The delays for public sector workers to get their pension valuations is continuing. Many people cannot complete their divorce settlements because of the changes to the way pension pots are valued. The government’s Money Helper website says that if you qualify for a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV), it must Read more…
The High Court has overturned a judge’s decision to forego the financial dispute resolution (FDR) in a case where there was “an ongoing factual dispute about the wife’s earning capacity and that the wife’s position had not crystallised so as to enable the FDR process to be successful”. The High Read more…
60% of terminated Individual Voluntary Arrangements, created by Insolvency Practitioners, showed evidence of poor practice. Examples of this included people’s income and expenditure not being recorded accurately, other debt solutions being incorrectly dismissed and providers failing to make sure people understood what they were signing up to. Individual Voluntary Arrangements Read more…
Measures to protect women and girls from violence is to be improved by putting specialists of domestic abuse in 999 call centres. Last year the police recorded 100 offences related to domestic abuse every hour. This new initiative aims to ensure calls for help are treated urgently and that victims Read more…
The number of people who think smacking, hitting, slapping, or shaking a child is not acceptable has risen to 71% Last year Childline delivered over 700 counselling sessions to children with concerns about physical punishment. Ahead of the general election the NSPCC is asking all political parties to scrap ‘reasonable Read more…
The Office for National Statistics has published the latest family and household statistics. The highlights are: There are 19.5 million families, an increase of just over one million in ten years. One third of young men (aged 20 to 34) are living at home with their parents. But less than Read more…
New government figures show: 6.7 million people are on Universal Credit Three quarters of those are from white ethnic groups The proportion of people who get their Universal Credit, but are not required to work, continues to increase: its now well over one in three.
When did you last get a pay rise? Last year? The year before? The providers of civil legal aid have not had their fees increased by the government for … wait for it…twenty eight years. Yes that is not a typo. 28 years. The fees that legal aid providers can Read more…
A separating family attends a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) for a mediator to assess the issues which need to be resolved They will check if you are eligible for a voucher: if the dispute or application is regarding a child, or for financial matters where you are also involved Read more…
More than 27,000 separating families have saved money, protected their children and avoided lengthy, expensive and combative courtroom battles, thanks to a £23 million government scheme. The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme provides funding to help families navigate the complexities of separation, giving them the opportunity to settle issues around childcare Read more…