Practical Law

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.

Adult social services:

• The Local Government Association has published a guide for councils on integrating health and social care.
• The National Assembly for Wales Research Service has published a research briefing outlining the work that has been undertaken to examine options for reforming social care charging in England and Wales.

Central government:

• A claimant has brought a judicial review to determine whether the Secretary of State may lawfully rely on the principle in Carltona Ltd v Commissioner of Works [1943] 2 All ER 560 to institute criminal proceedings against a claimant under section 194(3) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 as a director of the company concerned (R (on the application of Forsey v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court).
• The General Affairs Council of the European Union, meeting in a 27 member state format without the UK, has adopted a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations with the UK for an agreement setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal from the EU, including the negotiating directives.
• The European Parliament plenary session has debated the Brexit negotiation guidelines adopted at the Special European Council Summit on 29 April 2017.

Children’s services:

• The High Court has adjourned an application for the adoption of an 18 year old from Pakistan because the Home Office had not been given notice of the application (Re A).

Commercial:

• The Court of Appeal has overturned a Technology and Construction Court decision, finding that “example” figures in a contract were binding rather than merely illustrative (Sutton Housing Partnership Ltd v Rydon Maintenance Ltd).

Employment and pensions:

• The EAT has confirmed that a three-month gap between underpayments of wages breaks a “series of deductions”, limiting the scope to make retrospective claims for underpaid holiday pay under the unlawful deduction from wages jurisdiction (Fulton and another v Bear Scotland Ltd (No.2)).
• The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman held that overpayments could not be recovered by the scheme as the member had spent the funds in such a way that had irreversibly changed her position (Determination in a complaint by Mrs N).

Environment:

• The Scottish Inner House of the Court of Session has reversed an earlier court decision, which had withdrawn planning consent for four large wind farms off the coast of Scotland (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds v Scottish Ministers).

FOI and data protection:

• The FTT(IR) has upheld the ICO’s decision that an information request for a barrister’s opinion obtained by a council attracted legal professional privilege and was exempt under section 12(5)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (Andrew Holmes v IC and another).
• The ICO has:
  • announced that a former employee of a medical practice has been fined £400 after pleading guilty to breaching section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998 in the Crown Court;
  • published its response to the government consultation on EU General Data Protection Regulation national law derogations; and
  • launched a new set of resources aimed at improving records management in the health sector.

Health:

• The National Audit Office has announced that it will be carrying out an investigation into NHS continuing healthcare in summer 2017.

Property and planning:

• The Court of Appeal has considered whether a developer’s promise that future occupiers would not apply for a residential parking permit was enforceable under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or section 16 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 (R (Khodari) V Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council and another).
• The Northern Ireland High Court has decided that a consultant must disclose information about the actual cost it incurred in complying with a change to its scope of services under the NEC3 Professional Services Contract (Northern Ireland Housing Executive v Healthy Buildings (Ireland) Ltd).
• The Welsh government is consulting on how to improve the uptake of multi-purpose sustainable drainage systems, and its proposals in relation to implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Public procurement:

• The European Commission has:
  • published its report on the review of the implementation of the European Single Procurement Document; and
  • confirmed that it has decided to take Italy to the EU Court of Justice on the grounds that it had breached EU law by awarding an extension to a motorway concession contract without a call for tenders.

Regulation and enforcement:

• The High Court has determined that a failure to comply with the requirements of section 17 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 rendered all subsequent proceedings a nullity (Westminster Council v Owadally).