PLC Public Sector reports:
Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reviewing our latest list of recommended actions.
Localism Act: the Localism Bill has received Royal Assent. The Act will introduce a wide array of reforms in areas such as local government powers, local authority governance, planning, social housing and also give various new rights to communities. All practitioners involved in these areas should familiarise themselves with the forthcoming changes.
Education: education lawyers should be aware of the following developments this week:
- The Education Bill 2010-11 has received Royal Assent.
- The Department for Education (DfE) has published information on establishing and applying to become a studio school.
- The DfE has also published advice for handling industrial action in schools.
Health: those involved in administering the funding for those in receipt of NHS continuing health and NHS funded nursing care should note that the Department of Health has published a series of frequently asked questions on this topic.
Housing: housing lawyers:
- Dealing with “final offer of accommodation” letters should be aware of a recent Court of Appeal decision, Bubb v London Borough of Wandsworth, in which the court held that a reviewing officer’s decision about whether a claimant had received a final offer of accommodation letter was sufficient for the purposes of section 193(7) of the Housing Act 1996. The court itself was not required to independently determine the factual question of whether the letter had been received.
- In Wales should note that the Housing (Wales) Measure 2011 (Commencement No 1) Order 2011 (NAWM 2011/2475) has been published and has brought into force Part 2 of the Measure on 18 October 2011 and will bring the remainder into force on 2 December 2011.
Planning: the decision to quash a planning permission for an energy-from-waste installation facility in R (Cornwall Waste Forum, St Dennis Branch) v Cornwall Council highlights the difficulties inherent in the planning process when environmental issues are also involved. In light of the potential cost of delays to facilities such as this being constructed, great care needs to be taken by the relevant planning authority and the Environment Agency to check that all applicable procedures are followed and all necessary evidence considered.
Public procurement: public procurement lawyers should note:
- That the government has announced that it intends to develop a new model for delivering major projects to replace PFI.
- The guide to green procurement published by the European Commission.
Social services: there have been a number of case this week likely to be of interest to lawyers in local authority social services departments:
- Cheshire West and Chester Council v P, in which the Court of Appeal held that the respondent was not being deprived of his liberty under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights while living at an establishment run by the council. This decision confirms that restraining an individual as part of their care will not necessarily result in a deprivation of the individual’s liberty under the ECHR.
- R (SA) v Kent County Council, in which a grandmother’s right to a full fosterer’s allowance was upheld due to the level of involvement the council had had in placing the child with her grandmother.
- R (JM and another) v Isle of Wight Council, in which the Isle of Wight’s revised criteria for accessing adult social care services were declared unlawful due to a failure to follow the statutory guidance or observe the equality duty set out in section 49A of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
- R (Sefton Care Association and others) v Sefton Council, in which the council’s decision to freeze the fees it paid to care homes was declared unlawful, as the council had failed to assess or take account of the actual cost of delivering the services (in breach of the applicable requirements).
- R (VC and others) v Newcastle City Council, in which it was held that a local authority could not rely on the potential availability of support from the Home Secretary under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to justify discontinuing support to a child who was assessed as being in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
Consultations: this week consultations have been published on:
- Changes to fees in the High Court and Court of Appeal.
- Regulations to bring the new school admissions and appeals codes into force.
- A draft waste plan for the construction and demolition sector in Wales.
- Auxiliary aids and services under the Equality Act 2010 for disabled children in Wales.
- A framework for measuring the planning system’s contribution to sustainability in Wales.
- Social tariffs guidance for water and sewerage companies in Wales.
- Planning system delivery in Wales.
- Reforming bankruptcy and the compulsory winding-up petition process.
- Proposed changes to free early education and childcare sufficiency.
Also following a consultation on the subject, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed that it intends to introduce a new criminal offence of squatting in residential properties.