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 week’s actions are:
Children in need: lawyers should alert those social services officers who carry out section 20 assessments under the Children Act 1989 to the Court of Appeal decision ruling that in circumstances where a vulnerable child voluntarily leaves the area of one authority to go and live in the area of another authority that:
- both of the local authorities can owe a concurrent section 20 duty to a child in need; and
- the duty cannot be deferred while any dispute as to which authority is responsible for funding the child is resolved.
Commercial: lawyers and procurement and contracts officers will need to collaborate on assessing what changes are required to the way their authority interacts with service providers to prepare for the imminent Provision of Services Regulations 2009.
Court Orders: local authority litigation solicitors will be interested to note from MSA that the Administrative Court has no intention of attaching penal notices, naming local authority officers, to Administrative Court Orders.
Housing: housing officers should be aware that:
- in Birmingham City Council, the Court of Appeal held that a secure tenancy not granted in accordance with a local authority’s housing allocation scheme is valid even though section 167(8) of the Housing Act 1996 states that housing should not be allocated other than in accordance with such a scheme; and
- the LGO decision in Canterbury is a useful reminder that they should not lose sight of their duty to homeless applicants under the Housing Act 1996 when approached by housing applicants.
Procurement: local authority procurement officers and their legal advisers should familiarise themselves with the guidance note published by the OGC that covers the procurement rules that apply to development agreements. PLC Public Sector has recently published a practice note on the impact of the public procurement regime on development agreements as part of the expansion of its suite of public procurement materials.
Prosecutions: local authority lawyers dealing with prosecutions should be aware that the legal burden of proof in relation to breach of an ASBO has been clarified by the Court of Appeal in R v Charles and it is for the prosecution to prove that the defendant breached their ASBO without reasonable excuse.
TUPE: employment lawyers who may be asked to advise on TUPE transfers should note that in the light of the recent Court of Appeal decision employers will not be in breach of their obligations under Regulation 13(2)(b) of TUPE if they have a genuine belief in the legal, economic and social implications of the transfer, best evidenced by legal advice.
Consultations: there have been four consultations this week on:
- changes to the School Admissions Code 2009;
- bidding proposals for Thames Gateway local authorities to create an eco-quarter in the area;
- information-sharing between enforcement bodies; and
- the draft London plan.
If you wish to submit your views on any of the actions we have recommended, or would like to highlight any other issues that you feel need action by public sector lawyers, please feel free to submit a comment below.