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.
Academies: education and property lawyers involved in land transfer issues for schools converting to Academy status should be aware that the Department for Education has updated its guidance to reflect the changes introduced under the Education Act 2011.
Civil litigation: litigation lawyers will be interested in the Supreme Court’s decision in Anderson v Shetland Islands Council holding that there is no provision in the Supreme Court Rules 2009 to allow an appellant to seek security for costs.
Education: education lawyers should be aware that two sets of regulations have been published dealing with discipline and induction arrangements for teachers; the Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/560) and the Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/513). The regulations deal with the procedure that should be followed by the Secretary of State when deciding whether to make a prohibition order and transfer the responsibility for induction arrangements for teachers from the General Teaching Council for England to the Secretary of State respectively.
Employment: the EAT has confirmed in Samsung Electronics (UK) Ltd v Monte-D’Cruz that in a situation where an employee, who is at risk of redundancy, is being considered for suitable alternative employment, an employer has considerable flexibility when assessing the employee’s suitability for the role and may use subjective criteria.
FOI: information lawyers are likely to find the following decisions of interest:
- The decision of the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) in Montague v Information Commissioner. The decision involved the dismissal of an appeal asking for information about donations to the Global Warming Policy Foundation as the information was considered personal information under the section 40 exemption of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Although the appeal was dismissed in this instance, the decision provides an interesting insight into the approach the Tribunal will take to the disclosure of information relating to third parties not covered by the FOI regime but who do exert influence over policy decisions taken by public authorities.
- A decision by the Information Commissioner that information sent by the Secretary of State for Education from a private e-mail account amounted to departmental business and should have been disclosed under section 1(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, information officers should familiarise themselves with the guidance that has been issued by the Information Commissioner. The guidance confirms the:
- factors that should be considered before deciding whether a search of private e-mail accounts is necessary when responding to a request for information; and
- procedures that should be in place to respond to such requests.
Health: local government officers should be aware that the Department of Health has published a short guide on the Health and Social Care Bill 2011-12, which provides an overview of the government’s proposals for the new legal framework and explains the role and functions that Monitor will have as the sector regulator.
Local government powers: Local government lawyers getting to grips with the new general power of competence will find PLC Public Sector’s practice note on the power and an accompanying blog post on its likely impact helpful.
Property and planning: property and planning lawyers will be interested in:
- The Court of Appeal’s decision in Kennerley v Beech, which is a useful reminder for property lawyers negotiating easements to ensure that a right of way which is reserved in a transfer of part of the land is enforceable against the buyer’s successors in title. This will be achieved, if the easement links the dominant land either to a public highway or another parcel of land that the grantee of the easement owns or uses.
- The Court of Appeal’s decision in Coventry (t/a RDC Promotions) v Lawrence that an activity which has been permitted by planning law cannot constitute a private nuisance.
- The decision of the Adjudicator to HM Land Registry in Mathews v Herefordshire Council that a right of way was acquired by prescription over common land and that prescription under the doctrine of lost modern grant means that twenty years’ uninterrupted user at any point in time creates a prescriptive right, even if the user ceased many years previously.
Consultations: this week consultations were published on: