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Fury
over Provident's 189% APR loan rate, the
Evening Times, 29 December 2008. |
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Film:
Opening of
Govanhill Law Centre (26 mins, opens as
streaming real video) with contributions from the Lord Advocate, the
Leader of Glasgow City Council, Oxfam's Louise Carlin and Janice
McEwan, Chair of Govanhill Housing Association. (If you can't view
this you can download RealPlayer Basic
for free here).
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Riddoch
Questions, BBC Radio Scotland, 12 December
2008. Discussion of UK welfare reforms, excessive interest
rates, public transport and assisted suicide (real audio file).
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The
Future of UK Community Law Centres, GLC's
Principal Solicitor's address to the Annual Conference of the Law
Centres Federation for England, Wales and Northern Ireland,
Birmingham, 21 November 2008. GLC
joins LCF.
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New
Govanhill Law Centre targets slum landlords,
BBC online, 19 November 2008.
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GLC
backs Scottish Government's repossession bail out plan as a good start,
The Firm, 17 November 2008. |
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Tackling
the credit crunch in Scotland: what we can do to lessen the impact
on Scottish households. (link to PDF flyer)
Monday 8 December 2008 at the Glasgow University Union. Keynote
speaker: The Rt Hon Jim Murphy MP, Secretary of State for Scotland,
together with a cross-party panel of senior MSPs and MPs, and
contributions from a wide range of Scottish advice and voluntary
sector agencies.
Sponsored
by Govan Law Centre, Govanhill Law Centre, Citizens Advice Scotland,
Money Advice Scotland, Glasgow University Students' Representative
Council, the Child Poverty Action Group, the Poverty Alliance, the
Glasgow Homelessness Network, Govan Money Matters Advice Agency,
UNISON Scotland and Scottish Legal News.
Please
note: if you are a member or affiliate of one of the sponsoring
organisations you can apply to that organisation directly to book a
place on this conference. Otherwise all other bookings to Govan
Law Centre.
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Call
for action on repossessions, BBC Scotland,
12 November 2008 (GLC chairs the cross-party press conference in the
Scottish Parliament with the Scottish Labour Party, Scottish Liberal
Democrats, Scottish Green Party, and Independent MSP, Margo McDonald,
calling for urgent additional protections for Scottish homeowners
against mortgage repossession). Parties
clash over moves to avert home repossessions,
The Herald, 12 November 2008. GLC's
Alistair Sharp's comment on the increasing number of repossession
cases in Glasgow (from Scottish Legal
News), 12 November 2008.
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UK
Foreign & Commonwealth Office backs Child Protection project in
Bamenda, Cameroon - GLC and Glasgow
University's Active Learning Centre welcome British support - 9
November 2008.
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Posturing
will not prevent needless repossessions,
GLC column in The Herald, 7 November 2008. |
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MSP
for Govan under fire over failure to act to protect Scottish homeowners,
The Herald, 3 November 2008. |
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GLC
calls for additional protection for Scottish homeowners to prevent
repossession during credit crisis - BBC
Newsnight Scotland, on 23 October 2008 (link to BBC iPlayer).
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Govanhill
Law Centre's evidence in support of the Govanhill Community Petition - the
Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee on 7 October 2008. |
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Call
for Council to intervene in slum landlord housing,
Scottish Television, Scotland Today, 8 October 2008 (link to STV);
Evening Times story on Govanhill 'Ghetto
private sector flats' 8 October 2008. |
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Plea
to Scottish Government to help Govanhill,
Evening Times, 7 October 2008. |
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Legal
bid on 'closed shop for pupils at Jordanhill'
- The Herald, 27 September 2008. Striving
for highest school proves difficult for a mother from Govan -
The Herald, 27 September 2008. |
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Do
gangmasters operate on the streets of Govanhill? -
Evening Times, 26 September 2008. Government
action needed in Govanhill - link to the
Evening Times' Editorial on 26 September 2008. |
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Leadership
and the law, GLC address to the 25th
Anniversary Meeting of the Chevening Alumni of Cameroon, West Central
Africa, 6 September 2008.
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Additional
funding for special needs services, BBC
Scotland online, 28 August 2008 (funding for Govan's ELU training project). |
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GLC
support for African citizens' empowerment project, link
to Evening Times, 25 August 2008 (GLC's helps the Citizens'
Empowerment project in Cameroon, West Central Africa). |
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New
powers to crack down on slum landlords, Scottish
Government to introduce Part 1 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006,
the Evening Times, 25 August 2008. |
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Promise
to end misery of slums, Glasgow City
Council's regeneration announcements for Govanhill, link to the
Evening Times, 21 August 2008. |
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Court
case throws key policy on class size into chaos,
Govan Law Centre's ELU successful case highlighted in The Herald, 20
August 2008:
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Govanhill:
Living in Ground Zero (link to Herald
Society feature, 5 August 2008). |
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GLC's
Govanhill
Law Centre is backed by Oxfam (link to
Evening Times story, 1 August 2008). |
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Time
to get tough - calls to jail slum landlords (link
to Evening Times story, 29 July 2008). |
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Hope
for children who need help in class (link
to story in The Herald, 28 July 2008 concerning a legal case from
GLC's Education Law Unit).
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Govanhill:
£187m to bring slum homes in City up to scratch (link
to Evening Times story, 28 July 2008). |
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GLC
recruits for the Govanhill
Law Centre. The first major new
law centre in Scotland for a decade, and the first UK law centre to
be supported by OXFAM and a major UK trade union. Govanhill Law
Centre is funded by the Scottish Government and supported principally
by Govanhill Housing Association and the Govanhill Community
Development Trust.
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GLC
participates with filming for Overdrawn!
- the movie: a US documentary exposing
the unfair and exploitative practices of the global banking industry
in the UK and USA. Opens as a movie trailer including
interviews with US Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader (and one of the
USA's top campaigning lawyers). Images
of filming at GLC with members of the UK Consumer Action Group are here.
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Justice
for sale? article challenging the
treatment of justice as a 'commodity' in the Journal of the Law
Society of Scotland, July 2008 (link to Journal Online).
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Sheriff
Principal Kearney holds identifiable benefits and tax credits are
not subject to bank arrestment (opens
as PDF - decision from page 20, paras 43 to 53) - overturning North
Lanarkshire Council v Crossan 2007
SLT (Sh Ct) 169. GLC is obliged to Andrew Fitzpatrick of the MFY
Partnership Solicitors (Airdrie & Cumbernauld) for a copy of this
judgment; MFY acted for the debtor and appellant.
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Is
Scotland's dust behind asthma? BBC
Scotland investigation, 7 July 2008.
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City's
slum housing 'could end with deaths',
Evening Times, 3 July 2008. |
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Experts
slate scheme to purge 'cowboy' factors, Evening
Times, 2 July 2008.
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GLC's
contribution to the 'Delivering
Excellence in Scotland's Civil Justice System conference', Edinburgh
20 June 2008 (opens as PDF).
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Office
of Fair Trading to investigate Scottish property factors (17
June 2008) -
GLC
has been campaigning on the need to regulate property factors since
March 2007 when we drafted the first law reform consultation paper on
property factors, launched the free self-help website www.factorcharges.info
and began challenging court actions raised by private sector factors.
In
June 2007 GLC gave evidence to the House of Commons Scottish Affairs
Committee on rip-off property factors as part of the House
of Commons' Poverty in Scotland Inquiry.
Later
in 2007 we worked with Patricia Ferguson MSP on a bill proposal to
regulate property factors and assisted the BBC Scotland
investigations unit inquiry into dodgy property factors, broadcast in
January 2008.
In
February 2008, GLC supported Glasgow's Evening Times' major campaign
on bad property factors in Glasgow.
GLC
welcomes the OFT investigation and hopes that the days of bad and
poor quality property factors are coming to an end in Scotland.
Meantime GLC will continue to challenge unfair property factors in
Glasgow on behalf of our clients and our community.
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'It's
a civil matter ...' - GLC's Prevention of Homelessness Project
publishes a report on the unlawful eviction and harassment of private
sector tenants in Scotland - (opens as PDF) 11
June 2008.
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Barclays
plc to reduce bank charges to £8 from August 2008
- GLC commentary on BBC Radio Scotland's Newsdrive (29 May 2008) -
opens as Real Audio.
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An
expanded role for the private rented sector?
GLC presentation on the Scottish Government's 'Firm Foundations'
policy to the Glasgow & West of Scotland Forum of Housing
Associations, Govanhill on 15 May 2008. |
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Migrant
workers ripped off: BBC Reporting Scotland report, 9
May 2008 (opens as Real Video).
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The
Scotsman: career focus on law centres, 9
May 2008 (opens as pagesuite within browser; article at pages 6 & 7). |
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Govan
Money Matters Advice Centre and GLC launch a new online advice
service for East European migrant workers in Scotland: Witamy
na Glasgow Pomoc.
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GLC
images of private sector slum
landlord flats in Govanhill. GLC and Govan
Money Matters are working with Govanhill Housing Assocation and the
local community to help address these issues. |
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London
High Court rules in favour of OFT in unfair bank charges case
- GLC will be updating www.bankcharges.info
to explain what this means for customers in Scotland, and how this
can be used to help you obtain a refund in Scotland.
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Compulsory
purchase homes neglected by private landlords in Govanhill,
Evening Times, 18 April 2008. |
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GLC
launches new mini-website on how to apply for 'time to pay' for
council tax debt. |
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Roma
migrants in Scotland facing exploitation, The Herald, 1 April 2008
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GLC's
Principal Solicitor talks to Tommy Sheridan
about the new time to pay rules for council tax arrears (opens
as streamed real
audio).
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Summary
of new Scottish bankruptcy rules in force from 1 April 2008. |
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Developing
safety nets for homeowners - Joseph
Rowntree Foundation report from the University of York's
Centre for Housing Policy and Govan Law Centre (March
2008). JRF
news release.
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Double
win for Govan Law Centre at the Scottish Legal Awards 2008 - ex-Liverpool
F.C. Captain and Scottish football legend, Alan Hansen, presents GLC
with two legal awards - Best Legal Project of the Year (GLC's
Prevention of Homelessness project - a partnership with Glasgow's
Social Work Department & Govan Money Matters Advice Centre, part
funded by the Glasgow Homelessness Partnership) and Best Legal
Website of the Year (GLC's bankcharges.info site).
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Govanhill
Roma - BBC Alba Eòrpa - BBC
Scotland's Europe Gaelic news programme examines the difficulties of
the Slovak Roma in Glasgow's Govanhill. Broadcast on BBC 2,
7.30pm, Thursday, 21 February 2008. |
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A
life in question - GLC's Mike Dailly talks
to BBC Radio Scotland's Colin Mackay about life, religion and social
justice (opens as real audio, 11 February 2008). . |
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A
major newspaper investigation into property factors takes place this
week - Govan Law Centre is backing the Evening
Times' campaign for a fairer deal for Glasgow homeowners. You
can take part in the debate by adding your views and experience on
the page links below.
20
February
Letters
special: Our factor delivers a poor level of service
19
February
Letters
special: mystified by role of factors in new homes
15
February
Mystery
shopper bid to help homeowners
13
February
Readers
help frame new laws on factors
12
February
Homeowners
rage at factors over insurance
11
February
Our
factor has sacked us - our flats are a den of crime
8
February
All
factors must sign up to our charter
Evening
Times' Property Factors Charter
7
February
New
home dream is tainted by factors
6
February
My
83-year-old mother could lose her home because of her factors
5
February
How
much does it cost to change a light bulb?
Angry
residents want factors out
We
had to pay £44 to change a light bulb
Law
needed to regulate city's factors
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