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 Public Sector e-mail.
Central government:
- The Supreme Court has ruled on an appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that held that the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Employment, Skills and Enterprises Scheme) Regulations 2011 were unlawful (R (Reilly and another) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions).
Civil litigation:
- The Court of Appeal has:
- extended the Halsey principles to cover a failure to respond to an invitation to participate in ADR at all (PGF II SA v OMFS Company 1 Ltd); and
- overturned an order which granted permission for the use of disclosed documents in subsequent proceedings (Alphasteel Ltd v Shirkhani and another).
- The Technology and Construction Court has:
- held that a claim against the defendant consumer domiciled in Scotland could only be brought in Scotland as the Scottish courts had exclusive jurisdiction over the dispute (Oak Leaf Conservatories Ltd v Weir and another);
- granted a contractor an interim injunction preventing its employer from calling two on demand performance bonds (Doosan Babcock Ltd (formerly Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd) v Commercializadora de Equipos y Materiales Mabe Limitada (previously known as Mabe Chile Limitada));
- granted permission allowing a party to changes its architectural expert witness (BMG (Mansfield) Ltd and another v Galliford Try Construction Ltd another); and
- considered the meaning of “contract in writing” in section 107(5) of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (Glendalough Associated SA v Harris Calnan Construction Co Ltd).
Commercial:
- BIS has published a report, Supply Chain Analysis into the Construction Industry.
Education and children’s services:
- The Education (Admission Appeals Arrangements) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 have been made and will apply to all admission appeals heard on or after 1 January 2014.
- The Court of Appeal has:
- directed a local authority to file evidence and care plans identifying parental risk after initially refusing to do when asked by the court (W (A Child) v Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and others); and
- allowed parents to successfully appeal orders which refused them permission to oppose adoption orders (Re W (A Child); Re H (Children)).
- The High Court has given permission for a local authority to withdraw its application for a care order in relation to a child with complex medical needs, after evidence had already been heard as the evidence did not meet the necessary threshold criteria (Re E (A Child)).
- A county court has made a wasted costs order against an expert laboratory which conducted alcohol testing in care proceedings and, due to clerical error, produced an incorrect reading that could have resulted in the child being taken into care (X Local Authority v Trimega Laboratories and others).
Employment and pensions:
- The government has set out its plans for implementation of apprenticeships reform.
- The government has announced that it will be commissioning advice on LGPS collaboration and consolidation.
Environment:
- The Welsh Government has published a consultation on its proposals to introduce an Environment (Wales) Bill.
- The Law Commission has published an interim statement on its wildlife law review.
- The government has reminded local authorities of their recycling obligations from 2015 and warned them of new regulations it hopes to publish in winter 2013-14 requiring information about the output of mixed recycling facilities.
FOI and data protection:
- The ECJ has ruled that the requirement for fingerprints to be submitted and stored on a passport did not contravene data protection legislation (Michael Schwarz v Stadt Bochum).
- The High Court has dismissed an application for an anonymity order sought by a man who had been investigated for alleged sexual offences against children but had not been charged (PNM v Times Newspapers Ltd and others).
- The Home Office has published a ministerial statement and a report on the national DNA and fingerprint databases and compliance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Regulations supporting the ministerial statement have also been published.
- The Justice and Home Affairs Council has discussed a proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation.
- The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee has adopted a draft compromise text for the draft Data Protection regulation proposed in January 2012.
Health:
- The Department of Health has published a set of key principles for operating clinical governance systems in sexual health services.
- The Competition Commission has published a consultation on draft procedural rules for determinations on references from Monitor on the methodology for setting the national tariff for NHS health care services.
Housing:
- The European Court of Human Rights has upheld a Supreme Court ruling that it was proportionate for Manchester City Council to evict the applicants following anti-social behaviour in the property that they occupied (Pinnock and Walker v UK).
Human rights:
- The Ministry of Justice has published its report to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Local government:
- Regulations have been made adding school organisation proposals to the list of Welsh local authority executive functions.
Property and planning:
- Regulations have been made requiring sprinkler systems to be installed in new and recently occupied Welsh residences from April 2014.
- The Court of Appeal has considered the principles of causation in a tree roots damage claim (Robbins v London Borough of Bexley).
- The High Court has ruled on the legal implications of the withdrawal of a planning inspector’s appeal decision which was issued by mistake (R (Gleeson Developments Ltd) v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another).
- The government has published its response to the consultation on further reforms to the Community Infrastructure Levy.
Public procurement:
- HM Treasury and Infrastructure UK have published online value for money PFI/PPP guidance.
Regulation and enforcement:
- The OFT has published its response to the Draft Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading (Amendment) Regulations 2013.
- The Trading Standards Institute has published its response to the Draft Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading (Amendment) Regulations 2013 and the Draft Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation, and Additional Payments) Regulations 2013.