PLC Public Sector reports:
With court decisions on the application of the public procurement rules, compulsory purchase orders and assessing the age of asylum seekers the tip of the iceberg, lawyers advising on numerous areas of law will find our list of recommended actions arising from this week’s email particularly useful.
This week’s recommended actions are:
Public procurement – Devon County Council recently successfully defended a claim against its decision not to accept a late tender. This decision provides an opportunity for all public bodies to review their procurement policies on dealing with late tenders and extending deadlines and to reiterate to procurement officers the importance of taking an even handed approach to late tenders (whether or not they ultimately choose to allow them).
Redundancies – the current economic situation has impacted heavily on all employers, including those in the public sector. Any public body contemplating the need to make redundancies should ensure that decision makers are fully aware of employee rights. PLC Public Sector has this week published a checklist setting out these rights. Why not forward this checklist to your colleagues in HR?
Assessing the age of asylum seekers – Following the decision in R (on the application of A) v London Borough of Croydon and R (on the application of WK) v Kent County Council, local authorities should ensure when assessing the age of an unaccompanied asylum seeker claiming to be under 18 years that they consider any medical evidence relating to the asylum seeker’s age and, if they decide to discount the evidence, give reasons why.
Cyberbullying of school staff – Officers called upon to advise on the prevention of cyberbullying of school staff, or in response to specific incidents, should consider the suggested actions in the guidance and the useful summary of the law in this area.
Excluded pupils – In the light of the Ofsted report, Day six of exclusion: the extent and quality of provision for pupils, local authorities should ensure that they and schools in their area understand the statutory requirements under sections 100 and 101 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to provide full-time and suitable education from day six of a pupil’s fixed-period exclusion.
Compulsory purchase – Following the decision in Kent County Council v Union Railways (North) Limited and another, local authorities who compulsorily acquire land must serve a notice to treat on everyone who has an interest in the land to be acquired. PLC Public Sector will report on the outcome of any appeal to this decision.
Parking enforcement policy – local authorities outside London will no longer have to place signs to warn that enforcement measures may be taken against cars parked at dropped kerbs or double parked. In anticipation of this change on 1 June 2009, local authorities should consider whether they will make use of this new power and, if they do, should follow DfT guidance to make residents aware of any change in the authority’s traffic enforcement policy.
Consultations – It has been another busy week for consultations. Subscribers with an interest in the health and wellbeing of looked after children, nuisance on NHS premises, environmental permitting, the roll-out of smart meters, the regulation of housing associations in Wales or the retention of DNA by the Government should take note and respond where appropriate. PLC Public Sector will, of course, report on the outcome of each of these consultations and any associated implications.
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.