Glasgow Solicitors Blog from The GLP

Are you seeking to instruct an immigration lawyer in Glasgow? The Glasgow Law Practice can assist you in securing legal advice in this area.

Representation in Fatal Accident Inquiries. Our solicitors can provide advice and representation in respect of all Fatal Accident Inquiry hearings.

Alasdair Thomson of The Glasgow Law Practice has been instructed in a number of cases involving Court Martial proceedings.

The Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) process is currently under review by the Scottish Government.

Their aim being to set out practical measures for a system of inquiry into fatalities that is effective, efficient and fair.

www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/2011/03/18150120/3

Whiplash injury is a relatively common injury that occurs to a person's neck following a sudden acceleration/deceleration of force. It is most commonly associated with road traffic accidents. If you have suffered such an injury our Personal Injury Department can assist.

If you have been injured or suffered loss due to the PIP breast implant controversy then our personal injury solicitors are in a position to assist.

Health and Safety figures show reduction in amount of  personal injuries suffered in the workplace in Britain this year with an increase in the amount of fatalities caused.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published new figures which show a downward trend for the number of people injured or suffering ill health at work. 

Have you had a DePuy ASR Hip Implant?

Thousands of people fitted with metal hip replacements are to have their operations reviewed and may be called for replacement surgery. Our Glasgow Law Practice solicitors can advise you on the legal issues that may arise.

House prices have more than doubled in three seaside towns on Scotland’s north-east coast since 2004, according to the latest research from Bank of Scotland.

Macduff and Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire recorded the biggest rises over the past eight years with the average house price increasing in both by 123%. The average price in Macduff is now at £130,025 and £119,425 in Fraserburgh. Cove Bay in Aberdeen recorded the next largest rise with an increase of 105% during the same period.

A further 18 coastal towns recorded price increases of at least 50%. They include Montrose (82%), Campbeltown (80%), Peterhead and Banff (both 79%). Since 2004, the average house price in seaside towns rose by 36%; slightly lower than the 38% increase in the whole of Scotland.

There is a marked East-West divide in house prices in Scottish seaside towns. Seven of the ten most expensive are on the eastern coastline. North Berwick is the most expensive seaside town in Scotland with an average house price of £309,676. St. Andrews is the second most expensive with an average price of £277,344, followed by Crail (£209,688) and Stonehaven (£197,530).

On the other hand, six of the ten least expensive seaside towns are in western Scotland. They include Greenock (£85,212), Girvan (£85,961), Irvine (£89,727) and Ardrossan (£91,052). However, the least expensive seaside town in Scotland is Buckhaven on the east coast with an average house price of £68,350.

Positive signals have emerged for the housing market in the first quarter of 2012 with a rise in the number of British homeowners who expect house prices to climb over the next six months.

According to the latest Zoopla.co.uk Housing Market Sentiment Survey, two out of three (67%) British homeowners are confident of house prices rising by the Autumn. This is the highest proportion of homeowners predicting property price growth since the first half of 2010 and in stark contrast to sentiment at the end of 2011 when only 55% of owners were predicting prices to climb.

In addition to the rise in overall confidence, homeowners are also more bullish now about how much they expect average house prices to rise over the next six months. At the end of 2011, owners expected prices in their local area to increase 2.2% on average. Over the last quarter this has risen to 3.9% - again, the highest price growth expectation in almost two years.

There has also been an improvement in sentiment towards mortgage financing with an increase in the number of property owners reporting that it is now easier to secure a mortgage than it was at the end of 2011. 17% of respondents believe mortgage availability has improved, up from 11% last quarter.

Million pound property sales have fallen to their lowest level since 2009, according to research by Bank of Scotland.

There were 132 property sales worth at least one million pounds in Scotland in 2011, a fall of 11% from 148 in 2010. This is the lowest number of sales since 2009 and more than double the percentage decline across the UK as a whole (-5%). In total, there are now an estimated 3,000 homes in Scotland worth at least one million pounds.

The 11% fall in million pound property sales in 2011 was almost double the fall in sales across the rest of the housing market. Overall, total home sales in Scotland fell by 6% from 74,747 in 2010 to 70,035 in 2011.

In Edinburgh in 2011, 61 homes were sold for at least one million pounds, accounting for 46% of all million pound sales in Scotland. This was substantially higher than anywhere else in Scotland and the second highest in Britain outside of the South East of England and London. Aberdeen City (13) recorded the second highest number of million pound sales in Scotland, followed by Glasgow (8).

Over the past year, Edinburgh (-13%) was the only one of these three Scottish cities to see a fall in million pound sales. Aberdeenshire and East Renfrewshire were among the other areas to experience a decrease in sales in Scotland.

People living in Scotland are becoming increasingly confident in the outlook for the housing market, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Housing Market Confidence tracker. One in three (33%) respondents predict that house prices will increase over the next year, higher than the proportion that believe house prices will fall (23%).

Lending to both first-time buyers and home movers increased in February with first-time buyers taking the bigger increase, according to figures released from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Appeal Judge finds youth team boss was right to resign and is due compensation after being undermined .

By Stephen Smith, Employment Lawyer, Glasgow Law Practice

The Flooring Studio is a carpet and flooring retailer based in Bridge of Allan, serving Bridge of Allan, Dunblane, Stirling, Falkirk and surrounding areas in the Central Belt.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has acted in an unfair dismissal case that involved a compensation award to the dismissed employee.

Flexible Working for all? 

Small businesses may not be exempt under new Government proposals. The Government is proposing extending the right to amend their working hours because of their circumstances to all employees– not just those with children.

The powers of professional regulatory bodies to restrict a professional practising was recently considered by the Court of Session in Scotland. Stephen Smith of The Glasgow Law Practice has experience of advising professionals in relation to disputes and issues arising with professional bodies.

The Crown Office has published a report on Hate Crime in Scotland during 2011-12, which brings together figures on race crime, and on crime motivated by prejudice related to religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity.

The main findings include:

• The number of charges reported to the Procurator Fiscal in 2011-12 increased for all categories of hate crime. This is likely to have been partly due to increased awareness, reporting and recording of these crimes following several incidents relating to religious prejudice which received significant media attention during the year.
• In total 4,518 charges of race crime were reported to the Procurator Fiscal in 2011-12, compared to 4,178 in 2010-11, an increase of 8%, and the highest number reported in the six years covered by the publication. Court proceedings were commenced in respect of 81% of these charges.
• There were 897 charges with a religious aggravation reported to the Procurator Fiscal in 2011-12, compared to 695 in 2010-11, an increase of 29% and the highest number since the relevant legislation came into force. Court proceedings were commenced in respect of 86% of charges.
• In 2011-12 which is the second full year of implementation of the legislation relating to the newer hate crime categories, 652 charges were reported with an aggravation of sexual orientation (447 in 2010-11), 68 with an aggravation of disability (48 in 2010-11), and 16 with an aggravation of transgender identity (14 in 2010-11).

New rules being proposed by the European Parliament would provide greater support for police forces in conducting investigations in other European countries.

The proposed European Investigation Order (EIO) would make it easier for police to obtain evidence in another EU country where this is necessary as part of their criminal investigation. For example, if Scottish police were tracking criminals who were currently to be found in France, they could ask the local French police to carry out a house search or interview witnesses there.

Under the proposed rules, an EIO would not be executed if it harmed national security interests or immunities or if the requested measure was not authorised by the law of the Member State whose police are asked to gather the evidence.

MEPs say that it should be possible to refuse an EIO if the measure requested were to breach a fundamental right or contradict a constitutional principle, if it were not validated by a judge in countries where this requirement exists or if it were to breach national rules limiting criminal liability relating to freedom of the press.

A Member State would have up to 30 days to decide whether or not to accept an EIO request. If accepted, there would then be a 90-day deadline for gathering the evidence. Any delay should be reported to the EU country issuing the EIO. MEPs agreed with these deadlines as they should ensure that investigations of transnational crimes are not delayed without justification.

A national problem profile published by the Association of Chief Police Officers shows the commercial cultivation of cannabis continues to pose a significant risk to the UK with increasing numbers of farms being detected by police.

The problem profile, which is the third to be published since 2008, shows an increasing number of farms being detected; 7,865 projected for 2011/12 compared with 6,866 in 2009/10 when the last problem profile was published.

Key findings from the report include:

- Over 1.1 million plants with an estimated street value of £207 million were recovered during the two-year survey period.
- The number of cannabis production offences continues to rise with 16,464 offences projected for 2011/12 up from 14,982 offences recorded in 2010/11.
- There is a shift back to smaller residential or domestic premises as opposed to large-scale commercial and industrial property.
- There is an emergence of the “multiple site” model whereby a large number of people are employed to manage small scale factories across multiple residential areas.
- Cannabis remains the most commonly used illegal drug in the UK and is the most prevalent drug seized by law enforcement agencies.
- Intelligence suggests the purchase of seeds and equipment from local hydroponics and head shops is on the increase. This may result in an increase in small-scale cultivations feeding social supply.

The Justice Secretary has hailed the success of a pilot project to tackle youth offending, which has seen a major reduction in crimes committed by young people.

Plans to make criminals who assault police officers in the line of duty pay for their crimes have been unveiled by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.

Let us help you to help your child with special needs as they become an adult at 16 years of age.   Does your child have Learning Difficulties; Cerebral Palsy, suffered a Brain Injury or a diagnosis of Autism?   You should apply to the court for Guardianship orders, and we can do it for you.  

Our Glasgow Law Practice family law solicitors regularly appear in courts throughout Scotland in respect of family law contact disputes. We are also skilled in preventing matters reaching court where possible, through careful negotiation to ensure contact arrangements that best protect the interests of the children involved are achieved.

If you require legal advice on Guardianship Orders and Deeds of Power of Attorney our Glasgow Law Practice solicitors can help. Jacqueline Harkins, Senior Family Law Solicitor has written the follwing helpful initial guide. Our family lawyers are happy to discuss your situation and provide free initial advice on such matters.

Our Glasgow lawyers can provide advice in respect of all power of attorney matters. Our guide gives general advice. Specific legal advice should alwats be sought.

Our Glasgow Law Practice solicitors are regularly instructed by parents, children and "relevant persons" in respect of Childrens Referral Hearings which are heard at the Sheriff Court.

If you have been charged with a drink driving offence then it is likely that you will have been released from police custody on the bail undertaking procedure. A court date will be specified on the form and the hearing usually takes place within two to three weeks of the alleged offence. Our drink driving defence solicitors at The Glasgow Law Practice can assist.

The message to motorists about the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs does not appear to be getting through, according to the latest figures.

Motorists are being warned to insure their vehicles ahead of a new crackdown to tackle the menace of uninsured driving. Under the new Continuous Insurance Enforcement law – which will affect all motorists from 20th June – it is an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, rather than just to drive when uninsured.

Plans to improve road safety education while taking tough action against the small minority of dangerous drivers have been set out by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.

Our road traffic lawyers at The Glasgow Law Practice anticipate that we will see the usual seasonal increase in Drink Driving cases .