Charity Focus: Polio Children

Polio Children was founded in 2003 with the primary mission of providing nutritional, educational, health, and vocational support to children, especially those from poor families, afflicted with polio and other neuro-degenerative diseases.

Registered charities in the UK and the USA, Polio Children has collected over half a million pounds and provided assistance to more than 1000 children in India, Tanzania, and England over the past 8 years. Some of its major initiatives include building a hostel for 140 girls, setting up computer and prosthetics laboratories, donating an ambulance, and assisting more than 120 students to graduate from university.

All administrative costs are borne by the founding trustees of Polio Children (one of whom is a polio victim himself) with the result that every penny donated goes directly to the children in need.

Polio remains endemic in many countries including India and Polio Children is committed to ensuring that no child with polio is left behind.

For more information on Polio Children and to make tax-deductible contributions, please visit their website at www.poliochildren.org or write to arun@poliochildren.org or mayoor@poliochildren.org  (in the UK) or shirish@poliochildren.org (in the USA).

Smart Choice Bathrooms launches new website and e-commerce portal

Bowling & Co are proud to announce that Smart Choice Bathrooms, a longstanding client and a family-owned business, have launched a new website and e-commerce portal at www.smartchoicebathrooms.co.uk.

Specialising in designer and luxury bathroom brands, the company has been established for more than 25 years.

They offer an impressive range of cutting edge contemporary products including luxurious ranges of showers, bathroom furniture and accessories from exclusive glass mosaics to Swarovski Crystal taps.

Smart Choice are perfectly positioned to supply to building contractors, hotels and interior designers as well as to private clients.

Bowling & Co have advised on the e-commerce terms for the new website and generally on commercial web development.  Dinesh Raja, the Managing Partner of Bowling & Co commented: “I have watched the Jandoo family's business grow over the years and I am delighted to support the company's launch of this exciting new e-commerce portal."

For more information, visit Smart Choice Bathrooms' new website at www.smartchoicebathrooms.co.uk or for legal advice on e-commerce projects or retailing terms and conditions contact Dinesh Raja, Managing Partner on 020 8221 8080 or e-mail dinesh.raja@bowlinglaw.co.uk.

Bowling & Co joins Resolution scheme for family mediation

Bowling & Co has joined the Resolution family mediator scheme and can now provide family mediation services.

Family Mediation is a process that can be used to resolve disputes that arise before, during or after the breakdown of a family relationship.

Mediation is a voluntary, impartial and confidential process whereby parties are provided with an opportunity to reach agreement over their financial or children issues with the help of a mediator. The role of the Mediator who is an independent and impartial third party, is not to provide legal advice but to facilitate discussions between the parties with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement. It is recommended that the parties obtain legal advice alongside the mediation process.

Mediation provides the parties with a safe environment in which to explore their options in the hope of reaching agreement over the issues which are in dispute between them. This process saves on time and costs of Court proceedings.

Since 6 April 2011, all potential applicants for a Court order in relevant family proceedings will be expected, before making their application, to have followed the steps set out in the Pre-Application Protocol. This requires a potential Applicant except in certain specified circumstances, to consider with a mediator whether the dispute may be capable of being resolved through mediation. The Court will expect all Applicants to have complied with the Protocol before commencing proceedings and (except where exceptional circumstances apply) will expect any Respondent to have attended a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting, if invited to do so. The Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) provides the parties with an opportunity to discuss their problems with a Mediator. The mediator will contact your partner/spouse and discuss the possibility of undertaking mediation. 

Mediation can be used before, during and after Court proceedings. If Court proceedings are taken, the Court will wish to know at the First Hearing whether mediation has been considered by the parties. In considering the conduct of any relevant family proceedings, the Court will take into account any failure to comply with the Protocol and may refer the parties to a meeting with a mediator before the proceedings continue further.

If you would like more information please contact our Urmilla Seenath, our Resolution mediator, on 020 8221 8088 or at urmilla.seenath@bowlinglaw.co.uk.   

Bowling & Co secures Law Society's new Conveyancing Quality mark

Bowling & Co Solicitors has secured membership to the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme - the mark of excellence for the home buying process.

Bowling & Co underwent rigorous assessment by the Law Society in order to secure CQS status, which marks the firm out as meeting high standards in the residential conveyancing process.

Law Society President John Wotton said that the Law Society introduced CQS to promote high standards in the home buying process.

“CQS improves efficiency with common, consistent standards and service levels and enables consumers to recognise practices that provide a quality residential conveyancing service.

"Buying a home is one of the largest purchases anyone will make in their lifetime, so it is essential that it is done to the highest standard by a solicitor. There are many different conveyancing service providers out there, making it difficult for home buyers to identify those which can ensure a safe and efficient level of service.”

Dinesh Raja, Managing Partner of Bowling & Co said: "We are delighted to have secured CQS status. It is recognition of the high standards we provide to our residential property clients and is a signal to future home buyers of the excellent service level we provide at what is often a stressful time for many people.

“The overall beneficiaries will be clients who use Bowling & Co when buying a home. They will receive a reliable, efficient service as recognised by the CQS standard."

The scheme requires practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status. It is open only to members of the Law Society who meet the demanding standards set by the scheme and has the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Building Societies Association, Legal Ombudsman and the Association of British Insurers.

Bowling & Co supports private landlords in petition for local authority to scrap licensing scheme

Contact: Jeremy Lewis, PartnerLandlords who rent out properties privately in London Borough Newham could be the first in the country to face mandatory licensing under new proposals.

Newham Council has started a ten-week consultation on proposals to introduce a licensing scheme for all private landlords that would see them and their properties subjected to legal checks. If the scheme is approved by councillors, it will be the first borough in England to license all private landlords.

Landlords in the borough will need to show that they are "fit and proper persons". They will also need to demonstrate to the local authority that any gas and electrical installations have a safety certificate, tenants are on written tenancy agreements and anti-social behaviour and repairs are effectively managed.

Newham Council has been piloting a version of the licensing scheme in an area of the borough for the last 18 months. Under the scheme landlords are charged £500 for a licence, or £300 for early applications.

If mandatory licensing across the borough is approved, the scheme in Newham could be extended to other parts of the country.

Those behind the campaign believe that the local authority has enough powers to deal with "rogue landlords" through:

- Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO's), 
- The General Product Safety Regulations 2005, 
- The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988,
- The Environmental Protection Act 1990, 
- Statutory Nuisance and Housing Health and Safety Rating System, 
- Existing HMO legislation i.e. Part 7 of section 254 of The Housing Act 2004 and can refer issues to the Health and Safety Executive and the Fire and Community Safety Directorate of the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.

Furthermore they say that tenants are protected by:

- Tenancy deposit legislation, 
- The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, 
- The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, 
- The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, 
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, 
- The Defective Premises Act 1972 and 
- The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

The above proposals are likely to result in increases of rents which will effect tenants, the vast majority of whom are already experiencing financial difficulties in finding accommodation. 

You can support the petition by clicking on the link below. Please note that we cannot be help responsible for the content of third party websites.

For more information about Bowling & Co's residential property team, contact Jeremy Lewis on 020 8221 8000 or e-mail jeremy.lewis@bowlinglaw.co.uk.

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