland chief executive Gavin Yates cites a "severe lack of investment in social housing, which is clearly distinct from so-called 'affordable housing'." "Until social housing is built according to the needs of our society", he warns, "we are going to continue to see children languish in temporary accommodation."
    ECONOMY
    Finance Secretary to respond to cost of living crisis
    The Treasury has confirmed that a council tax rebate for households in England will generate around £299m of consequential funding for Scotland, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has said. "The key is whether that's additional or its net of previous funding that we had assumed we would receive this year", she added, "Either way the First Minister has confirmed that we will pass on consequential funding to deal with the cost of living here in Scotland and that's my commitment." Ms Forbes has said she will confirm the details of how the money will be used in her speech at Holyrood next Thursday during the final stage of the Budget Bill.
     


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