In this uncertain time of very high property prices and a very low likelihood of getting a mortgage it is shocking to see the number of properties that sit empty. The housing crisis and the number of empty properties has led to people “squatting” in other people’s empty homes. This can lead to people losing their homes through a claim for adverse possession.

“To live without hope is to cease to live,” wrote Dostoevsky. A Court of Appeal case in July 2016 demonstrates that discussions about hope aren’t just for the philosophy lecture hall, but have a place in the nitty-gritty legal issues of whether a possession order be outright or suspended.

Owing to drastic cuts in legal aid spending, legal aid housing providers are disappearing in large areas of England and Wales. As a result Legal Aid “deserts” have arisen. These are areas where no one can get housing advice as there are simply no providers. The Law Society have provided an interactive map to show how many providers there are in local areas.

Bruises, lacerations, burns and fractures are types of injury which come to one’s mind when thinking about an accident at work. Often it is very easy to forget that whilst an accident at work may result in a physical injury there are also certain people who will develop psychological injury. A psychological injury is no less traumatic compared to a visible physical injury and can have a long lasting effect.

In July of this year, the Ministry of Justice published the Safety in Custody statistical bulletin on deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison. The figures show that between June 2015 and June 2016 the total number of self-inflicted deaths in prison rose by 28% and between March 2015 and March 2016, incidents of self-harm rose by 27% and assaults by 31%…