PLC Public Sector reports:
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Equal Pay: employment lawyers advising on equal pay claims should note the decision in Birch and 99 others v Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council and others, which held that a “dual purpose” document can be a valid grievance for the purpose of the statutory grievance procedures (SGP) even if it contains information which is non-compliant with the SGP.
GAD passports: anyone advising on the requirements of the government’s “fair deal” policy should note that those applying for new GAD passports and certificates will now be able to satisfy the test of providing a broadly comparable scheme by linking pension increases to CPI, rather than RPI as was previously required. As some contractors may seek to revise and then seek certification for their revised schemes, procurement advisers currently dealing with contractors proposing to offer a GAD scheme to transferring employees should ask them to confirm that the proposed scheme will be in place by the transfer date, irrespective of any proposed revisions.
Equality Act 2010: all public sector lawyers should be aware that many of the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 will come into force on 1 October 2010. The new public sector equality duty will not come into force until 1 April 2011. This week PLC published a number of practice notes on the employment and property implications, as well as a new practice note on the existing law on discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services, which also highlights the key changes to be brought about by the Equality Act 2010. PLC will continue to publish guidance on the new regime.
Flood management: anyone advising on a public authority’s duties in respect of flood management should note that:
- various provisions in the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (FWMA) will come into force on 1 October 2010; and
- an order has been made designating as “flood risk management functions” for the purposes of the FWMA the preparation of flood risk assessments, maps and plans by the Environment Agency and lead local flood authorities (normally the unitary authority for the area or the county council) under the Flood Risk Regulations 2009. This means that this task will need to be carried out in line with the requirements of the FWMA.
Homelessness: anyone advising local authorities on their duties with regard to rough sleeping in their area should note that new guidance for local authorities on evaluating the extent of rough sleeping will come into force on 1 October 2010.
Planning: planning lawyers should note that the following will come into force on 1 October 2010:
- an order consolidating the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995;
- changes to permitted development rights in respect of houses in multiple occupation; and
- consolidated legislation drawing together the current Building Regulations and the rules governing approved inspectors under the Building Regulations.
Public procurement: public procurement lawyers should note the OGC guidance on the government’s new transparency in procurement requirements. The two Advocate General’s opinions published this week (one on service concessions and the other on remedies) may also be of interest.
Consultations: this week consultations were launched on:
- The standard rules for environmental permits;
- Re-use of public sector information Directive;
- Draft regulations to transfer private sewers; and
- Guidance about commercial organisations preventing bribery (which may be applicable to certain public sector organisations).