As ever at the start of a new year, a number of laws changed on January 1st, including measures to protect free speech and some aimed at preventing wasting the time of the courts and the emergency services.
Amongst the changes are that the amount of time migrants have to wait before claiming benefits has been lengthened to three months, while new rules came into force requiring higher level of authorisation surrounding the regulation of undercover police.
Meanwhile, London Fire Brigade became the first service in the country to introduce a charging scheme for callouts to false alarms at buildings such as hospitals, airports and student accommodation.
In addition, the Scout Association introduced a pledge that removes the promise by Scouts to do their duty to God, meaning that, for the first time, young atheists can join the movement.
Perhaps the law that will affect the most people was the introduction of the Defamation Act 2013, which will force claimants to show they have suffered “serious harm” before they can sue.
These changes will also address so-called “libel tourism”, whereby claims that involved people with little connection to England and Wales used to be brought before the courts.
The Act will also protect scientists and academics publishing peer-reviewed material in scientific and academic journals as well as protecting people publishing material on a matter of public interest, where they reasonably believe it is in the public interest to do so.
Other measures contained within the Act include the introduction of a new process aimed at helping potential victims of defamation online, by resolving the dispute directly with the person who has posted the statement, and a single-publication rule to prevent repeated claims against a publisher about the same material.