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.
Employment: employment lawyers should be aware that the:
- EAT in Arriva London Ltd v Eleftheriou has held that a tribunal finding that there was a 60% chance that an employee would have been dismissed shortly after they were actually dismissed did not preclude an order to reinstate the employee.
- Government has published its Fifth Statement of New Regulation, which announces key dates for employment legislation coming into force in 2013.
FOI and data protection: freedom of information officers should note that the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) has held in:
- Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council v Information Commissioner, that draft reports, memoranda and e-mails on a procurement exercise were not disclosable under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
- Ian Pratt v Information Commissioner that previous communications between parties were not relevant in deciding whether a Freedom of Information Act 2000 request was vexatious.
Health: healthcare lawyers will be interested to note that a new child abuse alert system will be introduced in hospitals.
Housing: local housing authorities should be aware that:
- 15 January 2013 is the deadline for publishing a tenancy strategy under section 150(1) of the Localism Act 2011.
- The Court of Appeal has held in Pryce v London Borough of Southwark that an appellant, who appealed a decision that she was homeless but not entitled to homelessness assistance, was eligible for assistance because she was a “Zambrano carer” and therefore had an EU right of residence that derived from her dependent children who were British Nationals. However, it should be noted that the decision only impacts on those who applied for homelessness assistance and/or allocation of social housing before 8 November 2012. On that date, the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 came into force and amended the applicable regulations to include this category of person as ineligible for an allocation of social housing.
Human Rights: lawyers specialising in human rights and adult social services law will be interested in the Court of Protection’s judgment in J Council v GU and others, approving arrangements agreed by the parties to safeguard the Article 8 rights of a man detained in a private care home in the light of the rigorous restrictions in relation to his correspondence and his contact with other people that were necessary.
Licensing: licensing lawyers should be aware that the government has announced plans to exempt community venues from the Licensing Act 2003.
Local government: local government lawyers will be interested in the High Court’s decision in White and another v South Derbyshire District Council holding that a public authority, which had granted a caravan site licence in breach of its own powers, could not rely on the unlawfulness of its own act to base a criminal prosecution.
Pensions: following the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland’s decision in Brewster, Re Judicial Review holding that an unmarried cohabiting partner of a deceased scheme member will only be paid a pension if they have been nominated was discriminatory, pension scheme trustees and employers should review their governing rules if their scheme pays survivor benefits to unmarried partners.
Public procurement: procurement officers should note that sections 1 and 2 of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 will come into force on 31 January 2013, requiring certain public authorities to consider the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area when running procurement exercises. The Cabinet Office has published advice on the Act to assist those authorities that will have to comply with the new requirements.
Vetting and barring: local authorities and schools should be aware that the Home Office has announced the new criminal record checking system that is to be launched by the Disclosure and Barring Service on 1 March 2013 will be free to volunteers. This means that employees and volunteers will be able to check online to see whether their criminal record disclosure certificates remain up to date.
Consultations: this week, consultations were published on:
- Draft regulations setting out the detail of the benefit structure in the new-look LGPS.
- Community remedy: granting police powers to give victims of low-level crime a say in the punishment of the offender.
- The audience of the Public Bodies 2012 report published by the Cabinet Office.
- Amendments to the definitions of nationally significant highways and rail schemes in the Planning Act 2008.
- Changes to Temporary Stop Notices.