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The government plans to create a new generation of town houses by making it easier to develop existing buildings. Housing Secretary Sajid Javid says the changes will ease pressure on valuable open spaces and help growing families who live in built up areas. Under the changes it will be easier to build upwards on existing
A woman has been granted an interim instalment from the estate of her deceased husband to ease her financial struggles. The woman had been married to a wealthy businessman. When he died, she sought to administer his estate. However, the deceased man’s son from his first marriage began proceedings to replace her as the administrator.
The parents of a sperm donor have been granted the right to see their biological grandchild. The case involved a same-sex couple and a friend who had agreed to donate his sperm, so they could have a baby. For the first few years of the child’s life, the donor saw him every week or fortnight
The death of inventor Trevor Baylis saddened many people who had seen him on TV or used one of the numerous products he created. Baylis was perhaps best known for his wind-up radio which he proudly showed off on BBC’s Tomorrow’s World. He developed it after seeing the difficulty that governments in poorer countries were
The government has outlined plans to provide more protection for small and medium-sized businesses who supply companies that become insolvent. It also wants to prevent directors from unfairly shielding themselves from the effects of insolvency. Ministers say that in the worst cases, directors can even profit from business failures while workers and small suppliers lose
An agency worker who was not provided with the ‘same basic working and employment conditions’ as regular employees has won his claim of unequal treatment. The case involved Mr D Kocur, who had been supplied to Royal Mail by an agency. He worked for the company for 12 weeks, triggering his entitlement to the same
A commercial landlord has won a dispute with the liquidators of the former BHS retailer over the payment of rent. The issue arose because BHS had entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to pay reduced rents to landlords of its stores and offices. The agreement contained a clause stating that if the CVA was
A door company has been refused a court order to compel a longstanding supplier to continue providing it with products. Vibrant Doors Ltd claimed that after years of business between the two firms, its supplier Rohden UK Ltd suddenly terminated their agreement, without reasonable notice. Vibrant claimed this was unlawful and damaged its business. However,
A company has prevented an aggrieved employee described as a ‘loose cannon’ from revealing confidential information about some of its clients, including a foreign government and a royal family. The High Court heard that the company provided operational and logistical support to members of the Dubai government and its royal family when they were in
The introduction of tougher electrical safety standards for rented properties has been put forward for public consultation by Housing Minister Heather Wheeler. The move comes after recent data revealed that tenants in the private housing sector were at a higher risk of electrical shocks and fires caused by electrical faults than those in social housing.