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’s social services: local authority officers working in children’s social services should:
- Familiarise themselves with the decision of the High Court in R on the application of TG v London Borough of Lambeth that the claimant was not entitled to additional services until the age of 24 since he did not qualify as a “former relevant child” under section 22 of the Children Act 1989 and the Council’s duty towards him was not triggered until he came to the attention of those officers in the Council with social services functions.
- Review their referral policies given the High Court’s comment, that it would have been good practice for the Council’s Housing Department or Youth Offending Team to refer the claimant to the local authority’s social services department.
Education: the decision of the LGO’s decision on complaint no 07A149212 against the London Borough of Barnet is a useful reminder that local authorities have:
- A duty to provide full-time education for any excluded pupil from the sixth day of their exclusion (at the time of this decision, the requirement applied from the 16th day of exclusion).
- Six weeks to deal with a request for an assessment of a child’s special educational needs.
Legal privilege: local authority lawyers will welcome the First-tier Tribunal’s decision that advice and correspondence between in-house lawyers and their clients fall within the professional legal privilege exemption and will continue to be exempt from disclosure even after legal proceedings have concluded.
Local government: local government officers dealing with applicants seeking advice and assistance under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, who have applied for leave to remain in the UK but are awaiting decisions from the UK Border Agency, should familiarise themselves with the Court of Appeal decision in Birmingham City Council v Clue and be aware that:
- Unless a claimant’s application for leave to remain is hopeless or an abuse, the merits of an individual’s application for leave to remain is a matter for the Secretary of State and not a local authority.
- The local authority’s financial situation, and other demands on its resources, is irrelevant when assessing an applicant’s need.
- A proper assessment of the applicant’s human rights has to take account of the applicant’s (and any family’s) right to a private life in the UK.
Procurement: procurement officers involved in the tender process should be alerted to the High Court finding in Community Care North East (A Partnership) v Durham County Council that:
- The High Court has no power to vary a Tomlin order, on which the Council stayed a public procurement action brought by an aggrieved tenderer, so that the Council could commence a new tender procedure following a second separate challenge.
- Nothing in the Tomlin order prevented the Council exercising its powers to terminate the procurement process and start afresh.
Consultation: there was one consultation this week by the Bar Council on new terms of engagement for barristers supplying services to solicitors.