Birmingham council Blue Badge fraud use - now magistrates date. **RESOLVED**

[Ethel Street]

The £1,000 is the maximum for the misuse of a Blue Badge, not necessarily what you would get fined.  Magistrates take into account your ability to pay when deciding the fine. 

 

Sorry to add to the things you need to worry about but as you are a teacher the court will report you to your school or local council if you are convicted and the school could start internal disciplinary proceedings against you.  Check the school's internal staff handbook or similar for when you must disclose any prosecutions against you.

[Ethel Street]

As the council told you misuse of a Blue Badge is fraud so I'm afraid the council could well decide to prosecute you in a Magistrates court and that would give you a criminal record if convicted.

 

Right now though there's nothing you can do until you hear from council or the police. When you do, come back and update us and we''ll do what we can to advise you (but we are not lawyers and cannot replace advice from a solicitor).

[Ethel Street]

Is there anything in the statement from the council Blue Badge Inspector that you disagree with?

[Ethel Street]

I'm not an expert on this so let's see what others say.

 

If you agree with the BB Inspector's statement, and from what you have posted on here, I think that a Guilty plea is the only thing you can do. 

 

You aren't being asked to make any statement at this time, just say how you intend to plead, Guilty or Not Guilty. The reason they ask you that now is to help them with scheduling when the hearing will take place. Usually if you plead Guilty it will all be dealt with on the day stated in the Summons, but if you plead Not Guilty the hearing will be rearranged to a later date. You don't enter your formal Guilty/Not Guilty plea until the hearing itself, the request on the Summons is to help with court administration. 

 

 

[Ethel Street]

I'm not a lawyer and I recommend that you see a lawyer for advice on this before saying how you intend to plead. They will be able to tell you if have any grounds for pleading Not Guilty.

 

As things stand if you plead Guilty or are found Guilty by the Magistrates yes you would have a criminal conviction and a criminal record for fraud under the Fraud Act 2006. I believe you said you are a teacher so the conviction would probably be notified to your employer, which could have serious employment consequences for you. Your school could dismiss you and you could end up being barred from teaching. 

 

I put it that bluntly because when the consequences could be that serious for you then you need professional legal advice from a solicitor specialising in criminal law. People who post on here are not legally qualified to give you that advice.

[Ethel Street]

Your household insurance policy might give you cover for legal fees.

 

Check with your union if they can give you some help.

 

A solicitor could tell you whether you might be eligible for legal aid.

[Ethel Street]

1 hour ago, Luckz666 said:

Thank you for that, it is much appreciated! I’m going to lose my job and career unfortunately as a result of this. I’m absolutely gutted…. Been in the education profession since I’ve been 21 and I’m 37 now

 

It's not automatic so please don't assume that wil definitely happen. I'm a school governor and I have been on school disciplinary panels several times over the years dealing with staff who have received a criminal conviction for an offence of dishonesty. Only on one occasion was the staff member dismissed. Every case is dealt with on its individual circumstances.

 

Get advice from your union so that they can advise you on disclosure and represent you at any school internal disciplinary proceedings.

[Ethel Street]

@Luckz666 are you in a union? Most teachers are.

 

You need to talk to your union about this. Call the union regional office asap.

 

They will know what your contract requires you to disclose.  And they can advise you how the school is likely to react.  And how they will support you if the school.takes action under its internal staff disciplinary policy.

 

Your union can do all those things better than we can on here.

 

But please don't assume you will automatically lose your job. It is possible you will, there is no hiding from that. But it is not inevitable.

 

It will be better for you if you tell your headteacher as soon as possible. If you tell them nothing and they find out from the court the headteacher is more likely to dismiss you.

 

Earlier you said you are an "assistant teacher". Are you a qualified teacher? Or are you working as a TA (Teaching Assistant)?

 

Even if you get a Conditional Discharge it is still a conviction, so you will have a criminal record and it will appear on your DBS. There's no getting around that.

 

[Ethel Street]

Have you spoken to your union about the potential impact on your job? Have a look again at the advice I gave in my post just above (post #43).

[Ethel Street]

54 minutes ago, Luckz666 said:

Will this criminal conviction stay with me for life? 

 

Let's wait until we know the outcome. The answer to your question depnds on what the court decides to do on the 15th.

 

What have your union advised you to say to your school?

[Ethel Street]

I'll ask again, have you spoken to your union?

 

The court takes your income and expenses into account when sentencing.  Do they ask you to take details of your income and expenses to the magistrate's hearing on the 15th?

[Ethel Street]

A question I asked before but you didn't answer, earlier you said you are an "assistant teacher". Are you a qualified teacher, teaching a class? Or are you working as a TA (Teaching Assistant)?

[Ethel Street]

Well your union will know the way your particular school/academy trust has dealt with cases like this in the past better than we do but nevertheless dismissal cannot be automatic. The school will have to follow its staff disciplinary policy, so there must be a formal hearing at which you will be able to put forward mitigating circumstances and explain why you think you should not be dismissed. 

 

There's a vital role for your union at the hearing. A union representative, preferably from the regional office, should accompany you and put your case to the school. They should know what is most likely to persuade the school not to dismiss you. But as I said earlier in the thread dismissal may well be the outcome but is not inevitable. A primary headteacher friend of mine read this thread and commented that being a TA may make it marginally more likely that you keep your job than if you were a qualified teacher (because there are codes of professional conduct - the Teacher Standards - that apply to teachers but not TAs)

 

Even if you are not dismissed I'm afraid your plans to do a PGCE and qualify as a teacher almost certainly won't be possible. PGCE training institutions usually won't take on a student with a fraud conviction.

 

[Ethel Street]

The answer is the same as in post #51. It depends on the sentence the court imposes. Come back after the the court hearing and let us know what happened. 

[Ethel Street]

I'm afarid it will. A fraud conviction will have to be disclosed and will affect whether motor insurers are willing to insure you and on what basis. And, before you ask, I don't know exactly what that will mean in practice.

 

Sorry, I feel like I'm being a constant bearer of bad news to you today, it will also have to be disclosed to your home insurer and is likely to affect that as well.

 

You might need to see a specialist insurance broker.

 

But let's see what what the court decides first. The sentence will indicate how serious a fraud they think it is. 

[Ethel Street]

Look back at Post #35. There's really nothing more that can be said at this stage. 

[Ethel Street]

If no duty solicitor can be found tell the Usher when they come to collect you for the hearing that you've asked to see the duty solicitor for advice  but the solicitor still hasn't seen you.

 

Re-read Post #35 by Man in the middle explaining why you are entitled to see the DS and be prepared to explain that to the Usher and the court.

[Ethel Street]

@Blackcat13 here's where to start your reseach, the government Legal Aid page on gov.uk

 

/assets/static/govuk-opengraph-image-dade2dad5775023b0568381c4c074b86318194edb36d3d68df721eea7deeac4b.png

Legal aid: Overview - GOV.UK

WWW.GOV.UK

---

Legal aid helps pay for legal advice, mediation or representation in court - see if you can claim

 

[Ethel Street]

The solicitor has confirmed the advice given here earlier re criminal record, job, car insurance and that you have been charged with fraud, so no surprises there. What does the solicitor recommend you do now? 

 

Do you qualify for legal aid? The solicitor should be able to tell you if you do.

 

Will the solicitor represent you and speak for you in court when the hearing is resumed?

[Ethel Street]

No he can't. You can only be dismissed at a formal disciplinary hearing which you must be given advance written notice of.

 

Read your school' Staff Disciplinary Policy.

 

 

[Ethel Street]

We've been round this discussion several times @Blackcat13

 

No he does not have to dismiss you. There's no law that says you cannot work in a school if you have a conviction for fraud. But he is entitled to dismiss you if he chooses to..

 

As various people have said it is, sadly for you, likely that you will be dismissed. But it is not inevitable. Ultimately the governors (if you work in a Local Authority school) or the Academy Trustees (if you work in an academy) will decide.

 

Which is why I have been consistently advising you that it's important to get advice from your union  and to have them accompany you and speak for you at the disciplinary hearing that will inevitably have to take place. They are experienced in putting forward special reasons why you should not be dismissed. I wouldn't expect the disciplinary hearing to take place until after magistrates have decided your case.

 

It is possible he could suspend you until the disciplinary hearing is arranged. The head has the power to do that. In my opinion that would be unreasonable in your situation and if it happens get union help immediately.

[Ethel Street]

@Blackcat13have you got family or friends outside work you are able to talk to about this, people who can give you emotional support? 

[Ethel Street]

Under your Staff Disciplinary Policy you probably are not entitled to have your union rep with you because it's not a formal disciplinary meeting.  But if I were in your position I'd ask my union rep to come with me on the grounds that I know it inevitably will lead to a formal discioplnary process later so I'd like my rep there from the start.

 

Head could refuse though. Make sure head knows in advance if union rep is accompanying you.

[Ethel Street]

You don't have to formally enter your plea until the hearing on 13th October.  You enter your plea at the hearing. You will have met your solicitor to discuss this by then. 

 

Send the solicitor a copy of the letter you have received about the hearing. 

[Ethel Street]

BC13 re cancelling insurance policy at renewal. You do NOT have to explain to any insurer why you are not renewing the policy. They cannot insist on a reason why you are not renewing so do not offer them one. 

 

But some will try to renew automatically unless you tell them not to so when renewal time comes make sure you contact them and say you do not want to renew.