Senior childcare lawyer warns of pressures from “remorseless” rise in cases – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 19th, 2016 in care orders, children, local government, news, social services by sally

‘A significant rise in public law children cases is putting more pressure on social workers and child care lawyers, all of whom are experiencing significant budgetary cutbacks, a senior local authority lawyer has warned.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th April 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Councils to take battle over planning policies and housing to Supreme Court – Local Government Lawyer

‘Cheshire East and Suffolk Coastal Councils are looking to take a key case over what are ‘relevant policies for the supply of housing’ to the Supreme Court.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th April 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council wins battle over mother’s bid to name twins ‘Cyanide’ and ‘Preacher’ – Local Government Lawyer

‘A local authority has won a Court of Appeal battle with a mother over her desire to name her twin children ‘Cyanide’ and ‘Preacher’.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th April 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Drivers could ‘face £70 fine’ for parking on pavements – The Independent

Posted April 18th, 2016 in fines, local government, news, parking by sally

‘Drivers could face fines of up to £70 for parking on the pavement as ministers reportedly look to extend the ban outside of London to the rest of England.’

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The Independent, 18th April 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

London borough gets enforcement agencies procurement challenge struck out – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 14th, 2016 in bailiffs, contracting out, local government, London, news, public procurement by sally

‘The London Borough of Waltham Forest has successfully applied to the High Court for a procurement challenge to be struck out.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th April 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Service Provision Changes and Multiple Organised Groupings – Littleton Chambers

‘Nicholas Siddall analyses the recent decision of Simler J(P) in Arch Initiatives v GMW Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust & Others [2016] UKEAT/0267/15/RN and seeks to analyse the wider importance of the decision.’

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Littleton Chambers, 5th April 2016

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

High Court upholds an inspector’s decision to waive a £1m affordable homes payment – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 12th, 2016 in housing, local government, news, planning by sally

‘The High Court has dismissed Medway Council’s challenge of a planning inspector’s decision to waive a £1 million affordable housing payment.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th April 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Government to investigate Lambeth’s library plans – The Guardian

Posted April 12th, 2016 in complaints, libraries, local government, London, news, planning by sally

‘The government is to investigate a council’s plans to turn some of its libraries into gyms with unstaffed book-lending sections, following a protest against the scheme – which won support from authors including Nick Hornby and Ali Smith.’

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The Guardian, 11th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Angela Wrightson case: Can children be natural born killers? – BBC News

‘Two teenage girls have been detained for torturing and murdering a vulnerable woman in north-east England. But when a child deliberately kills, what is to blame? Is it possible some children are simply bad? Or are there other factors at play?.’

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BBC News, 8th April 2016

Source: bbc.co.uk

Guidance on coasting schools – Education Law Blog

‘In all of the excitement about the proposals in the White Paper for all schools to become academies, there has been little discussion about the Guidance for local authorities and RSCs on Schools causing concern – Intervening in failing, underperforming and coasting schools. Alongside this guidance, the Government has published its response to the consultation exercise, which includes a useful summary of the amendments that the Government made to the Bill during its Parliamentary passage.’

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Education Law Blog, 7th April 2016

Source: www.education11kbw.com

High Court declares town council ward election void over nomination issues – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 7th, 2016 in documents, elections, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has held the election of three town councillors in Cheshire to be void after it emerged that their nominations were defective.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th April 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Guidance issued on s. 20 Children Act amid fears councils could misinterpret law – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 5th, 2016 in care orders, children, local government, news, placement orders by sally

‘Cafcass, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and ADSS Cymru have published guidance aimed at clarifying the expectations on local authorities for children looked after under s. 20 of the Children Act 1989.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th April 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ten new laws that come into force in April 2016 – and how they affect you – The Independent

‘April 2016 is a month of big changes for people living and working in the UK. A number of new laws and policies are coming into force, affecting just about everyone from public sector workers to dog owners. Here’s what the new laws could mean for you.’

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The Independent, 3rd April 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lowell Goddard: my child abuse inquiry is not just targeted on the famous – The Guardian

‘This is the opportunity to get to the heart of one of the biggest challenges for our generation, says inquiry chairman Lowell Goddard.’

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The Guardian, 3rd April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Routine use of council gagging orders ‘leaves Britain open to corruption’ – The Independent

‘The UK has left itself open to corruption at the heart of local government, transparency campaigners warned, after it emerged that council workers have been routinely issued with gagging orders when they left public service.’

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The Independent, 3rd April 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Government details law changes to address fall in adoption decisions – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Government has set out how it plans to change the law to address falls in local authority adoption decisions and the courts’ granting of placement orders.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th March 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Bromley London Borough Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another – WLR Daily

Bromley London Borough Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another [2016] EWHC 595 (Admin)

‘A developer sought planning permission for a development on Green Belt land comprising nine residential houses and a barn and associated dwellings for a livery business. The proposal involved redevelopment of previously developed land at a livery, the business of which was partly retained. The local planning authority refused planning permission. On the developer’s appeal, an inspector appointed by the Secretary of State considered that the proposal comprising new buildings was appropriate development and concluded that, applying the requirements of the sixth exception in para 89 of the National Planning Policy Framework (“NPPF”), the new buildings would not impact adversely either on the openness of the Green Belt or the purposes for designation of the Green Belt. He accordingly allowed the developer’s appeal. The local planning authority applied under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to quash the inspector’s decision, contending, inter alia, that para 89, which listed six exceptions to the general policy that new buildings were inappropriate development in the Green Belt, should be interpreted to mean that development which was not only operational development for new buildings but also involved a material change in use for those buildings did not fall within the categories of appropriate development, and that therefore the inspector had erred in law in treating the proposal as appropriate development, since the construction of the new houses also involved a material change of use to residential or mixed residential and equestrian use.’

WLR Daily, 15th February 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Wychavon District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government – WLR Daily

Posted March 30th, 2016 in housing, law reports, local government, planning by sally

Wychavon District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2016] EWHC 592 (Admin)

‘The developer applied for outline planning permission for the development of 32 dwellings on a site lying outside the defined development boundaries and allocated sites set out in the local planning authority’s local plan. The local authority failed to determine the application and the developer appealed to the Secretary of State. The inspector appointed by the Secretary of State recognised that the main issue was whether the site was a suitable location for residential development having regard to the local plan and other considerations. He identified that the proposed development was in clear conflict with the location policy in the local plan, which policy remained in force and so retained its full weight as part of the statutory development plan. Having found therefore that para 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework (“the NPPF”) did not apply, the inspector went on to consider the policies of the NPPF as a whole, concluding that the proposed development constituted sustainable development so that the presumption in favour of sustainable development applied, that being a material consideration capable of outweighing the development plan, pursuant to section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the inspector allowed the appeal and granted permission. The local authority challenged that decision pursuant to section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 on the ground, inter alia, that the inspector had erred in law in failing properly to apply the approach to decision-taking set out in section 38(6)of the 2004 Act.’

WLR Daily, 16th March 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Action on alcohol to form part of UK’s ‘modern crime prevention strategy’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 30th, 2016 in alcohol abuse, crime prevention, local government, news, police by sally

‘Better partnerships and more effective information-sharing at the local level will be needed to reduce alcohol-related crime and disorder, the government has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th March 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Swindon Borough Council v Webb (trading as Protective Coatings) – WLR Daily

Swindon Borough Council v Webb (trading as Protective Coatings) [2016] EWCA Civ 152

‘Whilst hesitating to be prescriptive in a matter where the liberty of the subject is at stake, and where the circumstances are likely to be infinitely various, the procedure provided by CPR r 81.31 should be followed where a contemnor seeks his discharge before the expiry of his sentence (para 23).’

WLR Daily, 16th March 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk