Steep rise in court fees confirmed
Court fees are set to increase again in order to plug a £1 billion funding gap in the justice system, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
In a written statement, Justice Minister Shailesh Vara confirmed that fees will increase by ten per cent across a range of civil proceedings, including enforcement proceedings, determination of costs proceedings and civil business in magistrates’ courts, after a period of consultation last year.
Fees will also be introduced in the general regulatory chamber and tax chamber of the first-tier tribunal, and in the upper tribunal tax and Chancery chamber. Litigants will also be charged £100 to issue proceedings in the property chamber and £200 for a hearing.
However, the Government has back-tracked on its commitment to increase the fee cap to £20,000 and will instead keep the maximum fee cap for money claims at the £10,000 figure introduced in March last year.
Mr Vara said that courts and tribunals in England and Wales cost £1.7 billion in 2014/15, but the Government recovered only £700 million in income and that this growing funding gap needed to be closed.
He added: “Fees are never popular, but they are necessary if we are to reduce the burden of the courts and tribunals on the taxpayer.
“We have sought to protect the vulnerable at every stage. We have listened very carefully to concerns raised during the consultation and modified our proposals accordingly.”
In response, Law Society President Jonathan Smithers said: “The court service must not be treated as a profit centre, used to subsidise other public services. It is wrong to push through increases in court fees on top of those introduced in March 2015 when there has been no assessment of their effect.
“High court fees contribute to the development of a two tier justice system; they discourage people from bringing legitimate cases and make it harder for some people to get access to justice. Further increases will disproportionately affect people on lower incomes and some disabled people.”
Last year’s changes to court fees have already had a significant effect on some firms’ turnover and these proposed changes are likely to reduce profit margins and dissuade individuals from pursuing a case through the courts.
Link: Government response to the consultation on proposals to increase court and tribunal fees
Small business need to be ready for employment law changes in 2016
Last year saw a number of significant rulings and changes to UK employment Law and 2016 is likely to include a similarly high number of changes for which businesses need to be prepared.
Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should start planning now for the most significant changes to employment law. To help you with this please find the changes below:
National Living Wage
The new National Living Wage will require employers to increase the wages of workers aged 25 and over. From April 2016 the minimum wage for this group will increase to £7.20 an hour; an increase of 50p on the current full rate for this age group. The National Living Wage will increase every year, with the aim of it being 60 per cent of median earnings. It is expected to be £9 by 2020.
As with previous changes to the statutory wage, failure to pay could lead to fines and the prospect of being named and shamed by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Workplace pensions
Although auto-enrolment has been in force for several years now, its phased introduction means that many smaller employers will now only begin to get to grips with it in 2016 and 2017.
Businesses can find out their staging date (the date by which they need to have the auto-enrolment scheme up and running) by checking on the Pensions Regulator’s website, but should bear in mind that it takes a few months to select a scheme, get it set up and put the employee paperwork in place.
In most cases, businesses need to start planning the process at least six months before their staging date. Failure to meet the staging date could lead to fines or even prosecution.
Zero hours contracts
In 2015 the Government introduced legislation so that exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts banning an individual from taking on other work were no longer enforceable. However, as many commented at the time, the legislation did not give these individuals any remedy if they were dismissed or punished for taking on other work.
However, on 11 January 2016, new legislation (The Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hours Contracts (Redress) Regulations 2015) came into force giving zero hours employees the right to bring employment claims if they are dismissed or subjected to a detriment for breaching an exclusivity clause.
Statutory pay rates
Statutory Maternity Pay will not be increased this year and will remain at its current rate of £139.58 a week (paid for 33 weeks after the employee has received six weeks’ pay at 90 per cent of her weekly earnings).
Link: Department for Work & Pensions
New adoption law seeks to speed up placement of children in stable homes
The Government has proposed a new adoption law that will force judges and social workers to take account of children’s need for a stable family to ensure that the ‘long-term stability and happiness’ of children comes first.
The new law comes after a significant decline in the number of children in the state care system being adopted since a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2013, which said that no child should be permanently taken from its birth mother and father except as ‘a last resort’ and in circumstances ‘where nothing else will do’.
The ruling was subsequently reinforced by Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, in a series of court judgments that has led to the number of children put forward for adoption being cut in half.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said the new law would make it explicit that the child’s recovery from abuse and neglect, and the need for a long-term home, should be the most important factor.
“Every single day a child spends waiting in care is a further delay to a life full of love and stability – and this simply isn’t good enough,” she said.
“We have a responsibility to transform the lives of our most vulnerable children, making sure they get the opportunities they deserve.
“We are changing the law on adoption to make sure decisions rightly prioritise children’s long-term stability and happiness, so that children are placed with their new family as quickly as possible, helping them fulfil their potential and get the very best start in life.”
The Department for Education has said that the new law will make it clear that councils and courts “must place children with the person best able to care for them right up until their 18th birthday, rather than with carers who cannot provide the support they need over the long-term.”
The Department added: “Concerns that life-long stability and high quality care that adoptive families can bring is not always given sufficient weight by councils and courts when they make decisions about where children should live – sometimes focussing on just who can support the child in the short term.”
Ministers also promised an additional £200 million of funding for adoption agencies to ‘break down bureaucratic barriers in the adoption system which can lead to children waiting in care for months longer than necessary’.
Hugh Thornberry of the charity Adoption UK, said: “This legislation and funding announcement is extremely good news for all of those involved in trying to improve services for adoptive families and adopted children.
“It is vital, when planning for permanence, that all the child’s needs are considered as we know from the experience of our members that many children require highly specialised and therapeutic parenting to overcome early traumatic experiences.”
Link: Education Secretary unveils plans to change adoption law
