Age UK claimed in a report published today that care and support for older people in England has reached breaking point. The report claims that 800,000 people who currently need care receive no formal support from the state or private sector agencies.
A copy of the report can be found here.
Major changes are being made to the computer system used by HMRC to process SDLT returns. As a result, the system will be unavailable from 00:01 on Saturday 25 June until 00:01 on Monday 4 July. It will not be possible to file returns during this period. HMRC are expected to publish further information on this matter in the next few days.
In the meantime they have issued the following documents detailing their plans:
Yesterday was Tax Freedom Day, when people stop working for the state and start working for themselves. Calculated by the Adam Smith Institute, it is three days later this year than last, thanks to the increase in VAT, higher national insurance contributions and lower personal allowances. Yesterday was the 149th day of the year.
Case concerning rights to air conditioning apparatus overhanging a neighbouring property. In 2007 Mr Nikolic bought land neighbouring Compugraphics factory at Eastfield Industrial Estate in Glenrothes. He asked Compugraphics to remove the overhanging pipes, ductwork and supporting stantions (which had been in place since 1971) from his land.
Compugraphics raised an action claiming that either (1) they owned the pipes and were entitled to retain them in place free from interference by Mr Nikolic or alternatively (2) that they had a servitude right to retain the apparatus in place.
An Extra Division of the Inner House found that although the title contained a clear and unambiguous bounding description under which Mr Nikolic owned the solum of the path the apparatus was overhanging, the apparatus which protruded into Mr Nikolic’s airspace was a fixture of the factory which had been conveyed to Compugraphics. The court did not accept that the apparatus could remain in Mr Nicolic’s airspace as of right by virtue of constituting a separate heritable tenement. However, it was possible that Compugraphics had obtained servitude rights by prescription allowing them to retain the apparatus in position.
In coming to this conclusion the court confirmed that Scots law recognises servitude rights of both projection and support. Moreover, the servitude of support was not limited to support between buildings (as is commonly encountered in flatted properties) but could also extend to support by pillars or posts in the ground.
It was also noted as an addendum that s77 of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 which provides for a positive servitude of leading pipes over or under land may also assist in resolving the dispute.
The full judgement is available from Scottish Courts here.
All of our property and conveyancing case summaries are contained in the LKS Property and Conveyancing Casebook here.
Sheriff Court case considering use of a common drying green on which Mr and Mrs Duncan erected a fence and created an area for exercising and toileting their dogs. The sheriff had little difficulty in coming to the view that that was an extraordinary and unacceptable use of common property and granted orders requiring the Duncans to remove the fence and also interdicting them from allowing their dogs to exercise, defecate or urinate on the drying green.
The full judgement is available from Scottish Courts here.
All of our property and conveyancing case summaries are contained in the LKS Property and Conveyancing Casebook here.
NATIONAL parliaments in eight European Union countries have come out against the proposal to have a single system for companies based in the European Union to calculate their tax. One parliament, Portugal, is in favour. Those against were the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Sweden, Poland, Malta and Romania. However, the number falls short of the one-third of countries needed to force the European Commission to withdraw or adjust the draft Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Basis (CCCTB) proposal.
The Scottish Government’s call for corporation tax to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament has been boosted by a report by the Northern Ireland Select Committee unanimously recommending that the powers should be devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Two related cases in which guarantors under personal guarantees sought to avoid liability under the guarantees and also to avoid sequestration as a result of the guarantees being called up. The Royal Bank of Scotland was the creditor in both cases.
The guarantors applied for an interim interdict to prevent the Bank obtaining sequestration. The Royal Bank had loaned sums to two companies of which the guarantors were directors. The guarantors claimed that a Bank employee had made representations to them to the effect that the bank could not exercise the guarantees until it had first pursued all steps against the companies.
Lord Brodie refused to grant the interim interdict finding that the guarantors had failed to make a prima face case. And even that decision was wrong and they had managed to make a prima face case, the guarantors delay in bringing the case had been too long.
The error the bank’s employee was said to have induced was one as to the meaning of a formal legal document. The guarantors knew that they were entering binding legal documents and they were only in error as to the circumstances in which the guarantee would be enforceable. Any award of reduction would have been dependant on restitutio being possible (i.e. the Bank being paid). The issue was not solely between the companies and the bank as the loans had been advanced on the strength of the guarantees.
Full reports of the decisions are available from Scottish Courts here and here.
All of our property and conveyancing case summaries are contained in the LKS Property and Conveyancing Casebook here.
On the 1st of April 2011 HM Revenue & Customs Solicitor’s Office (Scotland) merged with the Office of the Solicitor to the Advocate General for Scotland. A positive example of how the number of tax, legal and registration services in Scotland can be consolidated. Hopefully there will be further movement in the relatively near future on the merger of the Edinburgh Stamp Office, Registers of Scotland and Companies House Edinburgh.
HMRC has formed specialist teams to investigate particular industry sectors. The first squad is to target restaurateurs.
