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.
Central government: those involved in making legislative reform orders should note that the government has published guidance on them.
Childrens’s services: the Law Society has published a practice note for solicitors attending local authority meeting to progress care planning under the Children Act 1989.
Civil litigation: litigation lawyers should note the following developments:
- The High Court in Cummings and others v The Ministry of Justice [2013] has granted a defendant an order that the claimants should pay its costs (and should not recover their own costs) incurred in relation to evidence that had been struck out of witness statements prepared by the claimants.
- That Supreme Court judgment summaries are now available on YouTube.
Commercial: commercial practitioners are likely to be interested in the recent High Court decision of Transport for Greater Manchester v Thales Transport & Security Ltd in which the court considered what information must be disclosed under an audit clause.
Employment: employment lawyers should be aware of the following employment-related developments:
- The European Court of Human Rights has given judgment in Eweida and Others v United Kingdom, ruling that the UK had failed to protect a Christian employee’s right under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights to manifest her religious belief by wearing a cross. The court dismissed the three other complaints in the case.
- The government has published a number of announcements relating to its ongoing employment law reform programme including a consultation on extensive changes to TUPE 2006 (the Mutuals Information Service has announced that it will be co-ordinating a response to the consultation from the mutuals sector) and measures for tackling long-term sickness absence.
Equality: those dealing with Equality Act 2010 compliance should note the following recent developments:
- The High Court in R (Coleman) v London Borough of Barnet Council and Another has dismissed a judicial review claim which argued that the London Borough of Barnet had failed to discharge the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010, when it granted planning permission for the development of a school on land that was previously a garden centre particularly used by local elderly and people and those with disabilities. The judgment offers some helpful guidance on what will constitute “due regard” under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.
- New technical guidance has been published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the public sector equality duty.
Freedom of information and data protection: information lawyers should note that:
- Regulations have been laid extending the information-sharing provisions of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, particularly in relation to the sharing of council tax information.
- The High Court in AKJ and Others v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and Others has held that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal had exclusive jurisdiction to hear human rights claims relating to the actions of undercover police officers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Health: healthcare lawyers should note that the National Quality Board has published a report on quality in the new health system from April 2013.
Housing: local housing authorities should note that the High Court in R (Knowles and another) v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has held that gypsies are not entitled to receive housing benefit that meets the full cost of renting on a private site, even though renting a caravan on a site owned by a local housing authority will entitle a tenant to receive housing benefit to cover the full rent charged.
Licensing: licensing officials are likely to be interested in a briefing published by the Local Government Association and Alcohol Research UK on public health and alcohol licensing in England.
Local government: local government lawyers may be interested in:
- A circular published by the government on setting local speed limits and accompanying speed limit appraisal tool to help local authorities to assess the costs and benefits of any proposed local speed limit schemes.
- The report published by the Committee on Standards in Public Life expressing concerns about the new government standards regime.
- The report published by the draft Local Audit Bill ad-hoc committee on its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill, among the issues raised are concerns that the proposed framework under the Bill may not save money and may fail to deliver accountability.
Pensions: pensions lawyers should note the decision of the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman in Hassell-Roberts (88283/2) in which he held that a decision-maker in an LGPS application for ill-health early retirement must satisfy itself that the appointed medical practitioner has ticked the correct boxes in the pro-forma certificate, which the medic had failed to do in this case.
The government has also published a White Paper setting out its plans to reform state pensions by introducing a single-tier state pension.
Property and planning: property and planning lawyers should note the following developments:
- The temporary increase in small business rate relief for England has been extended to 31 March 2014.
- The government has published guidance for applicants on the pre-application process for major infrastructure projects.
Consultations: this week consultations were published on: