Marital relations. It is now even easier to get divorced, following the example of Mike Carson of Manchester – the first person to complete his divorce over the internet. Carson and his wife Brenda were embroiled in divorce proceedings for nine years before he discovered Desktop Lawyer, run by Epoch Software. Carson downloaded the relevant documents to finalise his divorce for just £60.

The cost of justice. The Home Office has published figures showing that crown court trials, at £17,500 per day, cost on average 10 times more than magistrates court trials, which are priced at £1,700.

The public trust office. Lord Irvine is disbanding it after a scathing Whitehall review. MPs found the office, which looks after the cash of mentally ill and disabled people, unable to handle their own affairs, has lost thousands of pounds in poor investments. Some £10m held by the office from cases dating from as far back as 1726 is unclaimed because of the way the office has registered its information.