How did Liverpool City Council turn a beautiful idea into an omnishambles?

How did Liverpool City Council turn a beautiful idea into an omnishambles?

How did Liverpool City Council turn a beautiful idea into an omnishambles?

                                                          

By John Brace (Editor)
First publication date: Monday 21st November 2022, 12:14 (GMT).

Liverpool Town Hall (Liverpool City Council), Liverpool (26th October 2022)
Liverpool Town Hall (Liverpool City Council), Liverpool

This is a brief summary about how a “beautiful idea” went horribly wrong and ended up becoming an omnishambles.

In 2014 a new community interest company was registered called the Beautiful Ideas Company North (CIC). The regulator for community interest companies is called the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies (who as part of their remit investigate and take action on complaints about community interest companies).
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Trial of Jack Beecham at Liverpool Crown Court delayed due to COVID

Trial of Jack Beecham at Liverpool Crown Court delayed due to COVID

Trial of Jack Beecham at Liverpool Crown Court delayed due to COVID

                                                          

By John Brace (Editor)
First publication date: Tuesday 8th November 2022, 14:46 (GMT).

Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts (Liverpool Crown Court), Derby Square, Liverpool, L2 1XA (5th January 2019)
Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts (Liverpool Crown Court), Derby Square, Liverpool, L2 1XA (5th January 2019)

The trial of Jack Beecham, of Wirral didn’t start as planned before HHJ (His Honor Judge) Swinnerton in Court 43 at the Liverpool Crown Court this morning (7th November 2022).

The hearing started at 10.50 am, as before it there were a couple of short “For Ground Rules” hearings relating to completely different cases.
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What happened during 2.5 days of judicial hearings involving evictions and mortgage repossessions at the Liverpool County Court in 2021?

What happened during 2.5 days of judicial hearings involving evictions and mortgage repossessions at the Liverpool County Court in 2021?

What happened during 2.5 days of judicial hearings involving evictions and mortgage repossessions at the Liverpool County Court in 2021?

                                                          

By John Brace (Editor) and Leonora Brace (Co-Editor)
First publication date: Friday 28th October 2022, 12:00 (BST).

Liverpool Civil & Family Court – where the in person possession hearings this piece is about were heard
Liverpool Civil & Family Court – where the in person possession hearings this piece is about were heard

Please note (as the University of Liverpool is mentioned in this piece) the author (John Brace) in the interests of transparency declares that he and his Co-Editor (Leonora Brace) both had University of Liverpool library cards at the time this piece was written and in the case of the author at the time of publication too.

There was a long delay in publishing this piece on this blog as the embargo on publication was put back from that originally notified to us (originally it was September 2021), then it was put back to late October 2021. Unfortunately around then my Co-Editor Leonora (who would normally agree to the published version before publication) fell ill (and sadly died in mid-January 2022). Then, following a period of bereavement in 2022, I broke my arm (twice in 2022 in mid-July and early September 2022) which further reduced available editing capacity, so my apologies for the unusually long delay in this piece being published (which was originally written in Summer 2021)!

Please note that the names of certain individual parties in this piece such as tenants and those subject to mortgage repossession have been deliberately changed to other fictional names in this article. Where the landlord is an individual I have left his or her name in the piece. In relation to one of the hearings I observed (Bank of Scotland PLC T/A Halifax -v- GJ) a published reporting restrictions order of Deputy District Judge Ellis prevents this blog publishing the name of the Defendant, or information that could lead to the Defendant’s identification who is referred to by the initials GJ.

In respect of the other observed judicial hearings (to which no reporting restrictions apply) an editorial balancing test was undertaken regarding the privacy of the individuals anonymised (those being evicted from their home or having their home repossessed) and the public interest in their real names being placed in the public domain. It was (after a lot of discussion) finally agreed between Leonora and myself that anonymising the names and replacing their names with fictional names (as their consent to publication was not sought before publication) was the most appropriate solution. Any similarity between any of the fictional names chosen and the names of real living individuals is purely coincidental and not intended! Fictional names are indicated with an asterisk (*).

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Are Merseyside Police correctly determining whether their contractors fall inside or outside IR35?

Are Merseyside Police correctly determining whether their contractors fall inside or outside IR35?

Are Merseyside Police correctly determining whether their contractors fall inside or outside IR35?

                                                

By John Brace (Editor)

First publication date: Sunday 5th June 2022, 02:12 (BST).

In August 2021 (during the 30 day inspection period) I went to Merseyside Police Headquarters at Canning Place in Liverpool City Centre (Merseyside Police have since then relocated to their new headquarters at Rose Hill) to inspect various invoices paid by Merseyside Police in the 2020-21 financial year.

Below is one of those invoices (from Birchmore Willow Limited) who invoiced Merseyside Police at a day rate of £430 a day for 23 days of work carried out in July 2020 (which was for work on all working days in July 2020).
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Campaign Group asks Wirral Council councillors to “call in” £9.7 million contract award decision for construction of flood wall in West Kirby

Campaign Group asks Wirral Council councillors to “call in” £9.7 million contract award decision for construction of flood wall in West Kirby

Campaign Group asks Wirral Council councillors to “call in” £9.7 million contract award decision for construction of flood wall in West Kirby

                                                             

West Kirby Promenade on the Wirral, England, United Kingdom (April 2022)
West Kirby Promenade on the Wirral, England, United Kingdom (April 2022)

By John Brace – Editor

First publication date: Wednesday 13th April 2022, 22:51 (BST).

A campaign group are asking Wirral Council councillors to “call in” a recent Wirral Council decision to award a £9.64 million construction contract to Volkerstevin Ltd. The project is called the West Kirby Flood Alleviation Scheme and would involve construction of a flood wall and other changes to the West Kirby Promenade on the Wirral.

Wirral Council have further information about the West Kirby Flood Alleviation Scheme on their website.
Continue reading “Campaign Group asks Wirral Council councillors to “call in” £9.7 million contract award decision for construction of flood wall in West Kirby”