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.
School admissions: those advising Independent Appeals Panels will be interested in the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn the High Court’s finding that the London Borough of Haringey’s Independent Appeal Panel had misdirected itself on the two stage test that it was required to apply by the DCSF School Admissions Code.
Public Sector pensions: anyone advising on or interested in the future of public sector pensions should note that Lord Hutton has published his interim report. PLC Pensions has published an opinion blog highlighting some of the key issues raised.
Landfill tax: those advising local authorities on issues associated with landfill sites should note:
- The new Environment Agency guidance on the closure of landfill sites.
- The new landfill tax regulations that clarify the meaning of income.
Equality Act 2010: those advising public authorities on the implementation of the Equalities Act 2010 should note that the following documentation has been published:
- Final drafts of the employment and equal pay codes under the Act.
- Final discrimination and equal pay questionnaires designed to obtain information on discrimination and other prohibited forms of conduct and the equality of terms under section 138 of the Act.
Public sector equality duties: lawyers advising local housing authorities should note that the Court of Appeal has held that the public sector equality duty contained in section 49A of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 applies to the way that a local authority carries out its homelessness functions set out in Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (Part VII). This principle will continue to apply when, at a date yet to be confirmed, section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 comes into force (replacing section 49A) and authorities should ensure that all officers taking decisions in respect of applications made under Part VII are trained to take account of the public sector equality duties in the way that they take decisions.
Disabled facilities grants: those advising local authorities on the payment of disabled facilities grants (DFG) should note that the requirement for applications to be made in a prescribed form will be abolished on 31 October 2010. From this date, local authorities will be free to determine the format of DFG applications.
The Compact: those advising local authorities on partnership working with the third sector should be aware of the new guidance published by the Commission for the Compact on how community groups and local public bodies can develop their working relationships.
Hackney carriage licensing: those advising local authority licensing and enforcement officers should note the High Court’s clarification on when an offence may be committed when a hackney carriage licensed by one authority is operated or plies for trade within the area of a different local authority.
EIR: information lawyers should note the following issues highlighted in two decisions of the Information Tribunal:
- The Tribunal will place great importance on maintaining a “safe space” for Cabinet Ministers and those advising them to discuss policy issues. Therefore, it will be rare for the public interest to favour the disclosure of documents recording such discussions (and only likely when the documents refer to historic discussions).
- The Tribunal will generally find that there is a significant public interest in documents about controversial development proposals being open to scrutiny.
Care proceedings: local authorities should be aware of the decision of the High Court to allow the BBC to publish the name of a local authority involved in care proceedings. The decision was made on the basis that the low likelihood of the children concerned being identified due to naming the authority was outweighed by the breach of the BBC’s rights under Article 10 under the ECHR (freedom of expression) that would result if it had been prevented from naming the authority. This case is likely to lead to local authorities being named more regularly in child protection proceedings, especially where there have been systemic failings.
Consultation: this week saw the Information Commissioner’s Office launch a consultation a data-sharing code of practice.