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 DfT has published a report on a review of government rail functions.
- The European Parliament has approved a draft resolution that would require all websites managed by public sector bodies to be made accessible to everyone including the disabled and elderly.
- EUR-lex has advised that as of 1 July 2013 only electronic versions of the Official Journal of the European Union are legally binding and the regulation on the electronic publication of the journal does not have retroactive effect.
Charities:
- The First-tier Tribunal (Tax) has held that funding provided by a local authority to a charity to provide museum and information services did constitute a taxable supply of services (Woking Museum and Arts and Crafts Centre v HMRC).
- The Charity Commission has reported on its regulatory intervention against a local authority proposal to become a controlling member of a charity in order to safeguard its funding of the charity’s premises refurbishment.
Children’s services:
- The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal against a High Court decision to transfer public law children proceedings to a Czech court under Article 15 of Brussels II Revised (Re M (A Child)).
- The High Court has held that parents had been duped by a herbalist into believing that they had given birth to a child, who turned out not to be their biological child (London Borough of Hillingdon v AO).
Civil litigation:
- The Court of Appeal has:
- provided guidance on applications for orders under CPR 52.9A (which gives an appeal court the discretion to limit the recoverable costs of an appeal) (JE (Jamaica) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department); and
- dismissed an appeal against a decision to strike out a claim concerning the England 2018 World Cup bid and allegations of defamation and malicious falsehood, ruling that found that the absolute privilege afforded by Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689 could extend to speech outside Parliament in certain circumstances (Makudi v Baron Triesman of Tottenham).
- The Technology and Construction Court has struck out a claim based on a claim form issued near the end of the limitation period and set aside an order granted an extension of time for service of the claim form (Lincolnshire County Council v Mouchel Business Services Ltd and another).
- The government has announced its intention to opt in to the European Commission’s proposal to revise the European Small Claims Procedure.
Employment and pensions:
- The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2014 will increase the limits on tribunal awards from 6 April 2014.
- The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (Consequential Amendments) (Employment) Order 2014 has been made.
- Amendments made to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 means that convictions will become spent sooner.
- The Court of Appeal has held that the Equality Act 2010 does cover post-employment victimisation (Jessemey v Rowstock Ltd and another).
- The EAT has held that:
- an illegal worker was entitled to claim for discrimination encountered during her employment but not that her dismissal was discriminatory (Wijesundera v Heathrow 3PL Logistics Ltd and another); and
- a refusal by an employer to make a reasonable adjustment for an employee did not start time running for the purpose of bringing an disability discrimination claim (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Jobcentre Plus) v Jamil and others).
- The Pensions Bill 2013-14 has completed its report stage in the House of Lords.
Environment:
- The Mesothelioma Act 2014 (Commencement No 1) Order 2014 has been published.
- The European Commission has started air quality infringement proceedings against the UK.
FOI and data protection:
- The First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) has considered the Ministry of Justice’s request to react names of individual civil servants in a number of documents under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 following a request for disclosure (Brain v Information Commissioner and Ministry of Justice).
- The Presidency of the Council of the European Union has published a progress report on the draft Data Protection Regulation.
- The ICO has published a privacy impact assessment code of practice.
Health:
- Monitor has closed its investigation into the commissioning of radiosurgery services by NHS England in the Yorkshire and Humber area.
- The Department of Health has published a consultation on a new offence of ill treatment of wilful neglect of patients and service users.
Housing:
- The draft Prevention of Social Housing Fraud (Power to Require Information) (England) Regulations 2014 have been published.
- The DCLG has updated its discussion document on a review of property conditions in the private rented sector.
Local government:
- The High Court has held that a local authority was liable to pay damages to animal exporters after imposing a ban on the export of live animals from Ramsgate port (Barco De Vapor BV and others (t/a Joint Carrier) v Thanet District Council).
- Two sets of draft regulations have been published on changes to local authority governance and council tax referendums.
- The Secretary of State has used powers under the Localism Act 2011 to allow the exercise of the general power of competence in relation to the hosting of the Tour de France.
Property and planning:
- The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2014 have been made, making a number of changes to possession claim procedure and the taking and selling of goods to settle a debt.
- The Supreme Court has ruled that that it is possible to acquire a right to commit a private noise nuisance by prescription (Coventry and others v Lawrence and another).
- A new version of CPSE.1 has been issued.
- Guidance has been published on the enforcement of site licence conditions and fees for residential parks following the Mobile Homes Act 2013.
- A consultation has been published on the Rural Development Programme for Wales 2014-2020.
Public procurement and state aid:
- The General Court has rejected a request by an unsuccessful bidder to suspend a European Commission tender decision.
- Advocate General Mengozzi has handed down an opinion on the application of the in-house exception to a non-profit organisation.
- The Cabinet Office has published procurement policy note 04/14 on the recently-published model services contract.
- The ECJ has ruled that appeals by Dutch housing corporations against state aid decisions were admissible.