PLC Public Sector reports:
Make sure you haven’t missed a key development by reviewing our recommended actions arising from last week’s email.
This week’s recommended actions are:
Contract terms: a recent Court of Appeal decision warns of the perils of relying on emails to show a contract is in place. Public authorities should ensure that contractual arrangements are always recorded in writing – as they should be if standing orders, procurement policies and the public procurement regime are complied with!
Safeguarding children: lawyers advising children’s services teams should be aware that the serious case review section of the guide to inter-agency working has been updated following Lord Laming’s recommendations.
School admission appeals in Wales: education lawyers in Wales should be aware that the new school admission appeal code is now in force for appeals lodged on or after 15 July 2009.
Seeking possession from trespassers: the Court of Appeal has applied Doherty to Kay and found that a housing authority will always be entitled to a possession order against a trespasser with whom it has never had a direct relationship. However, the authority should take account of any circumstances about the trespasser that are known to it in the way that it seeks the possession order.
New health regulations for Wales: NHS bodies in Wales should be aware that new regulations came into force on 1 August 2009 concerning the membership and composition of NHS Trusts in Wales.
Demoted tenancies: any housing authority dealing with a tenant on a demoted tenancy should be aware of the recent Court of Appeal decision that makes it clear that as long the tenant’s behaviour is such that it justified the demotion order, very little further evidence is required to justify a decision to obtain possession.
Notice to quit: the main lesson to learn from Bradford Community Housing v Hussain is to put the right date in a notice to quit. However, landlords may also want to follow Bradford’s lead and include some catch-all wording in case a mistake is made.
Abandoned vehicles: following the LGO’s report on Ealing, local authorities should ensure that they have a clear policy on abandoned vehicles in place, and that this policy complies with guidance issued by Defra.
Land registry rules and guidance: property lawyers should note that the land registry rules and the land registry guidance relating to early completion have been updated.
Licensing Act 2003: local authorities should note the recent court decision that found that a brewery company could not be held criminally liable under section 136(1)(a) of the Licensing Act 2003 for the actions of its tenant.
Twitter: following recent stories about the use of Twitter by public sector employees, authorities should review internet usage policies and make sure they are up to date. Any changes should be brought to the attention of all staff and the policy should then be monitored and enforced. This process should be repeated on a routine basis to ensure that new technologies and services are included as they appear the internet.
Data protection fines: reports say that the ICO will be getting wider powers from April next year to fine those who are reckless with their data. Given the public sector’s poor recent record in this area, those authorities that have not already done so, must review data security policies and ensure that they are enforced going forward.
Consultations: we saw consultations published on the Government’s hazardous waste strategy, the implementation of the waste framework directive, the CQC’s mental health strategy, local authority housing provision, the community infrastructure levy, changing the rules on publicising applications and environmental enforcement and civil sanctions.
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.