![Image]( "Asylum seekers 'lost without trace'")
At least 60,000 asylum seekers will be lost without trace as the UK Border Agency (UKBA) struggles to clear its backlog of claims, MPs have said.
They will be left in limbo as their claims are consigned to a growing pile of applications unlikely to ever be resolved, the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said.
Of the backlog of up to 450,000 claims identified in 2006, at least one in seven "will be concluded on the basis that the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has been completely unable to trace what has happened to the applicant", the MPs said.
In a critical report, the MPs found the UKBA was "still failing to meet expectations" with delays and backlogs being attributed "at least in part to inadequate decision-making in the first instance".
"While we agree that the UK Border Agency should not spend unlimited time trying to track down missing applicants, we are concerned about the high proportion of cases which will be left, in effect, in limbo," the report said. "Again, this points to the vital need to deal with cases as expeditiously as possible and not to let backlogs grow."
Keith Vaz, the committee's chairman, added: "Much of the delay in concluding asylum and other immigration cases stems from poor quality decision-making when the application is initially considered. The UK Border Agency has made some progress over the last few years in relation to new procedures and approaches, but is still failing to meet expectations.
"More consistent and rigorous scrutiny of applications would lead to fewer delays, fewer appeals, less uncertainty for the applicant, less pressure on the officials themselves, and probably lower costs for the UK taxpayer."
Greater investment in staff training and a "more consistent and considered direction from those setting policy" may both be needed, he said.
The backlog of up to 450,000 unresolved asylum cases first emerged in 2006, with some dating back more than a decade. Several steps have been taken to clear the backlog and asylum seekers who have not been able to be traced by UKBA officials, and who have not appeared on watchlists for at least six months, are consigned to a "controlled archive".
UKBA's outgoing chief executive Lin Homer told the committee that very few of these would "come alive again", meaning they were unlikely ever to be decided.
Product recalls in the UK have jumped 12% to reach a record high, according to research.
A total of 229 products were recalled last year across consumer goods, food and pharmaceuticals, up from 205 in 2009, City law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) said.
The number of recalls in the UK rebounded in 2010 after falling for the first time in 2009.
Car recalls by Toyota, BMW, Rolls-Royce and Ferrari contributed to the figure alongside a 40% leap in recalls of pharmaceutical and other healthcare products, from 20 in 2009 to 28 last year.
Faulty Chinese products continued to pose a problem, representing 62% of consumer recalls. Toys made up 43% of all Chinese product recalls, RPC said.
RPC partner Stuart White said: "Despite China's continued efforts to improve safety standards, the huge proportion of recalls deriving from Chinese products shows that the problem with standards in China has not gone away.
"Toy recalls from China are very common. The problem is partly caused by the demands of the toy industry to bring new products to market rapidly."
Food recalls continued to fall, from 53 in 2009 to 35 in 2010.
Mr White added: "This is the second year in a row that we have seen the number of food recalls fall. Food production continues to be a tightly regulated area and the continued sharp drop in food-related recalls suggests that the sector has seen production quality improve."
The latest blast of freezing temperatures and snow showers will give way to much milder weather this week, forecasters said.
Britain's break from the sub-zero conditions will be a welcome respite, with the mercury even reaching as high as 13C (55F) by Wednesday. The milder air is due to arrive by the middle of the week after snow showers across the Pennines and Scotland clear.
Tom Tobler, forecaster with PA's weather division MeteoGroup, said Monday would be a bit warmer but wet and windy.
Temperatures across the country then dip into low single figures on Tuesday before the much milder conditions arrive on Wednesday.
Mr Tobler said: "There will be a repeat performance of heavy rain coming in from the west, with snow over northern areas and then that's bringing milder air so Wednesday could reach 12-13C across a fair bit of England. It will stay cold in the north but it will be milder than it has been."
The mercury will top 13C in the South West on Wednesday, with even parts of northern England reaching double figures. It will be a similar story on Thursday.
On Sunday, heavy snow showers fell across Scotland where temperatures dropped as low as minus 10C (14F) causing a heavy frost.
Freezing weather also caused treacherous conditions further south.
Cambridgeshire Police said it had reports of 30 road accidents between 6am and 10.30am - around five times more than normal. Inspector Jamie Rice of Cambridgeshire Police said: "Officers have... been dealing with an extraordinarily high number of road traffic collisions, which has tested the resource levels of all emergency services to the limit."
The AA had a busy day, expecting 12,000 calls to breakdowns by the end of the day compared with just 7,500 on a normal Sunday.
The man accused of attempting to assassinate US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in a gun rampage that killed six people is due to appear in an Arizona court.
Investigators carried out a search warrant at 22-year-old Jared Loughner's Tucson home and seized an envelope from a safe with messages including "I planned ahead", "My assassination" and the name "Giffords" next to what appears to be the man's signature.
Loughner allegedly bought the Glock pistol used in Saturday's attack at Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson in November.
Court documents also show that Loughner had contact with Democrat Ms Giffords, 40, in the past. Other evidence included a letter on her official stationery in which she thanked him for attending a Congress on your Corner event at a shopping centre in Tucson in 2007.
Ms Giffords was shot in the head at about 10am at her first Congress on your Corner event of 2011 as she was meeting constituents outside a Tuscon supermarket.
Heather Williams, the first assistant federal public defender in Arizona, said her office was seeking an outside lawyer for Loughner because one of those killed was Arizona's top judge, John Roll.
Pima County sheriff Clarence Dupnik said on Sunday that Loughner acted alone.
Loughner, who will appear before US Magistrate Judge Lawrence Anderson at the Sandra Day O'Connor Courthouse in Phoenix, is accused of killing six people, including a federal judge, an aide to Ms Giffords and a nine-year-old girl born on September 11, 2001. Fourteen others were wounded, including Ms Giffords.
Government prosecutors have charged Loughner with one count of attempted assassination of a member of congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. He also could face state charges over the killings.
Doctors treating Ms Giffords at Tucson's University Medical Centre provided an optimistic update about her chances for survival, saying they were "very, very encouraged" by her ability to respond to simple commands along with their success in controlling her bleeding.
David and Victoria Beckham are "delighted" after announcing they are expecting their fourth child this summer.
The couple are in the UK, and the former England football captain is expected to go to the training ground of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, where he will train until February.
A proud Beckham announced his family's joy at Victoria's pregnancy on his Facebook page on Sunday. He wrote: "I've got some great news to tell you all. Victoria and I are expecting our fourth child this summer. The boys are very excited about the arrival of a new brother or sister."
A spokeswoman for the former Spice Girl confirmed the couple were "naturally delighted" to be expecting a new brother or sister for their three sons - Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, 8, and Cruz, 5 - but declined to give a more specific due date or confirm how far the pregnancy was advanced.
In an interview for the February issue of Vogue, Victoria hinted at having more children but said it was unlikely the couple would have a girl. She told the magazine: "Maybe one day another baby, but at this stage I think the chances of a girl are quite slim."
Congratulating the couple, Simon Fuller, David and Victoria Beckham's manager and long term business partner, said: "I'm absolutely thrilled for them. Family means everything to David and Victoria and this is simply the best news they and the boys could have wished for at the start of 2011."
The announcement was made after weeks of speculation that the Beckhams may soon return to Britain from the US.
Former Manchester United midfielder David, 35, has been linked with a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur, and on Sunday afternoon it seemed the transfer was no longer a possibility.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp gave conflicting messages throughout the day, first saying the loan "looked like a no-goer", but he later backtracked to say: "Hopefully it could still happen. The situation is ongoing." Whether the loan deal goes ahead or not, the star will arrive at Spurs Lodge in Essex to meet with medical staff, before returning tomorrow to train with the first team.
The Beckhams are expected to stay in the UK until next month when David returns to LA Galaxy and Victoria, 36, attends the New York Fashion Week.
Police need to answer "serious questions" about the use of an undercover officer who infiltrated a group accused of trying to shut down one of Britain's biggest power stations, their defence lawyer has said.
Mike Schwarz was speaking after the collapse of the trial of six people charged with conspiring to shut down the coal-fired Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire in 2009.
Their case was due to be heard at Nottingham Crown Court but was abandoned after the defence told the prosecution it planned to pursue disclosure relating to Pc Mark Kennedy before the trial judge.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the new information which led to the collapse of the trial was "not the existence of an undercover officer".
In a statement, it said: "Previously unavailable information that significantly undermined the prosecution's case came to light on Wednesday, 5 January 2011. In light of this information, the Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the case and decided there was no longer sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction."
Mr Schwarz said: "My clients were not guilty. They did not agree to join in any plan to occupy the power station. The evidence of Pc Kennedy presumably confirmed this. Yet that evidence, had it been kept secret, could have led to a miscarriage of justice.
"Serious questions must be asked relating to the whole policing of this protest, from the use of undercover police officers, to the use of expensive and legally questionable mass pre-emptive arrests, to the use of pre-charge unaccountable bail conditions, to the seemingly arbitrary nature by which the 114 initially arrested were reduced to the final 26 who were eventually charged."
Mr Schwarz said the prosecution told the defence last Friday, almost 20 months after the investigation began, that "previously unavailable material that significantly undermines the prosecution case came to light on Wednesday January 5".
He continued: "The discovery of this material came at a time when the prosecution were informed that we planned to pursue disclosure of the evidence relating to Pc Kennedy before the trial judge. Unsurprisingly, the prosecution have declined to confirm whether the new material relates to Pc Kennedy. In my opinion, however, the two are obviously connected. The timing speaks for itself.
"These events beg wider serious questions. Would this evidence have been uncovered had the defence not become aware of it through other avenues? Is it appropriate that access to and decisions about disclosure of key evidence should exclusively be in the hands of a prosecution whose primary function is to secure convictions?"
Almost three out of four members of British Airways cabin crew have witnessed or been victims of bullying, the country's biggest trade union has claimed.
Unite said a survey of almost 2,000 of its members at the airline revealed that a culture of "bullying and intimidation" had taken root in the wake of the bitter dispute which remains unresolved.
The cabin crew are currently being balloted again over whether to launch a fresh wave of strikes in the long running row which started over cost cutting but now involves other issues including travel concessions removed from workers who have taken industrial action.
Unite said most of those surveyed were cabin crew members, claiming they have been deliberately targeted by BA's management to try to "break" them and their union in order to drive down terms and conditions.
The union said the study revealed "shocking" levels of bullying, warning that this could harm the business, adding that in recent months, around 70 cabin crew have been suspended and 14 sacked.
The union said the survey showed that almost one in every two workers at British Airways had been bullied, while 72% had either been bullied or witnessed bullying at work. Over half said they had been bullied by higher managers and almost a third by their line manager, and most of those complained said nothing was done about it.
Unite's joint general secretary Tony Woodley said: "This survey shows that the company's macho management has pitched colleagues against one another.
"BA management needs to do a corporate U-turn and sit down with Unite representatives to address this bullying epidemic. That begins with lifting the sanctions imposed on over 6,000 cabin crew who took action last year and immediate agreement that a third party will analyse those cases where workers have been disciplined or dismissed, often on the flimsiest of pretexts."
Mr Woodley accused BA boss Willie Walsh and the BA board of "ruining" the airline by its "war" on the workforce, adding: "You have the power to end this misery and restore this airline to the place of public affection it once deserved. For your customers, shareholders and workforce, the glaring question now is why you choose not to."
The result of the ballot of Unite 10,000 members is due on January 21.
House prices fell by 3.4% during 2010 after sliding by 1.3% in December alone, Halifax has said.
The average cost of a home ended the year at £162,435 as buyers continued to stay away from the market, according to Halifax.
Annual house price inflation - which compares average prices during the three months to the end of December with the same period a year earlier - was running at minus 1.6%, its lowest level since November 2009. But a straight year-on-year comparison showed that prices were 3.4% lower during December than they had been at the end of 2009.
Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: "Looking forward, we expect limited movement in house prices during 2011 but with the risks on the downside.
"Current signs that homeowners are becoming more reluctant to sell would, if continued, help reverse the imbalance between buyers and sellers. Nonetheless, uncertainty about the economy, weak earnings growth and higher taxes could put some downward pressure on demand."
He added that, while prices across the whole of the UK were likely to remain broadly unchanged, there would be some "modest" regional variations, particularly in areas which were likely to be impacted by Government spending cuts.
The group pointed out that prices had fallen by only 0.9% during the three months to the end of December, compared with the previous quarter, well down on the quarterly falls of 5%-6% seen during the second half of 2008.
It said interest rates were also likely to remain low for some time, which would help to support affordability for people entering the market, while it would reduce the number of people who were forced to sell their home because they could not keep up with the mortgage.
The Halifax figures contrast with statistics reported by Nationwide, which showed that house prices edged ahead by 0.4% during 2010, after also rising by 0.4% in December.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "The 1.3% drop in house prices in December and overall decline of 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2010 reported by the Halifax is fully consistent with our view that house prices will trend down gradually overall to lose around 10% from their peak 2010 levels by the end of 2011. Current mounting speculation that the Bank of England could be forced into an early raising of interest rates by rising consumer price inflation adds to the downward pressure on house prices."
London Underground drivers could take strike action on the day of the royal wedding in a row over pay, union officials have warned.
Aslef said it is considering calling its members out on April 29, which would hit Tube services on the day Prince William marries Kate Middleton.
Drivers went on strike on Boxing Day in the dispute over bank holiday pay, which remains deadlocked.
London Underground took legal action to try to halt the Boxing Day walkout but it failed and the strike went ahead, causing disruption on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Aslef is demanding three days' pay and a day off in lieu for working bank holidays.
London Underground managing director Mike Brown said: "Tube drivers already have very fair levels of pay and get around seven weeks holiday a year, including allowance for bank holidays.
"The Aslef leadership is tearing up long-standing agreements that cover pay and annual leave and demanding even more - triple time and another day off.
"Londoners will simply be stunned at such a claim. The only way to resolve this issue is by getting round the table for constructive talks.
"I urge the Aslef leadership to end pointless strike threats and work with us to resolve this without any disruption to London."
The mother of Joanna Yeates has offered to take part in a TV reconstruction of her daughter's last-known movements.
Avon and Somerset Police are planning a reconstruction which will be aired on the BBC programme Crimewatch later this month.
The appeal will show the landscape architect's final hours on December 17 in Bristol.
Theresa Yeates, 58, is keen to take on the role because she is of similar height and build to her daughter. Her husband, David, 63, told The Sunday Times: "My wife looks a bit similar to Jo and would like to take the part. I don't know whether the police will involve us at all."
Miss Yeates had lunch with her boyfriend Greg Reardon, 27, at the Hope and Anchor pub in Jacobs Wells Road, Clifton, before returning to work at architecture firm BDP in nearby Hill Street.
The 25-year-old then went for Christmas drinks at The Ram pub in Park Street with her work colleagues at 6pm. She left at 8pm to make the 30-minute walk home to the flat she shared with Mr Reardon in Canynge Road, Clifton.
She was caught on CCTV in a Waitrose supermarket at the Clifton Triangle and then went to a Tesco Express in Clifton village where she bought a pizza. Detectives said Miss Yeates had made it home because her shoes, coat, mobile phone, purse and keys were found there - although the pizza, the wrapping and its box are still missing.
Police launched a massive hunt for Miss Yeates and her snow-covered body was found by a couple walking their dogs on Christmas morning in a country lane in Failand, North Somerset - just three miles from her home. She had been strangled.
The Yeates family paid a series of tributes as they made a fresh plea for help. Speaking publicly for the first time, Miss Yeates' brother Chris, 28, said his sister's death had left him in a "surreal hole of despair".
Their parents spoke of the daily trauma they have been forced to endure since their daughter was snatched and dumped in a country lane "like a piece of garbage". They spoke out as police revealed they were following up new leads that emerged after they spoke to scores of witnesses who may have seen Miss Yeates before she was last seen alive.
A man is due to appear in court charged with the murder of a 14-month-old boy.
An east London hospital contacted the Metropolitan Police at about 2pm last Thursday about a dead child.
The boy had been brought in earlier that day and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
A post-mortem examination on Saturday at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital gave the cause of death as blunt trauma injury to the abdomen.
Nathan Allen, 26, from Romford, Essex, will appear at Havering Magistrates' Court.
So-called "neighbours from hell" face swifter eviction under plans set out by the Government.
Housing minister Grant Shapps said it could currently take over a year to kick out known troublemakers, and promised to make it easier to take possession of their homes.
Probationary tenancies will also be toughened up, and a central unit will target awkward residents.
"For too long, too many social tenants have lived in fear of neighbours from hell, whose nasty and vicious behaviour blights their neighbourhoods," Mr Shapps said.
"Victims and witnesses often have to continue living side by side with the perpetrators while action to evict them drags on for many months and sometimes years.
"That's why I want to give hope to these victims that this can and will be stopped. So I will introduce a new mandatory ground for possession, so any tenant convicted of serious anti-social behaviour can be evicted much more quickly. And I'm giving landlords and residents the support they need to reclaim their streets and make their houses feel like homes again.
"I want any tenant who comes forward to report anti-social behaviour in their area to get the support they need and deserve. And I want landlords to use the full range of powers at their disposal to tackle this menace head-on, so that the disruptive minority of social tenants don't make everyone else's lives a misery."
The mandatory possession change is meant to speed up the process by making a conviction for housing-related anti-social behaviour automatic grounds for eviction in the county court.
Mr Shapps is also exploring with the Ministry of Justice whether there are other unnecessary obstacles that are slowing down the court process. And the Government will clarify that housing associations have the same rights as local authorities to impose probationary tenancies for up to 18 months - rather than the normal period of one year.
Shadow Housing Minister Alison Seabeck said: "It's important that local authorities encourage people to speak out and that councils use the many powers already at their disposal effectively. Responsive local policing is also vitally important and the Tory led government's plans for cuts of 20% to police funding will put tackling anti-social behaviour at risk."
The suspect in a deadly Arizona shooting has appeared in a federal courtroom facing charges of attempting to assassinate a congresswoman.
Jared Loughner entered the courtroom handcuffed and wearing an inmate uniform. His head was shaved and he had a cut on his right temple.
The judge ordered Loughner held without bail.
As he walked in, he looked straight at the crowd while his lawyer whispered to him.
The 22-year-old is accused of killing six people on Saturday - including a federal judge - and injuring 14 others, including US Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
Loughner has been assigned a lawyer who defended Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Timothy McVeigh.
He responded "yes" when asked if he understood his rights.
The courtroom was under heavy guard with about a dozen US marshals.
The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people and injured more than 600 others, was the worst act of domestic terrorism committed by an American citizen.
The leader of an online paedophile ring which drew in four female accomplices has been branded "warped, wicked, dangerous, devious and manipulative" by a judge and warned he may never be released from prison.
IT consultant Colin Blanchard, 40, convinced four women - Vanessa George, 40, Tracy Lyons, 41, Tracy Dawber, 44, and Angela Allen, 40 - to sexually assault young children and share the images.
Mr Justice Royce said the father-of-two's interest in child sex abuse was "deep-rooted and long-standing".
He added: "You are warped, wicked, dangerous, devious and manipulative. Your pernicious grooming of women, whose sexual interest in children you stimulate then nurture and feed on, is plain to see.
"You were the hub of the paedophile wheel. Your attempts to paint these women as the predators do not fool me for a moment.
"Even though, once drawn in by you, they played a full part. If there is a predator in this, it is undoubtedly you."
Blanchard could apply for release after serving a minimum nine years imprisonment, however Mr Justice Royce said the decision would be up to the Parole Board.
"The sentence is an indeterminate sentence of prison for public protection. It is in effect a life sentence," he said.
Blanchard refused to appear in person to be sentenced because he did not want to share the dock with Dawber.
Also sentenced were Lyons, who was given an extended sentence of seven years - consisting of four years imprisonment and three years on licence - and Dawber who was jailed for four years. Fellow paedophiles Vanessa George and Angela Allen are already serving prison sentences.
At least 60,000 asylum seekers will be lost without trace as the UK Border Agency (UKBA) struggles to clear its backlog of claims, MPs have said.
They will be left in limbo as their claims are consigned to a growing pile of applications unlikely to ever be resolved, the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said.
Of the backlog of up to 450,000 claims identified in 2006, at least one in seven "will be concluded on the basis that the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has been completely unable to trace what has happened to the applicant", the MPs said.
In a critical report, the MPs found the UKBA was "still failing to meet expectations" with delays and backlogs being attributed "at least in part to inadequate decision-making in the first instance".
"While we agree that the UK Border Agency should not spend unlimited time trying to track down missing applicants, we are concerned about the high proportion of cases which will be left, in effect, in limbo," the report said. "Again, this points to the vital need to deal with cases as expeditiously as possible and not to let backlogs grow."
Keith Vaz, the committee's chairman, added: "Much of the delay in concluding asylum and other immigration cases stems from poor quality decision-making when the application is initially considered. The UK Border Agency has made some progress over the last few years in relation to new procedures and approaches, but is still failing to meet expectations.
"More consistent and rigorous scrutiny of applications would lead to fewer delays, fewer appeals, less uncertainty for the applicant, less pressure on the officials themselves, and probably lower costs for the UK taxpayer."
Greater investment in staff training and a "more consistent and considered direction from those setting policy" may both be needed, he said.
The backlog of up to 450,000 unresolved asylum cases first emerged in 2006, with some dating back more than a decade. Several steps have been taken to clear the backlog and asylum seekers who have not been able to be traced by UKBA officials, and who have not appeared on watchlists for at least six months, are consigned to a "controlled archive".
UKBA's outgoing chief executive Lin Homer told the committee that very few of these would "come alive again", meaning they were unlikely ever to be decided.
Three out of five women and girls have experienced poor mental health, a new report has revealed.
A quarter of those affected also said they had taken at least a week off work on sick leave.
The research by Platform 51, formerly the YWCA, has led the charity to call for a review of the treatment offered to women experiencing low-level poor mental health.
Chief executive Penny Newman said a "dependency culture" meant doctors were too often handing out prescription drugs to treat mental health issues.
Of the women and girls aged 12 and over surveyed, 63% had experienced poor mental health and 32% of the women had taken anti-depressants.
Ms Newman said: "Millions of girls and women are facing mental health problems and they are telling us that they are not getting the support they need.
"Women are often the linchpins of their families and their communities, and if three in five of them aren't meeting their potential, they lose out, their family and friends lose out and so does the wider society."
Calling for changes to be made to the way poor mental health is approached, she said: "Policy makers need to act now to address this crisis in women's mental health and provide a range of effective interventions. We must put an end to the dependency culture that has built up around prescription drugs, giving women more choice and control over the support they receive.
"Too often women's voices are not heard on the issues that affect them. This research provides them with a platform to speak to policy makers and call for the changes that will improve the lives of women everywhere."
Platform 51 questioned 2,000 women and girls in England and Wales and also used data from focus groups to produce its report, Women Like Me: Supporting wellbeing in girls and women.
Deals about what should happen to property owned before a marriage in the event of a divorce could be made legally binding under options being considered by the Law Commission.
But any future law could make a distinction between any property or wealth acquired by each person before a marriage and that gained as a couple, the body which reviews and reforms law in England and Wales said.
Professor Elizabeth Cooke, the Law Commissioner leading the consultation, said: "We think it's very important to raise that option because so often people talk about pre-nups and post-nups as if they are one thing. They could cover all the assets, they could cover just the royalties from the band you played in 30 years ago, just the piano, or just the inheritance."
In the consultation documents, the Commission went on: "The ability to agree in advance what property is non-matrimonial and to 'ring fence' it in a binding marital property agreement may be attractive to some people. The consultation paper therefore asks, first, whether couples should be able to enter into a binding agreement not to seek ancillary relief in the event of divorce or dissolution and, secondly, whether such agreements should be able to encompass all of a couple's property or to contain only terms relating to pre-acquired, gifted or inherited property."
The Law Commission is considering whether a new approach to pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and separation agreements is needed to give couples more certainty over what would happen to their property, while also retaining safeguards to protect vulnerable spouses and children.
It comes after German heiress Katrin Radmacher's long legal battle with her former husband over her £100 million fortune gave the deals greater power in the courts in determining how a couple's assets are split.
But courts still have to decide whether such agreements are enforceable on a case-by-case basis, which can lead to "uncertainty and expensive litigation", the Commission said.
Prof Cooke added: "This is a very emotional area. Some feel that where couples have reached agreement, the courts should not be involved; yet the courts' approach is primarily protective, and some feel that they should not be wholly excluded.
"Our consultation paper considers the arguments for and against reform and examines how a new approach might balance the desire of some couples to plot their own future with more certainty against the need for safeguards against exploitation and the creation of hardship. This is an issue that needs to be handled with care."
The consultation runs until April.
Some secondary school foreign language teachers are "unprepared" to use the language in class, a report by the education watchdog has found.
The report, Modern languages - Achievement and challenge 2007-10, released by Ofsted, recognises the significant efforts made to support languages - especially in primary schools - since the watchdog's last languages report in 2008.
But it also highlights a number of weaknesses in the way secondary students are taught.
The report states: "In many of the secondary schools visited, opportunities for students to listen to and communicate in the target language were often limited by many teachers' unpreparedness to use it.
"Too often, students were not taught how to respond to every day requests and thus routine work in the target language and opportunities to use it spontaneously were too few."
The report also found that in 33 of the 90 secondary schools inspected, reading was not taught beyond exercise books and that teaching focused on achieving good exam results.
Some secondary schools were failing to build effectively on the progress made by children at primary schools, which were found by Ofsted to be making "good progress" in teaching foreign languages.
Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty's chief inspector, said: "Young people can gain tremendously from learning an additional language, acquiring invaluable skills for their lives ahead, so it's good to see the progress made in our primary schools over the last few years.
"However, too many students are failing to reach their potential and do not choose to undertake more advanced study beyond 16 because of the way they are taught languages in many secondary schools."
Since languages were made non-statutory in 2004, the proportion of students at Key Stage 4 taking a language qualification has gradually declined from 61% in 2005 to 44% in 2010.
Retail sales put in their worst performance for eight months in December as snowy weather and money worries caused shoppers to cut back on buying Christmas presents, figures have revealed.
Retailers were already braced for a tough festive trading period as consumers reined in spending on non-essential items, but the Arctic weather made a difficult situation worse by keeping shoppers at home.
Like-for-like sales dropped 0.3% year-on-year, in their first decline since April, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Sales of food and drink continued to grow as consumers still found the money for a Christmas feast but sales of most non-food categories dropped, as overall sales rose just 1.5% in its lowest rate of growth since April.
Stephen Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, said "a combination of weather and worries" led shoppers to cut back on presents.
He added: "With mounting concerns about the impact of spending cuts and the wider economy, sales growth has been weak since last summer. December was always likely to be similarly unspectacular but the snow and ice dealt an extra blow to business for many retailers."
Strong demand for snow boots and wellies helped increase sales of footwear, while clothing sales were flat despite selling more coats and cold weather gear. But sales of furniture, homewares and DIY goods were all down as consumers kept a tight grasp on their purse-strings.
Electrical items also declined despite strong sales of iPads and tablet computers and some retailers reporting that consumers brought forward purchases to beat the increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% on January 4.
The next year is set to be "challenging" for retailers, but Mr Robertson said the outlook was not as bad as in the depths of the recession.
He added: "This is no return to the dire picture two years ago, but the message for the Chancellor is: concentrate on delivering growth and leave any new burdens out of your March Budget."
Healthy people who are not considered to be "at-risk" of contracting the flu virus should be banned from having private vaccinations, the chairman of the Royal College of GPs has said.
Dr Clare Gerada said healthy individuals buying the flu jab from pharmacies have contributed to shortages in the NHS and left those at greatest risk vulnerable to infection.
Some GPs in England have reported running out of stocks of the vaccine, as thousands try to protect themselves against the winter outbreak that has killed 50 and left hundreds requiring critical care.
Dr Gerada told the Daily Telegraph: "People who are not in the at-risk groups are getting (private) vaccinations, leaving less supply for us. If that's going to happen again then the Government needs to stop it and think because that will affect the delicate balance that we have."
Dr Gerada called for a study into how many healthy people had privately purchased the jab to gauge whether there should be a law banning the practice. Many pharmacies have offered the jab for about £15, the paper reported.
GPs in England and Wales have faced criticism for not ordering enough of the flu vaccine to protect those at-risk, such as people aged 65 and over and pregnant women.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "Community pharmacies are working with GPs to ensure that at-risk groups are vaccinated, as far as is possible, with limited remaining stock. Pharmacies are private businesses and we are not able to prevent them from selling the vaccine commercially."
On Monday Health Secretary Andrew Lansley was accused of being poorly prepared for the current flu outbreak.
Labour said the Health Secretary made a "serious misjudgment" by axeing the autumn advertising campaign to encourage vaccination take-up. However, Mr Lansley said the NHS was "well-prepared" for the outbreak.
The number of deaths this winter from flu was currently 50, with 45 being associated with the H1N1 infection.
