Partnerships Prosecution Bill passed

The UK Parliament has formally approved a new law that will amend the criminal liability of partnerships in Scotland. The Partnerships (Prosecution) (Scotland) Bill will now go forward for royal assent.

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Male drivers take deadly risks on the roads

A recent survey has found that around a quarter of male drivers risk catastrophic head-on crashes by overtaking blind, while more than four in ten (44%) admit speeding at 60mph+ on rural roads. Men are much more likely to take these deadly risks than women, and more than twice as likely to have been involved in an overtaking near-miss or incident.

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Holyrood Passes High Hedges Bill

MSP’s have now approved the High Hedges (Scotland) Bill, thus Scotland will follow other parts of the UK in having legislation to control the “thorny” problem of the height of hedges that cause nuisance to neighbouring proprietors.

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Hotel chain fined for asbestos risk

A leading hotel chain has been ordered to pay more than £200,000 in fines and costs after construction workers and guests were put at risk of asbestos exposure at a Kent hotel.

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ABI welcomes young driver safety proposals

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has welcomed the announcement from the Government that they are to publish a Green Paper on young driver safety. The ABI has long campaigned to change the way young people learn how to drive in order to reduce death and injury on the roads and make young drivers safer.

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Safety event puts new sharps laws under the knife

Health and safety professionals in Northern Ireland have been given advice on how new laws can help them reduce needle, scalpel blade and other sharps injuries in the healthcare industry.

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Dallas McMillan, Solicitors advise Vuitton Family in relation to the sale of Scottish Country Estate

On 6th March 2013, Xavier Louis Vuitton sold Gaick, one of his Scottish Sporting Estates. The sale took the form of the sale of the entire issued share capital of a single property vehicle. Dallas McMillan acted on behalf of Xavier Louis Vuitton. The commercial property team was led by Forbes Leslie, Managing Partner and Head of Real Estate with input in relation to corporate matters from Mandy L. Quinn, Head of Corporate Team.

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Deafness link to high-volume appliances

March 2013 saw the introduction of a volume safety limit for new portable music players such as iPods. New mobile phones and portable music players sold within the EU must now have a sound limit of 85 Decibels (dB). This is above the 80 dB which is regarded as the safe limit. This is similar to the volume of noise created by the noise of traffic or someone shouting. The 80dB limit was determined by the European Commission Assessment which concluded that 80dB was a safe level regardless of the length of time people were exposed to sound at this level.

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The Green Deal and its implications for Sellers and Purchasers & Landlords and Tenants

The Green Deal is established by The Energy Act 2011 and applies to Great Britain but not to Northern Ireland.  The aim of the Green Deal is to improve the energy efficiency of residential and non-residential properties and enables householders to obtain energy efficiency improvements to their property (whether owned or tenanted) without having to make a substantial capital “up front” payment.

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Number of First Time Buyers Reached Four Year High Last Year

New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders in Scotland report that the number of first time buyers in Scotland rose to the largest annual total in four years.

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ABI publishes whiplash proposals

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published details of proposed changes to the way whiplash claims are handled.

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InterAction meeting on historic abuse

The Scottish Human Rights Commission and CELCIS (Centre of Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland, University of Strathclyde) have hosted an InterAction event in Glasgow.

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Doctors’ working hours pose risk to patients

Patients’ safety and wellbeing could be at risk because the working patterns of doctors in training are leaving them too tired and stressed. These are the worrying findings of a recent study commissioned by the General Medical Council (GMC).

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Fine for company after workers flee whisky fire

A major scotch whisky manufacturer has been fined after two workers had to flee a warehouse fire.

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Accountant in bankruptcy revises reform proposals

Following consultations the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB) has announced changes to the proposed reforms of Scotland’s bankruptcy laws.

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Reform of Stamp Duty Land Tax for Scotland

The Scottish Governments has introduced the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Bill which is set to replace the current Stamp Duty Land Tax system currently operating in Scotland on land and property transactions.

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Blinded ball spotter sues for damages

A golf competition ball spotter who was blinded in one eye after being struck by a golf ball is suing the professional golfer who struck the ball, reports the BBC.

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Governments consult over setting the discount rate

The Ministry of Justice, the Scottish Government and the Department of Justice, Northern Ireland have jointly launched a consultation exercise over how the discount rate for personal injury compensation should be set.

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Government Consultation on Early Conciliation

The Government is consulting at the moment (and until 15th February) about their proposals for compulsory early conciliation efforts by claimants, whereby they will have to notify ACAS of intended tribunal claim in advance of lodging it.

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Clinical Negligence during pregnancy

Scotland has one of the highest perinatal mortality rates in Europe.  Between January 2009 and June 2011 the NHS in Scotland paid out over £70,000,000 in damages in relation to negligence resulting in stillbirths and babies born with disabilities.  

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