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 Local Government email.
Children’s services:
- The High Court has considered the need for healthy professional scepticism in relation to the whole family when dealing with radicalisation (London Borough of Tower Hamlets v B).
Civil litigation:
- The High Court has:
- partly allowed an appeal against a deputy master’s refusal to permit British Airways to call, or rely on, expert evidence in proceedings against the trustees of its pension fund relating to pension increases (British Airways Plc v Spencer and 11 others (present trustees of the British Airways Pension Scheme)); and
- considered whether the conduct of a claimant’s solicitors had been unreasonable or improper within the meaning of CPR 44.11. The conduct in question included the deliberate failure to disclose the existence of a CFA and BTE insurance in the bill of costs (Kerins v Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust).
Commercial:
- The Consumer Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2015 have been made and will come into force on 1 October 2015. The regulations will amend the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to reflect that certain provisions will move into the Consumer Rights Act 2015 from 1 October 2015.
- The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (Commencement No 3, Transitional Provisions, Savings and Consequential Amendments) Order 2015 has been made and will bring the provisions in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 relating to goods, digital content, services and unfair terms into force on 1 October 2015.
Employment and pensions:
- The Court of Appeal has dismissed a challenge brought by Unison against the introduction of fees in the employment tribunals and the EAT (R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor and another).
- The Pensions Ombudsman has updated his guidance to members of the police and firefighter’s pensions schemes affected by the determination in the complaint by Mr W Milne against the Government Actuary’s Department.
Environment:
- The DECC has published a consultation on a fundamental review of the feed-in tariffs scheme, which provides financial support for smaller-scale renewable electricity generation.
- The Environment Agency has announced the government’s decision on amendments to definitions in guidance to the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009.
FOI and data protection:
- The Upper Tribunal has:
- upheld an FTT(IR) decision ordering the Information Commissioner’s Office to disclose the names of the journalists (referred to in its “What price privacy” report) who had instructed private investigators involved in the illegal trade of personal information (Information Commissioner v Christopher Colenso-Dunne); and
- set aside an FTT(IR) decision obliging the Nursing and Midwifery Council to confirm or deny whether it held the names of witnesses interviewed at an investigating committee hearing (Information Commissioner v CF and another).
- The FTT(IR) has directed the Information Commissioner to seek further information from Cambridge University about how it had reached its estimate of the costs of responding to a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, in particular regarding the University’s automated searches of its email systems (Kirkham v Information Commissioner).
Health:
- Monitor has published guidance on transactions involving new care models to supplement other guidance for foundation trusts on mergers. The guidance sets out a three stage process for review of the transaction.
Property and planning:
- The High Court has:
- considered whether a unilateral notice registered against a freehold title at the Land Registry to protect an agreement for lease conferred priority on the leases granted pursuant to that agreement (A2 Dominion Homes Ltd v Prince Evans Solicitors); and
- clarified the meaning of “building” in paragraph 89 of the National Planning Policy Framework (Tandridge District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government).
- The DCLG has:
- The Land Registry has issued a direction in relation to first registration applications where the title documents are unavailable or title is claimed by reason of adverse possession of unregistered land.
Public procurement:
- The Crown Commercial Service has published a new Procurement Policy Note on supporting apprenticeships and skills through public procurement.
- Monitor has published its final report on an investigation into the commission of community services for adults with complex care needs in eastern Devon.
Practical Law In brief