Practical Law

PLC Public Sector reports:

Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reviewing our latest list of recommended actions.

 

Adult social services: lawyers dealing with adult social services should note that the Department of Health has:

• Published updates to its statutory guidance for local authorities on how to charge for adult residential and non-residential care and support.
• Announced that it is introducing national eligibility criteria for access to adult care and support services.

Central government: all public sector lawyers may be interested in the Draft Deregulation Bill 2013-14, which was published on 1 July 2013 and is part of the government’s drive to remove unnecessary bureaucracy.

Civil litigation: litigators may wish to note that the:

• Civil Procedure (Amendment No 5) Rules 2013 have entered into force, implementing Part 2 of the Justice and Security Act 2013, which allows for closed material procedures in civil proceedings.
• High Court considered the merits of a judicial review claim on an application for an interim injunction (R (GSTS Pathology LLP and others) v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs).
• Directors and shareholders of Desmond & Sons have failed to obtain permission for judicial review from the High Court in Northern Ireland (Desmond and others v The Pensions Regulator and Garvin Trustees Ltd).
• Online version of the CPR on the MoJ website is now up to date and reflects all of the “big bang ” reforms implemented on 1 April 2013.
• County Court Money Claims Centre has issued guidance about whether Form H costs budgets are required in cases issued before 1 April 2013.
• Law Commission has published a consultation on its 12th programme of law reform.

Commercial: practitioners advising charities may be interested in the Charity Commission’s consultation on new draft guidance for charity trustees on managing conflicts of interest.

Employment: employment and pensions lawyers should be aware that the:

• ECJ has ruled that using different redundancy selection criteria for employee returning from parental leave is contrary to EU law (Riežniece v Zemkopības ministrija and another).
• Supreme Court has held that female school workers and male manual workers, employed by the same local authority at different establishments, were on “common terms” (and therefore “in the same employment”) for the purposes of the Equal Pay Act 1970 (North and others v Dumfries and Galloway Council).
• Government has asked the Low Pay Commission to focus its 2014 report on reviewing the contribution that the national minimum wage could make to the employment prospects of young people.
• Department for Communities and Local Government has published a consultation paper on the new-look LGPS scheme, which will come into force in April 2014.

Environment: environment lawyers should note:

• HM Treasury’s publication Investing in Britain’s future, which sets out the government’s long-term strategy to build, repair and renew key infrastructure in the UK.
• The environmental implications of the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 (Commencement No 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2013, which has been made and and brings various provisions of the Act into force on 31 July 2013.
• The competition and regulatory implications of the Water Bill 2013-2014.
• European Commission’s consultation on a possible access to justice in environmental matters under the Aarhus Convention.

Equality Act 2010: lawyers dealing with the public sector equality duty may be interested that the:

• High Court has held that in making a decision to revoke a Debt Relief Order, the Official Receiver was exercising a judicial function and therefore was not subject to the public sector equality duty (R (Howard) v The Official Receiver).
• Equality and Human Rights Commission has published technical guidance for schools for England and for Scotland, outlining the requirements for schools of the Equality Act 2010.

FOI and data protection: freedom of information practitioners should note that the:

• Amendments to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 made by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 will be commenced in August 2013.
• ICO has published an interim statement on the NHS Commissioning Board’s plans for a new system for collecting and analysing data.
• ICO has given public bodies new guidance on avoiding inadvertent disclosures in datasets when responding to FOI requests.
• ICO has launched its annual report for 2012/13.
• Cabinet Office has launched a consultation on a set of draft identity assurance principles.

Human Rights: human rights lawyers may be interested that the High Court has ruled that a local authority was not liable under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 for the criminal actions causing brain injury of a looked after child in its care (Bedford v Bedfordshire County Council).

Local government: local government lawyers and officers should note that: 

• A Standard Note has been published on the amendments made by the House of Lords to the Local Audit and Accountability Bill 2013-14.
• The High Court has quashed South Tyneside Council’s decision as to the amount of fees that it would pay to care homes in which it placed elderly and/or disabled residents (R (South Tyneside Care Home Owners Association and others) v South Tyneside Council).

Property and planning: property and planning practitioners should be aware:

• Of the property and construction implications of HM Treasury’s publication, Investing in Britain’s future.
• That the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 has been repealed by the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 (Repeal) Order 2013, which comes into force on 1 October 2013.
• That the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 (Commencement No 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2013 has been made.
• That the Planning Act 2008 (Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects) (Electric Lines) Order 2013 came into force on 18 June 2013.
• That the Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) (Prescribed Form) (England) Regulations 2013, which prescribe the documentation that must accompany a pitch fee review notice, will come into force on 26 July 2013.
• Of the property implications of the draft Consumer Rights Bill, which has been published.
• That the Supreme Court has held that a council was entitled to block vehicular access from a public highway to a parking space at the front of a house without paying compensation to the property owner (Cusack v London Borough of Harrow).
• That the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has dismissed an argument that compulsory purchase compensation should be calculated on the basis of the better occupation lease terms that might have been secured if the Crossrail scheme had not been announced (GPE (Hanover Square) Ltd and others v Transport for London).
• That the Land Registry has amended Practice Guide 40 and enabled applications with plans to be submitted electronically.
• That the Department of Energy and Climate Change has published a new guidance for applications and landowners and/or occupiers on the grant of a compulsory electricity wayleave.
• That the government has published its response to the consultation on extending the nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) planning regime to certain types of business and commercial developments.
• That the government has published a consultation paper on securing the future of flood insurance; and the ABI and the government have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding on Flood Re.
• That the Law Society has launched a consultation on proposed amendments to the Con29 and Con29O enquiry forms.

Public procurement and state aid: public procurement and state aid lawyers ought to note that:

• MEPs have reached political agreement with the Council on the proposed directives on public sector procurement and utilities procurement.
• MEPs have reached political agreement with the Council and the Commission on the proposal for a new directive on the award of concessions contracts.
• The European Commission has announced e-invoicing and e-procurement initiatives.
• Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi has published his opinion on whether national courts are bound by Commission’s legal opinion as to whether a measure constitutes state aid.
• The Water Industry (Specified Infrastructure Projects) (English Undertakers) Regulations 2013 have been published.
• The OFT has issued a call for information on the supply of information and communications technology goods and services to the public sector.

Regulation and enforcement: regulation and enforcement lawyers and officers may be interested in the:

• Cruiminal Procedure Rules 2013, which have just been published and come into force on 7 October 2013.
• Licensing Act 2003 (Descriptions of Entertainment) (Amendment) Order 2013, which the government has published and which exempts certain entertainment from the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003.