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.
Central government:
- The House of Commons library has published a summary of the debates on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill 2017-19 in the House of Commons committee stage.
- The government has announced that the Department for Communities and Local Government has been renamed as the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Commercial:
- The Court of Appeal has overturned a judgment of the High Court and held that a clause limiting a contractor’s liability imposed two separate caps on liability rather than a single cap (Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust v ATOS IT Services UK Ltd).
Employment and pensions:
- The EAT has:
- held that a worker’s right to compensatory rest for a 20-minute rest break under the Working Time Regulations 1998 must be given as an uninterrupted rest break of 20 minutes (Crawford v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd); and
- upheld a claim for direct discrimination based on perceived disability, this being the first case to directly address this issue under the Equality Act 2010 (Chief Constable of Norfolk v Coffey).
- The government has announced changes to the system for obtaining a basic criminal records check in England and Wales.
FOI and data protection:
- The Home Office has published explanatory memorandums which accompany the four investigatory powers regulations relating to the implementation of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which were laid in Parliament in draft on 18 December 2017.
- The Information Commissioner’s Office has published draft guidance on children and the General Data Protection Regulation for consultation.
- The Department for Education has published updated privacy notice model documents for local authorities that aim to promote their compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation.
- The Surveillance Camera Commissioner has published his fourth annual report for the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.
Health:
- The Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 (Commencement No 2) Order 2018 has been made, bringing Part 5 of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 into force on 1 February 2018. Part 5 includes the making of an offence for a person in Wales to perform an intimate piercing on a person who is under the age of 18 or otherwise makes arrangements for the performance of an intimate piercing, and related enforcement provisions, including for local authorities.
- The Department of Health has been renamed as the Department of Health and Social Care.
- The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper on Accountable Care Organisations.
Housing:
- The Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government has published an impact note on the prospective effect of the Secure Tenancies (Victims of Domestic Abuse) Bill 2017-19.
Property and planning:
- The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 have been made and will apply to applications, requests and site visits made on or after 16 January 2018.
Regulation and enforcement:
- The government has responded to a call for evidence regarding laser pointers. The response includes a commitment to strengthen local authority enforcement action and a public awareness programme to highlight the hazards of laser pointers together with a voluntary code of practice and labelling regime.
Practical Law In brief