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.
This weeks actions are:
Academies: education lawyers dealing with Academies should be aware that under the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, from 1 September 2010, an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check must be carried out on all Academy governors and staff, unless the Chair and governing body of a maintained school converting to an Academy have previously been checked by a local authority.
Ill-health early retirement: pensions lawyers should note the Pensions Ombudsman’s decision in Lawson (76103/1), criticising a scheme’s trustees for reversing their decision to allow a terminally ill member to commute her benefits when they found out she had died. The decision highlights the importance of ensuring that pension schemes have good administrative systems in place to deal with ill-health applications quickly and efficiently while at the same time ensuring that HMRC restrictions are complied with and full commutation is only made before a pension has been put into payment.
Equality Act 2010: local authorities should be aware that the Government Equalities Office has published a list of the Equality Act 2010 provisions that will come into force on 1 October 2010. However, there are a number of provisions still under consideration, including the socio-economic duty on public authorities (section 1), provisions relating to auxiliary aids in schools (section 20), the prohibition on age discrimination in services and public functions (section 28) and gender pay gap information (section 78).
FOIA: information lawyers should note the issues highlighted in the Information Commissioner’s decision notice concerning a request for legislation. Lincolnshire County Council had rejected an information request about a particular statute and clause permitting restraint under a community care order, stating that the information was exempt under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) as it was already reasonably accessible to the applicant using the Office of Public Sector Information website. The Information Commissioner held that the request had not been dealt with in accordance with FOIA because the Council had not directed the applicant to relevant part of the statute. Local authorities in this situation should remind themselves that for section 21 of FOIA to be engaged they must direct the applicant to or provide a specific link to where the information is available.
Highways/planning/ licensing: departments in local authorities responsible for dealing with events held by the public (for example, departments dealing with licences for events, food licensing and road closures) should be aware that the government has simplified the procedure for organising street parties or summer fetes. From now on, organisers will only be required to submit a single form to local authorities informing them of their plans, who will process any applications for road closures.
Planning: planning lawyers in Wales should be aware that the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (Commencement No 4 and Consequential, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Wales) (Amendment No 1) Order 2010 came into force on 26 August 2010, removing Powys County Council from the list of local planning authorities allowed to continue to with the adoption of their unitary development plans rather than start preparation of local development plans. Powys County Council is now required to prepare a local development plan for its area.
Sustainability: Welsh planning lawyers should be aware that the Ministerial Interim Planning Policy Statement 01/2009 Planning for Sustainable Buildings came into force on 1 September 2010. Any planning applications for new dwellings in Wales must now:
- Meet level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH).
- Obtain at least six credits in the CSHs Dwelling Emission Rate category.
Council tax liability: the High Court decision in R (Goremsandu) v London Borough of Harrow, will be of interest to lawyers dealing with the enforcement of council tax arrears. The High Court held that the landlord of a house in multiple occupation was not liable for council tax and the liability remained with the tenants.
Consultations: this week there were consultations published on:
- The regulations governing fostering and children’s homes.
- Proposals for future Revenue Support Grant top-slice funding arrangements.
The government has also announced that it will be reviewing the existing byelaw regime and give local councils the power to review or revoke them without having to seek approval from the Secretary of State for Local Government. These plans will only apply to authorities in England and are expected to come into force in 2011.