Day: January 19, 2018

Judicial review of Parole Board decisions is governed by Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) 1998 Part 5 section 1. Judicial review claims of Parole Board Decisions must be issued on the Administrative Court Office.

More information on issuing judicial review claims on the Administrative Court Office can be found here

In the context of parole the grounds upon which a judicial review may be sought are:

• Where there is an error in law ( for example the Board applies the wrong test for release, or acts outside its statutory powers, takes into account irrelevant matters or fails to consider relevant ones)
• Where there is procedural impropriety, that is unfairness in the decision making process (for example failure to disclose documents to enable representations to be made, refusal to call relevant witnesses or giving inadequate reasons)
• Where the decision is irrational, that is so unreasonable as to be unsustainable, or where there is an abuse of power.
• Where the body in question has breached the requirement to act compatibly with rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

A driver who killed his best friend will now serve time in prison after Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP referred his original sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

Stephen Whilde, 24, was driving his modified car 20 mph over the speed limit when he failed to negotiate a right hand bend, causing the vehicle to crash into a hedgerow. A piece of wooden fence struck the passenger, William Bye, 24, killing him.

The passenger was filming the drive leading up to the crash in November 2016. The footage was used by police and prosecutors.

Whilde was originally sentenced to 2 years in custody, suspended for 2 years last November at Shrewsbury Crown Court. The Court of Appeal quashed his suspended sentence and replaced it with an immediate 3 year prison sentence. Whilde has also been disqualified from driving for 4 and a half years.

Whilde has been ordered to surrender to Shrewsbury Police Station by 4pm today .

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

This was a sad example of deliberate, very dangerous driving that has caused the death of a young man and devastated a family.

I feel the increased sentence better reflects the seriousness of the offence and I hope this will provide some comfort to the family at this very difficult time.

The Parole Board notes the Secretary of State for Justice’s decision not to proceed with Judicial Review proceedings. We are glad that the Secretary of State agrees with our suggestion for an independent review on victim contact in the case of John Worboys.

We also welcome the expanded the terms of reference for the Ministry of Justice’s review of the parole process to include victim communication, transparency, and how Parole Board decisions could be reconsidered.

We think this is a sensible course of action to take to make sure that the public and especially victims have confidence in the Parole Board’s work.

Justice needs to be seen to be done and the Canadian model for victim contact could provide a good starting point.

Highways England announced the preferred route for the £290 million improvement scheme, part of the Government’s £15 billion Road Investment Strategy, in July last year.

The improvement to the eight-mile stretch will help to improve journey times for residents, businesses and visitors, as well as unlocking one of the last bottlenecks in Cornwall.

And since the preferred route was announced, Highways England has been working with landowners along the route to develop the design of the scheme, the details of which will be announced when consultation starts on Monday, 29 January.

Josh Hodder, Project Manager for Highways England, said:

We recognise the strategic importance of improving this section of the A30 in helping to unlock economic growth in Cornwall and the whole of the region.

We look forward to sharing our plans with local stakeholders, businesses and the community, full details of the proposals will be made available when we launch the consultation and we welcome all feedback.

The scheme offers a number of benefits to the area – as well as boosting the area’s economy, upgrading this stretch of the A30 is vital to improving motorists’ journeys, cutting congestion, improving safety and connecting local communities.

After the opening of the Cornwall Council-led A30 Temple to Higher Carblake dualling scheme last summer, Highways England is proposing to upgrade the eight-mile Chiverton to Carland Cross section, which will offer drivers more than 100 miles of dual carriageway between the M5 and Camborne in Cornwall.

The cost of developing the scheme is being partly funded by an £8 million contribution from the European Regional Development Fund. The remainder of the cost of developing and delivering the scheme will be funded by central Government.

Cllr Geoff Brown, Portfolio Holder for Transport at Cornwall Council added:

I welcome this next step and the further consultation with communities. The scheme will help to improve journey times for local people, businesses and visitors and we know from previous public engagement that there is strong support locally to improve this stretch of the A30.

This project will build upon the excellent working relationship that we have with Highways England and I encourage people to take this opportunity to view the proposals and discuss them with the Highways England design team.

Public consultation events, offering people the chance to see the proposals and meet with members of the project team, will be held at the following:

• Friday, 2 February – St Erme Community Centre, near Truro TR4 9AP, 2pm-8pm
• Wednesday, 7 February – Blackwater Village Hall, Blackwater TR4 8ET, 2pm-8pm
• Thursday, 8 February – Perranporth Methodist Chapel, Boscawen Road, Perranporth TR6 0EW, 10am-4pm
• Saturday, 10 February – New County Hall, Treyew Road, Truro TR1 3AY, 11am-5pm
• Monday, 12 February – Victory Hall, Indian Queens, St Columb TR9 6PP, 2pm-8pm
• Tuesday, 13 February – Shortlanesend Village Hall, School Hill, Shortlanesend TR4 9DU, 2pm-8pm
• Wednesday, 14 February – St Michael the Archangel Church, Newquay TR7 1RA, 2pm-8pm

And information will also be available to view, from 29 January to 12 March, at the following local information points:

• County Hall, Truro
• Truro Community Library
• St Agnes Library
• Perranporth Library
• Redruth Library
• Newquay Library

More details will be available on the scheme website from Monday, 29 January.

Following consultation, the scheme will then progress through the formal planning process and, subject to statutory approval under the 2008 Planning Act and the Secretary of State, construction is planned to start in spring 2020.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Bringing together representatives from HMCTS and across the media, the group will develop new ways to build strong relationships between media organisations and their local courts and improve and promote the existing guidance to staff relating to media access. They will also explore how transparency and openness are embedded into HMCTS’ £1bn reform and modernisation of courts and tribunals. The changes introduced through digital reforms will mean there are many more ways to access justice without the need to travel and physically attend court. For cases that do need to go to court, there will be more modern and well-connected courtrooms.

The group – which will make recommendations to HMCTS CEO Susan Acland-Hood – will include representatives of the Society of Editors and the News Media Association, and the Judicial Office, and will be chaired by Ed Owen, the Head of Communications for HMCTS.

Susan Acland-Hood, CEO of HMCTS, said:

The reporting of court proceedings has long been an important part of maintaining public confidence in our justice system. So its decline in recent years represents a real concern.

I want to ensure that HMCTS is doing all we can to promote media coverage of court hearings as part of our commitment to openness and transparency, and I am pleased that media organisations have joined us to consider this issue together. I look forward to receiving its recommendations.

Ed Owen will launch the initiative at a Society of Editors event today, and will say that court reporting is vital for democracy and for public confidence in the justice system.

Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors, said:

The Society of Editors is delighted to be involved in this tremendously important work in ensuring open access to the courts for journalists. Nothing can be more important for local communities than to have faith that justice is being delivered fairly on their behalf and that can only be done by reporting court proceedings. The Society is grateful to HMCTS for initiating this procedure.

Santha Rasaiah, legal, policy and regulatory affairs director for the News Media Association, said:

Court reporting is essential to open justice. The NMA warmly welcomes this HMCTS initiative to help the courts and news media, local and national, to work together in furthering and facilitating press access and reporting.

This translates that vital principle into everyday practice, to the benefit of the public that they both serve. It is in itself another example of such constructive co-operation and we are pleased to be working together again.

Note to editors:

The event will include a discussion on how to get reporters back into courts. Panellists include:

• The former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge
• Ed Owen
• Ian McGregor, The Society of Editors President and Emeritus Editor of the Telegraph
• John Whittingdale MP
• Ian Murray, Society of Editors Executive Director
• Tristan Kirk, courts correspondent for the London Evening Standard