News

15.07.2021 - Mortgages refused for self-employed who took Covid grants

Some of Britain's biggest high street banks are refusing to give mortgages to self-employed people who received government grants during the pandemic.

Mortgage brokers say those working in sectors like entertainment, hospitality and travel are the worst affected.

Many lenders spoken to by the BBC are not accepting mortgage applications from people on furlough.

Brokers said that banks often see people who have received Covid-related grants as high risk.

'Treated like a bankrupt'

"I almost feel like I am being treated like a bankrupt, in some way, that I am being penalised for something that was...

15.07.2021 - UK job vacancies climb past pre-pandemic levels

The number of job vacancies in the UK surpassed pre-pandemic levels in the three months to June, according to new data.

The Office for National Statistics said there were 862,000 jobs on offer between April and June, 77,500 higher than the first three months of 2020.

The ONS said the rise was driven by vacancies in hospitality and retailing.

The number of people on payrolls also grew in June, showing the biggest rise since the start of the pandemic.

It increased by 356,000 in June to 28.9 million.

There was a sharp increase in payrolls in both the food and accommodation sectors as more people ...

14.07.2021 - Upper Tribunal can accept late acknowledgment of service in judicial review cases

The Upper Tribunal can consider late acknowledgments of service from the Home Office when deciding whether to grant permission for judicial review proceedings, the Court of Appeal has ruled in KA v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1040.

Issues in the case

The first issue concerned the interpretation of Rule 29 of the Tribunal (Procedure) (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008. The question was whether the Upper Tribunal can consider a late acknowledgement of service, provided after the usual 21-day time limit. 

The second issue was whether the tribunal’s unilateral decision to g...

14.07.2021 - Price rises speed up again as economy unlocks

The UK inflation rate hit 2.5% in the year to June, the highest for nearly three years, as the unlocking of the UK economy continued.

The Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation rose from 2.1% in May, the Office for National Statistics said, driven by higher food and fuel costs.

The rate is higher than the Bank of England's 2% inflation target for a second month.

That will fuel the debate about whether interest rates need to go up.

As well as food from shops, eating and drinking out also cost more, while clothing and footwear, usually cheaper at this time of year, went up in price instead.

...

12.07.2021 - The Nationality and Borders Bill, Part 1 (citizenship reforms)

We covered the nationality portion of the New Plan for Immigration in an earlier article. Many of those proposals, largely concerning British Overseas Territories citizens and the Windrush generation, were notably less cruel and unusual than the other aspects of the New Plan, and might even have been described as welcome and long overdue. But how does Part 1 of the Nationality and Borders Bill stack up against what was promised?

What you’ll find below is an explanation of each issue that the Secretary of State is targeting for change followed by a summary of how she’s gone about it in the Bill...

12.07.2021 - Truck driver visa options under discussion

The government has explored ways to address a shortage of haulage workers, including creating a short-term visa scheme for foreign lorry drivers.

A combination of the Covid pandemic and Brexit has left haulage firms struggling to recruit drivers.

Different government departments have discussed options with the industry, including bringing in such visas.

The industry is pushing for drivers to be added to the so-called Shortage Occupations list, allowing them to qualify for a skilled worker visa.

"We need long-term solutions to recruit a new generation of British lorry drivers into the trade, bu...

09.07.2021 - UK economic growth slows in May

The UK's economy grew by 0.8% in May as coronavirus restrictions eased to allow pubs and restaurants to serve indoors.

This marked the fourth consecutive month of growth, but it was a slower rate than analysts had expected.

It was also a slowdown from April, when the economy grew 2% as restrictions eased for non-essential retailers and hospitality firms could serve outside.

The economy is still 3.1% below pre-pandemic levels, the Office for National Statistics said.

"Of course, the pace of the recovery was always going to slow as the economy climbed back towards its pre-crisis level. But we ha...

08.07.2021 - Mental capacity and the immigration system

Assisting migrants who lack mental capacity to instruct a lawyer, or whose capacity fluctuates, can pose challenges. Without having clear instructions on a person’s immigration history and what they would like to do, it can often be impossible to provide legal advice and representation. Law Society guidance is also clear that solicitors can only continue to act with capacitious instructions, such as from a litigation friend.

What is mental capacity?

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) defines “mental capacity” as the ability to make specific decisions at a specific point in time. A straightforw...

08.07.2021 - House prices dip as stamp duty holiday ends

House prices dipped 0.5% in June as the stamp duty holiday began to be phased out, according to the Halifax.

Prices rose 8.8% over the year, leaving average prices still more than £21,000 higher, following a broadly unprecedented period of gains.

The lender said it was "important to put such a moderate decrease in context."

The Government removed the need to pay stamp duty on certain properties throughout much of the pandemic.

In the last year the housing market has been stimulated by stamp duty holidays in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, introduced by the government to boost the property...

06.07.2021 - The Nationality and Borders Bill 2021: first impressions

The much-hyped Nationality and Borders Bill has already been published officially.

It mainly addresses asylum issues but there are some nationality provisions included as well, which we have already covered and will return to in another article soon.

Our first impressions, reading through the Bill, are that

  1. A lot of it is already law so it isn’t actually very new at all.
  2. The bits that are new are likely to lead to a lot of uncertainty and litigation, which is good for lawyers but bad for refugees and the public purse.
  3. There is some genuine nastiness included.
  4. The Bill will onl...

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