News & Events: Mark Ruffell
Fire Safety Fine Reduced on Appeal
At Cardiff Crown Court on 26 February 2021, Farrington Care Homes Limited (Farrington) successfully appealed the record-breaking fine imposed on them by a District Judge, with a reduction of nearly £125,000, for breaches of the Fire Safety Order (the Order) at Hillcroft Residential Care Home (Hillcroft) in Cardiff. The decision of the Court shows the […]
Mark Ruffell has been appointed Chancellor of the Diocese of Gloucester
The Ecclesiastical Law team is delighted to announce that Mark Ruffell has been appointed to be Chancellor of the Diocese of Gloucester. He remains Deputy Chancellor of the Diocese of Winchester. This appointment highlights Pump Court Chambers as one of the pre-eminent Ecclesiastical Law sets in the country. For further information on Mark’s practice or […]
Judge rejects Health & Safety sentencing guidelines in a non-registration case
In a case involving a slimming clinic that had traded without being registered with the CQC, the CQC had argued that the Sentencing Council’s ‘Health and Safety Offences, Corporate Manslaughter and Food Safety and Hygiene Offences Definitive Guideline’ should apply. CQC had told District Judge Woollard who was sitting at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court, that two […]
Five members appointed to list of Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Health & Safety and Environmental Law
Pump Court are delighted to announce that five members of chambers have been appointed to the list of Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Health & Safety and Environmental Law. Richard Tutt has been promoted to the A list; Mark Ruffell, Tim Akers and Ellie Fargin have been appointed to the B list and Andrew Stone has […]
Latest appointments to the HSE Panel
Pump Court Chambers is delighted to announce that five members have been approved to the list of Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Health & Safety and Environmental Law in this latest round of appointments. Richard Tutt has been promoted to the A List; Mark Ruffell, Tim Akers and Eleanor Fargin have been appointed to the B […]
From ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Good’ – turning round a Care Provider’s rating
Mark Ruffell was instructed to represent a well-established domiciliary care provider who faced having their registration being cancelled by the CQC. The background is a familiar tale of a service provider who had previously been rated as ‘Good’, finding that in a routine inspection in 2016 it ‘Required Improvement.’ In early 2017 it was inspected […]
Driving instructor allowed to continue working after using mobile
Mark Ruffell has successfully appealed on behalf of a Driving Instructor who had been declared to be not a fit and proper person to be an instructor following receiving 6 penalty points for using his mobile telephone whilst instructing. The Registrar of Driving Instructors ordinarily seeks to remove an instructor from the register of approved […]
Man jailed after blaming speeding ticket on fictional Frenchman
On 9 May 2018 at Winchester Crown Court, the defendant was sentenced to three counts of doing acts tending to and intended to pervert the course of public justice. He had been convicted after a trial and received three consecutive sentences. In short, he had pretended that a vehicle that could be linked to him […]
Mark Ruffell successfully represents solicitor before Disciplinary Tribunal
Mark Ruffell has successfully mitigated on behalf of a solicitor who admitted contacting her imprisoned client by mobile phone; sending him 102 text messages in less than three months. In mitigation before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, Mr Ruffell said that at the time his client set up her own practice, she did not appreciate “the […]
Martin Revisited – the meaning of ‘supply’ in the context of ‘being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug
In Martin, the legal interpretation of the word ‘supply’ in the context of ‘being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug to another’ was significantly altered, changing the way that it had been understood for the previous 29 years. In Martin, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd CJ stated that ‘the ‘word “supply” is a broad […]
Fire Safety Regulations
Mark Ruffell, Head of Pump Court Chambers Regulatory and Disciplinary Team has recently presented a seminar on Fire Safety Regulation following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The seminar is designed to assist Local Authorities and landlords with the various powers to maintain fire safety and highlights the consequences if the regulations are not maintained.
The department for transport triennial review implementation plan
What will it mean for Traffic Commissioners, Operators and Practitioners? In December 2015, an implementation plan was published by the Department for Transport (the Department) in response to the recommendations of the Triennial Review of the Traffic Commissioners published in March 2015. That Review had considered the role of Traffic Commissioners (TCs) and how they […]
