Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reading our In brief review of the latest Practical Law Public Sector e-mail.
Commercial:
- The Consumer Rights Bill 2013-14 has been carried over to the 2014-15 parliamentary session.
- The High Court has considered the meaning of the term “the purpose” in a commercial contract (Starbev GP Ltd v Interbrew Central European Holdings BV).
Education and children’s services:
- The Court of Appeal has ruled that care proceedings and placement proceedings should run concurrently (Surrey County Council v S).
- The Family Court has extended the 26-week time limit in a care proceedings case due to litigation failure (Re D (Children)).
- The European Commission has issued a consultation on developing guidance about integrated child protection systems across EU countries.
Employment and pensions:
- The ECJ has held that statutory holiday pay should include a sum relating to commission where a worker’s remuneration includes contractual commission based on sales achieved (Lock v British Gas Trading Ltd).
- The EAT has held that claimants do not have to prove the reason that they have suffered a personal disadvantage when claiming indirect discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (Essop and others v Home Office (UK Border Agency).
- UNISON has been granted permission to appeal the High Court decision which dismissed its application for judicial review of the introduction of fees in the employment tribunal.
- The DCLG has published a consultation setting out its proposal to move the investment of LGPS assets to collective investment vehicles and also confirmed that a proposal to merge LGPS funds will not be taken forward.
Environment:
- DECC has published a consultation on underground access for shale gas, oil and geothermal drilling.
FOI and data protection:
- The ICO has published a:
- blog post and overview of key points in relation to the recent ECJ ruling on the removal of internet search results; and
- consultation on a draft updated CCTV code of practice.
Health:
- The Court of Appeal has held that a local authority for an area where an individual lived prior to being made subject to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act 1983 will remain responsible for that individual’s aftercare (R (Wiltshire Council) v Hertfordshire County Council).
- The DH has published briefing notes on the NHS provider licence and commissioner requested services.
Housing:
- The DCLG has published guidance on rents for social housing from April 2015.
- The Homes and Communities Agency has published a consultation on changes to the social housing regulatory framework.
Local government:
- The High Court has held that the disqualification term imposed on a Welsh councillor for breach of a council’s code of conduct was excessive (Heesom v Public Services Ombudsman for Wales).
- An independent commission has been formed to explore economic growth and the future of public services in non-metropolitan England.
- The Local Government Ombudsman has published social care provider complaints statistics for the first time.
Property and planning:
- The Supreme Court has upheld a Court of Appeal decision holding that use of a recreation ground by local residents was “by right” not “as of right” preventing it from being registered as a town or village green (R (Barkas) v North Yorkshire County Council and another).
- The Court of Appeal has:
- suspended an injunction to enforce a planning application pending determination of a planning appeal later this year (London Borough of Newham v Ali and others);
- upheld the finding of the High Court that an application to register a town or village green can have retrospective effect (R (Church Commissioners for England) v Hampshire County Council and another); and
- dismissed an appeal against a decision holding that a statutory undertaker was not entitled to claim damages from a contractor in nuisance and negligence following an escape of concrete from a building site into a sewer (Northumbrian Water Ltd v McAlpine Ltd).
- The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has held that a provision for the apportionment of the service charge by a third party whose decision was final and binding was void under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (Windermere Marina Village Ltd v Wild and others).
- The Land Registry has:
Public procurement:
- The European Commission has exempted further Hungarian postal services from the application of the Utilities Directive.
- The General Court has dismissed an appeal against a procurement procedure organised by the European Central Bank.
- The Crown Commercial Service has announced the launch of the LGA’s Local Government National Category Strategy for collaborative ICT.
- The DCLG has refused to compensate a local authority following a penalty incurred as a result of cancelling a waste infrastructure project due to a delay in the government making a final planning decision in relation to the site.
Regulation and enforcement: