Practical Law

PLC Public Sector reports:

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1 April 2013: public sector lawyers are likely to be affected by various legislative changes that come into force on Monday 1 April 2013.

Central government: lawyers regularly using the Department of Health and the Disclosure and Barring Service should note that they have moved their corporate and policy content to the GOV.UK domain.

Civil litigation: relevant to litigation lawyers are the publication of:

• Details of the Civil Justice Council’s new sub-committee on civil costs.
• New and revised court forms.

Commercial: commercial lawyers may be interested in the:

• Court of Appeal judgment on whether a party must refrain from exercising a contractual discretion arbitrarily (Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust v Compass Group UK and Ireland Ltd (trading as Medirest)).
• Law Commissions’ advice to BIS on unfair terms in consumer contracts.

Education and children’s services: education and family lawyers should note that the:

• Free school transport that local authorities are obliged to provide for an eligible child need not be door-to-door (R (M and another) v London Borough of Hounslow).
• Department for Education has issued updated guidance on:
  • safeguarding children;
  • fair access protocols on finding school places for children; and
  • school attendance.

Employment: employment lawyers should be aware of the:

• April 2013 increases to statutory sick pay and maternity, paternity and adoption pay.
• EAT’s judgments holding that:
• an administrator’s dismissal of football club employees was not for an ETO reason (Kavanagh and others v Crystal Palace FC (2000) Ltd and others); and
• an obese employee was disabled under discrimination law (Walker v Sita Information Networking Computing Ltd).

Environment: environmental lawyers may wish to look at the:

• High Court’s judgment ruling that an Environmental Protection Act 1990 conviction could be brought for the deposit of waste water (Thames Water Utilities Ltd v Bromley Magistrates’ Court).
• European Commission’s detailed booklet on ECJ rulings on the environmental assessment of projects.

FOI and data protection: information lawyers should be aware of the:

• Information Tribunal ruling that public bodies may not charge any costs other than disbursements when providing CON 29R information by means other than on site inspection of records (Leeds City Council v Information Commissioner and others).
• European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee’s formal adoption of opinions on the draft European data protection Regulation and Directive.
• European Data Protection Supervisor’s comments on the data protection reforms.
• ICO’s guidance on:
  • disclosure of information about deceased persons;
  • the Public Contracts Regulations 2006; and
  • information in the public domain, personal data and the government policy exemption.
• Consultations published on:
  • giving the Information Commissioner the power to compulsorily assess the data protection compliance of NHS bodies; and
  • draft statutory guidance extending the period of retention of biometric data under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Health: health officials may wish to note the:

• Making of the fifth commencement order for the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
• Amendment of Health Education England’s constitution.
• Change of name of the NHS Commissioning Board to NHS England.
• Guidance from the OFT and Monitor on the OFT’s role in reviewing NHS mergers.

Housing: housing officers should look at the:

• Order increasing the discount cap in London for the right to buy under the Housing Act 1985.
• Court of Appeal’s quashing of a council’s decision to house an applicant with a fear of heights on the 16^th floor (El-Dinnaoui v Westminster City Council).
• High Court’s clarification of the mandatory licensing requirements for a house in multiple occupation within a purpose-built block of flats (London Borough of Islington v The Unite Group plc).
• General Housing Consents 2013, which the DCLG has now issued.

Local government: local government lawyers in Wales should note:

• That an National Assembly of Wales committee has agreed the general principles of the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Bill.
• The consultation on changes to Wales’ Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity.

Pensions: pensions lawyers may wish to note the ruling that the mere prospect of improvement in a member’s symptoms was not grounds for denying them their pension (Determination in complaint by Mrs K Wilde (90004/2)).

Public procurement: procurement officers should note the:

• Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance on procurement and the public sector equality duty.
• General Court’s dismissal of an appeal against an EU procurement process for the supply of electrical equipment (Nexans France v European Joint Undertaking for ITER and Development of Fusion Energy (Case T-415/10)).
• Scottish Court of Session’s confirmation that there was no lack of clarity or error in a healthcare procurement award (Healthcare At Home Ltd v The Common Services Agency).
• HMRC’s response to the consultation on promoting tax compliance through procurement policy.