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.
Employment: employment lawyers should be aware of the following:
- From 1 February 2012, the Employments Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2011 increases the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal to £72,300 and the maximum amount of a week’s pay for calculating statutory redundancy pay to £430.
- The Employment Tribunals (Increase of Maximum Deposit) Order 2012 means that a judge can order a party, whose claim has little prospect of success, to pay a deposit of £1,000.
- Decision of the Court of Appeal in Kuehne + Nagel Drinks Logistics Ltd, Stott and Joyce v HMRC that lump sums paid to employees on the transfer of a business, that are made partly to compensate the employee for the loss of pension rights and as an incentive to work willingly and without industrial action, are taxable as employment income.
Equality duty: local authorities should be aware:
- That the EHRC guides on the public sector equality duty have been fully updated.
- Of the Court of Appeal’s decision in R (D and another) v Manchester City Council that the council had regard to its public sector equality duty (PSED) when reducing its adult social care budget. The court was satisfied that the council complied with the duty as it drew members’ attention to the PSED in the report on the revenue budget that was put before the full council.
Freedom of information: information officers should be aware that:
- The Information Commissioner’s Office has published revised DPA monetary penalties guidance and launched a plain English guide to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
- The European Commission has published its proposals for reform of EU data protection law. Many of the new provisions are expected to have a significant impact on data controllers and processors who are active within the EU as they will have a new set of compliance obligations (entailing additional record-keeping, auditing and training requirements).
Highways: local highway authorities should be aware that the Department for Transport has published guidance for those authorities that are wanting to implement lane rental schemes and is inviting applications from authorities interested in pioneering a scheme in their area.
Housing: local housing authorities should be aware that the Local Government Association and Homes & Communities Agency has published a guide for elected local authority members on how to meet local housing demand, which contains a useful policy overview on finance and investment and the planning policy changes.
Planning: local planning officers involved in the registration of town and village greens will be interested in the decision in R (Barkas) v North Yorkshire County Council and Scarborough Council, in which the High Court upheld the authority’s decision not to register a playing field, that was set out and maintained as a recreation ground under section 80 of the Housing Act 1936 (HA 1936), as a town or village green under the Commons Act 2006. The residents’ application failed because the use of the field was “by right” and not “as of right”. The decision has a potentially wide application in that it could apply to all land laid out by local authorities under section 80 of the HA 1936, meaning that recreation grounds and other land falling within these provisions are likely to be more attractive to developers.
Procurement: procurement officers should be aware that the Council of the European Union has published a working paper on the European Commission’s proposals for a new directive on public procurement, which paper discusses proposals to reduce documentation requirements and the changes that are proposed to selection requirements.
Consultations: this week there have been consultations published on:
- Guidance on waste recycling, re-use or composting and new waste legislation in Wales.
- Regulations for membership of Healthwatch England.
- Simplifying road traffic orders.
- A proposed policy statement for Part 2 of the Localism Act 2012, which deals with EU financial sanctions.
- On changes to the Building Regulations 2010.
- On changes to the building control system.