http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk News and Views from a Basingstoke Law Firm Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:36:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Clarke & Son LLP recently held a special cake sale in aid of their chosen charity, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Giving her time freely, receptionist Lynn Tonkin made chocolate chip cookies, chocolate and coffee sponge cake, jars of marmalade and various tea loaves for sale to all staff. Hannah ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/08/13/clarke-son%e2%80%99s-delicious-delights-make-money-for-chosen-charity/ Clarke & Son LLP is participating in a campaign with Cancer Research UK to offer people over 55 the opportunity to get a FREE Will and leave a legacy to charity. The Cancer Research 'UK Free Will Services' has been set up to provide easy public access to independent legal advice ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/08/13/limited-offer-on-free-wills-in-association-with-cancer-research-uk/ The Department for Communities and Local Government is consulting on two proposed changes to the information that must be supplied in a Home Information Pack (HIP). The proposals are that each HIP should include a Property Information Questionnaire and, for leasehold properties, a summary of key information relating to the lease. For ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/08/04/consultation-underway-on-changes-to-hips/ Legal experts are claiming that more money should be given to parents who still care for their children if their spouse dies early without making a Will. Many parents are being forced to sell their family home when their spouse dies, just so they can pay the huge Inheritance Tax bill. ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/07/25/widowed-parents-call-for-inheritance-tax-change/ "There are particular requirements which now apply to Home Information Packs (HIPs) when you’re purchasing a new (new build) property" says Paul Cowdery, Residential Conveyancing Partner at Clarke and Son, Basingstoke. He adds, "Newly built homes are affected by HIPs but there are differences in the way the scheme operates for ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/07/15/new-build-homes-hips/ The final report of the Carsberg Review has now been published and there are two main findings: Improvements need to be made to the residential property transaction process because problems have not been adequately addressed by the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) The current system of voluntary regulation and redress does ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/06/24/government-report-conveyancing-hips-should-be-voluntary/ Almost half of UK companies have dismissed employees over the past year due to e-mail abuse and over half regularly keep tabs on employees' use of e-mail to make sure they remain compliant with company policy, a survey has found. The survey also found that nearly half of the UK's ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/05/30/nearly-50-of-uk-firms-fire-erring-e-mailers/ Council of Mortgage Lenders director general Michael Coogan said this week that: In the wake of the credit crunch, 2008 will be remembered as a very weak year in the housing market. But our forecasts assume some indirect benefits from the Bank of England special liquidity scheme beginning to have an ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/05/23/basingstoke-housing-market-still-moving/ The government has announced that it is extending the transitional arrangements introduced last year which enabled properties to be marketed once the Home Information Pack (HIP) had been commissioned. The announcement means that the current arrangements will remain in force until 31st December 2008, and also requires that only the lease ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/05/16/hips-update-3/ From 1 October 2008, occupiers of large public buildings will be required to show a display energy certificate (DEC). Each DEC will contain an indication of the annual carbon dioxide emissions from the building. The aim of DECs is to enable the public to compare the energy performance of public buildings ... http://news.clarkeandson.co.uk/2008/05/14/display-energy-certificates-and-large-public-buildings/