PLC Public Sector reports:
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Employment: the employment tribunal held in Gosden v Lifeline Project that an employee was dismissed fairly for sending an offensive chain e-mail from his home computer to a colleague’s home computer, who had then forwarded the chain e-mail to the work computer of a friend employed by HM Prison Service, Lifeline’s main client. The tribunal held that no privacy attached to the email and that the employer was entitled to treat this as gross misconduct justifying dismissal. Local authority employers may wish to remind employees that they should not forward chain emails within work or to colleagues. Although employees may consider it harmless to forward the email to another individual, they have no control over how the material is subsequently circulated and their name and their employer’s name may appear in the e-mail chain. Employers should check their policy document on employees’ use of email and may find ourstandard policy document, which deals with the use and monitoring of electronic communications system and equipment.
FOIA: local authorities should be aware that the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) has held that financial details relating to a compromise agreement between a District Council and its former chief executive were disclosable since they concerned the use of public funds. This decision reflects the fact that there is now a requirement for local authorities to publish in their statement of accounts the individual financial details of any severance payments made to all senior officers earning in excess of £50,000.
Housing: local authority housing officers should be aware that the practical effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in London Borough of Hounslow v Powell, is that, although there is no statutory obligation to give reasons for seeking possession in a notice to quit, it would be prudent to do so as this may deter a non-secure tenant from raising an Article 8 defence.
Local government: in view of the proposals to abolish the standards board regime in the Localism Bill, local government monitoring officers may find a paper, which has been published by the LGA and ACSeS on maintaining high ethical standards in local government, a useful resource.
Planning: Natural England has adopted revised advice for protected species in England, which can be applied to any planning application that may affect protected species and will help local planning authorities decide whether there is a reasonable likelihood that a protected species inhabits a proposed development site.
Procurement: the Court of Appeal has confirmed in Sita UK Limited v Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority that the three month limitation period for bringing a claim that there has been a breach of procurement rules will run from the point at which the prospective claimant knew or ought to have known that such a breach had occurred. It will not be extended by further evidence in support of the claim subsequently coming to light. While this outcome favours public authorities, they should note that it could lead to an increased number of legal challenges happening during the course of procurements, as bidders will be ill advised to wait until a procurement process has finished before considering legal action.
Consultations: this week saw consultations launched on:
• A code of practice for the use of surveillance cameras.
• The high speed rail link, HS2.
• The second report on offshore energy strategy.
• Draft guidance on marine licensing.
• Marine planning in Wales.
There was also a call for evidence on extending data sharing arrangements between the DWP and local authorities.