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.
Civil litigation: litigation lawyers may be interested in the changes that came into force on 1 April 2013, including the:
- Civil Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2013 (SI 2013/734), to reflect the introduction of directions questionnaires.
- Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/609), which prescribe the requirements that a DBA must meet to be enforceable.
- Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA) Order 2013 (SI 2013/689), which prescribes the new requirements that a CFA that provides for a success fee must meet to be enforceable. Lawyers dealing with CFAs should also note the new model CFA published by the Law Society
- Tough new approach to relief from sanctions for non-compliance with the Civil Procedure Rules.
The CJC has also published a guide to bringing and defending a small claim, which may be of interest to litigation lawyers.
Commercial: commercial practitioners should note the advice to BIS from the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission on unfair terms in consumer contracts.
Education and children’s services: education and children’s lawyers will be interested to note the:
- Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/706), which amend the care planning regime for “looked after” children on remand.
- Updated statutory guidance for local authorities on schemes for funding maintained schools.
Employment: employment lawyers should be aware of the EAT judgments that:
- The grant of interim relief should be upheld where an employee was claiming to have been unfairly dismissed for taking part in trade union activities (London City Airport Ltd v Chacko).
- A redundancy situation existed even though a replacement for an under-performing employee had already been recruited (Malekout v Ahmed and others (t/a The Medical Centre)).
- It was not perverse for redundancy to be the principal and real reason for dismissal, despite other potential reasons existing (Fish v Glen Golf Club).
Employment lawyers should also note:
- That the rules on the disclosure of cautions and convictions will be relaxed.
- The trade union voting and engagement guidelines published by the newly-formed Trade Union Share Owners group.
Equality Act 2010: human rights and equalities lawyers in Wales should note that the National Assembly for Wales’ consultation on the future of equality and human rights in Wales closes on 12 April 2013.
Health: health officials may wish to read:
- The Communities and Local Government Committee’s report on local authorities’ health role, in particular its concerns over the accountability of Health and Wellbeing Boards.
- Monitor’s consultations on how it intends to carry out its new statutory duties as a concurrent competition regulator.
Local government: local government lawyers should note that:
- The new Localism Act 2011 (Commencement No 2 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2013 (SI 2013/722) brought into force the sections of the Localism Act 2011 that extend the Housing Ombudsman’s remit.
- A library e-lending review and the government’s response have been published.
Property and planning: property lawyers may be interested in the:
- Court of Appeal’s judgment that that time did not start running under the Limitation Act 1980 for adverse possession purposes where a party was mistakenly registered as the registered proprietor of the land (Parshall v Hackney).
- New or updated Land Registry Practice Guides on:
- charging orders (Practice Guide 76); and
- notices, restrictions and the protection of third party interests in the register (Practice Guide 19).
- DECC’s recently-published guidance for property practitioners on the Green Deal.