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.
Looked after children: those advising local authority social service departments in England should be aware, that as a result of new regulations, they have a duty towards looked after children who are remanded into custody, which includes arranging for a local authority representative to visit the individual in detention.
Education: the following items will be of interest to those in the education field:
- New regulations come into effect in Wales on 1 December 2010 which specify the work that qualified teachers and other individuals (which now include trainees on teacher training courses) can carry out.
- Proposed plans in the Education White Paper are likely to have a considerable impact on local authorities’ existing functions as educational providers, in particular the government’s proposals to expand the Academies programme to underperforming schools. Although there has always been concern that the Academy programme will diminish the strategic role of local authorities, their influence and budgetary flexibility, the proposals in the White Paper suggest that local authorities will retain a strategic overview of services as champions for parents, families and vulnerable pupils.
- The Department for Education has published the latest edition of the guide to law for school governors.
Employment: employment lawyers advising managers on carrying out employee reviews and assessments will be interested to read the decision in Daniels v British Broadcasting Corporation where an aggrieved employee brought libel action following a negative review but failed to satisfy the necessary legal requirements for a defamation claim given the substantial difference between being the subject of negative comment and a defamatory comment.
Employers should also be aware of the Employment Tribunal’s finding that a Chief Constable’s refusal to reinstate a depressed probationary police officer, who a few weeks after resigning regretted doing so and asked for her job back, was a failure to make a reasonable adjustment under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 given that on the facts of the case reinstatement had been a permissible option. However, although the decision is potentially worrying for employers, it would be difficult to expect an employer to reinstate an employee if a replacement had already been recruited particularly if the employee took a long time to ask for their job back.
Housing benefit: housing officers administering housing benefit should ensure they are familiar with the changes that have been made to Housing Benefit regulations which, from 1 April 2011, limit the amount of housing benefit that can be awarded under Local Housing Allowance.
FOIA: public authorities should ensure they have robust procedures in place for handling personal information, given that the Information Commissioner has the power to impose civil financial penalties for serious breaches of the DPA and has just imposed the first monetary penalties: a fine of £100,000 imposed on Hertfordshire County Council and £60,000 on employment services company, A4e.
Public procurement: procurement officers should be aware that BIS has published a questionnaire for public bodies to complete in order to make an initial assessment of whether state aid is involved in a project.
Waste and recycling: local authorities involved in waste and recycling should be aware that the Environment Agency has:
- Published guidance on the permanent deposit of waste on land.
- Updated its guidance on the criteria that is applied when accepting waste at landfills.
Consultations: this week consultations have been launched on:
- Proposals in the Public Health White Paper.
- Whether there should be cross-undertakings in damages in environmental judicial review claims.
- Flood and coastal erosion management and funding.
- Changes to the school organisation process in Wales.
- Proposals to change permitted development rights in Wales.
- Call for evidence on public service reform.