PLC Public Sector reports:
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2012 Budget: the Chancellor’s budget statement included various announcements of interest to public sector lawyers, including predicted further cuts in public spending, reforms of the planning regime and localised civil service pay. Our legal update provides details of all the key points impacting on the public sector and links to all of PLC’s other budget coverage.
Costs: litigators should note the decision of the Court of Appeal in Harripaul v London Borough of Lewisham in which the general rule in CPR Part 44.3 was upheld, namely that the successful party to a claim should be entitled to their costs and the burden was on the unsuccessful party to prove otherwise.
Education: education lawyers should note the following new developments:
- The remit of the local Government Ombudsman has been extended to include investigations into Academy admissions and exclusions arrangements. This particularly applies to the situation where a maintained school has converted to an Academy partway through an appeals process.
- The LGO has published a further report criticising Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School for failing to follow its original recommendations in relation to its admission appeals arrangements.
- The Education (School Teachers) (Qualification and Appraisal) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2012 have been laid before Parliament and will come into force on 1 April 2012. The Regulations amend the Education (School Teachers’ Qualification) (England) Regulations 2003 by adding two new categories of teachers who will qualify for qualified teacher status and amending requirements for teacher performance appraisals.
Employment: all employers should be aware of the new national minimum wage rates that will take effect from 1 October 2012.
Freedom of Information: the following decisions are likely to be of interest to information lawyers:
- The decision by the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) in Visser v Information Commissioner and another, in which it held that a piece of information can still be commercially sensitive even if it is two years old at the time of the request.
- The decision by the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) in Conway v Information Commissioner, in which it provided new guidance on the meaning of “harassment” when considering whether a request under the Freedom of Information Act is vexatious, and highlighted the importance of following the Information Commissioner’s guidance when considering the vexatious nature of a request.
Housing: housing lawyers are likely to be interested in the following decisions this week:
- The Court of Appeal in Corby Borough Council v Scott held that a defence to a possession order under Article 8 of the ECHR should be considered at an early stage by the judge and the issue should only proceed to a full trial if it has a chance of meeting the high threshold required.
- A decision by the LGO that the London Borough of Newham was guilty of maladministration causing injustice after it wrongly refused to provide temporary accommodation to a homeless family in breach of its duties under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996.
The Chartered Institute of Housing in partnership with the DCLG has also published a community harm statement for landlords who are involved in court proceedings to use as evidence of anti-social behaviour.
Pensions: anyone with an interest in public sector pensions will be interested to note:
- The decision of the Court of Appeal in R (FDA and others) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions upholding the government’s decision to switch from RPI to CPI to index public sector pensions.
- The latest details published on the proposed final agreement for changes to Civil Service, NHS and Teachers pension schemes, which would see the retention of the Fair Deal.
Planning: planning lawyers should note that numerous statutory instruments have been made implementing various changes to the planning regimes in England and Wales during the course of April 2012.
Public procurement: public procurement lawyers should be aware that:
- The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 received Royal Assent on 8 March 2012. The Act requires public authorities to consider the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area when undertaking public procurements. This includes considering improvements the procurement might bring to the area, how to secure them and whether a consultation is necessary. However, it will require a commencement order to bring its provisions into force.
- The High Court has held in R (Unison and another) v NHS Shared Business Services Ltd that a union did not have standing to seek judicial review of the failure certain of Primary Care Trusts to outsource services without having an open competition. In particular, the Union had failed to show that had an open competition been held, the result would have been different.
- The High Court has held in R (Midland Co-operative Society Ltd) v Tesco Stores Limited that no public works contract had been awarded as Tesco was not under any obligation to carry out any works.
- In Commission v Germany (Case C-574/10), the ECJ has found that a decision by a German local authority to split a contract for planning services was unlawful as the contracts should have been considered a single procurement contract, which would then have exceeded the applicable EU public procurement threshold.
Regulation and enforcement: environment and local authority lawyers should note the clarification of the relationship between environmental regulatory compliance and private nuisance provided by the Court of Appeal in Barr and others v Biffa Waste Services Ltd.
Consultations: this week consultations have been published on:
- Draft statutory guidance of the induction of newly qualified teachers in England.
- Social housing tenants’ rights to manage and transfer their properties.
- Proposals to allow same-sex couples to have a civil marriage on civil premises.
- Planning for sustainability in Wales.