Judge criticises council after toddler taken into care over father’s links to English Defence League – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 18th, 2015 in care orders, case management, children, local government, news, social services by sally

‘Sir James Munby says approach taken by Darlington Borough Council “almost a textbook example of how not to pursue a care case” over fears of links to EDL.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th February 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Councillor wins procurement judicial review over £165m city centre scheme – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 17th, 2015 in appeals, EC law, judicial review, local government, news, planning, public procurement by sally

‘A councillor at Winchester City Council has won a High Court judicial review challenge over the local authority’s decision to adopt an updated scheme for a £165m city centre redevelopment without conducting a procurement exercise.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th February 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Insurance surgery: Up for the challenge – New Law Journal

‘How should local authorities respond to the compensation claims landscape, asks Carol Dalton.’

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New Law Journal, 13th February 2015

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Court rules on power to decline to determine retrospective planning applications – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 13th, 2015 in enforcement notices, local government, news, planning, retrospectivity by sally

‘The High Court has issued a ruling that clarifies the scope of a local authority’s power to decline to determine a retrospective planning application when an enforcement notice is in place. The case of Wingrove v Stratford on Avon District Council [2015] EWHC 287 (Admin) was the first time the ambit of s. 70C of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 had been considered.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th February 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Regina (Gra Acquisition Ltd) v Oxford City Council – WLR Daily

Posted February 11th, 2015 in building law, law reports, local government, planning by sally

Regina (Gra Acquisition Ltd) v Oxford City Council [2015] EWHC 76 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 47

‘There was no exhaustive or exclusive statutory rule to the effect that a single building and its curtilage, whatever their nature, scale or relationship to each other, could never be listed as a conservation area pursuant to section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.’

WLR Daily, 22nd January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

In re M (Incapacitated Adult) (Best Interests Declaration: Potential Contempt) – WLR Daily

In re M (Incapacitated Adult) (Best Interests Declaration: Potential Contempt) [2015] EWCOP 3; [2015] WLR (D) 42

‘The fact that a party deliberately acted in defiance of a best interests declaration made by the Court of Protection could not, without more, trigger contempt proceedings since a declaration was ultimately no more than a formal, explicit statement or announcement and there could not be “defiance” or “enforcement” of such a declaration.’

WLR Daily, 29th January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Council wins appeal in lead case on bedroom tax and shared residence of child – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 10th, 2015 in appeals, housing, local government, news, residence orders, taxation, tribunals by sally

‘The Upper Tribunal has upheld a local authority’s appeal in the lead case on the application of the “bedroom tax” to the shared residence of a child.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th February 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

High Court finds inspector was entitled to reject council’s claim for section 106 administration fee – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 10th, 2015 in appeals, fees, local government, news, planning by sally

‘The High Court has dismissed a council’s challenge to a planning inspector’s decision not to allow it to impose a standardised fee for administering and monitoring planning obligations under a section 106 agreement.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th February 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

We’ve got too many inquiries. I demand an inquiry – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 9th, 2015 in child abuse, inquiries, Iraq, local government, news by sally

‘Whether it’s Chilcot or child abuse, ministers have made the task too big to be useful.’

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Daily Telegraph, 7th February 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Asbestos NHS costs decision due from Supreme Court – BBC News

Posted February 9th, 2015 in appeals, asbestos, bills, costs, insurance, local government, news, Supreme Court, Wales by sally

‘Firms in Wales whose staff are treated for asbestos-related illnesses are to learn if they must reimburse the NHS.’

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BBC News, 9th February 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Tribunal tells council to disclose redactions from housing viability assessment – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 6th, 2015 in disclosure, housing, local government, news, planning, tribunals by sally

‘The First-tier Tribunal has ordered a London council to disclose redacted information in a viability assessment that led to the authority allowing a developer to vary the amount of affordable housing on a major site.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th February 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council to pay £17k damages for “truly lamentable” failures in child care case – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 6th, 2015 in care orders, child abuse, children, damages, delay, local government, news, social services by sally

‘A High Court judge has ordered a county council to pay £17,000 in damages under the Human Rights Act following a “truly lamentable” catalogue of errors, omissions, delays and serial breaches of court orders in a child care case.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th February 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Councillor Doug McMurdo guilty of punching teens – BBC News

Posted February 5th, 2015 in assault, local government, news by sally

‘A councillor has been found guilty of punching two teenagers in a drunken attack outside a village hall.’

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BBC News, 5th February 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Costs and care homes – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Public authority decisions are, of course, open to judicial review. However, such decisions are fundamentally the domain of the relevant decision-maker and not the court. The court’s sole function (in appropriate cases) is to review the substantive and procedural lawfulness of the decision in question but not its intrinsic merits.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 2nd February 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Babes out of the Forest – NearlyLegal

‘The out of borough temporary accommodation position continues to get worse, with increasing numbers of homeless shipped out of borough (and for London councils, often out of London). London Councils (pace Nzolameso v Westminster CC ) have put the DCLG ‘Supplementary Guidance on the homelessness changes in the Localism Act 2011 and on the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012‘ at naught.’

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NearlyLegal, 2nd February 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

High cost of Court of Protection cases “a matter of serious concern”: report – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 4th, 2015 in costs, Court of Protection, local government, news, reports by sally

‘The high cost of welfare cases in the Court of Protection is “a matter of serious concern” and – alongside the lengthy duration of such proceedings – requires urgent investigation, researchers at Cardiff University have said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd February 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ealing London Borough Council and others v Notting Hill Housing Trust and another – WLR Daily

Posted February 3rd, 2015 in council tax, evidence, housing, law reports, local government, regulations by sally

Ealing London Borough Council and others v Notting Hill Housing Trust and another;[2015] EWHC 161 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 37

‘Article 3 of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 provided that a dwelling was an exempt dwelling for the purposes of section 4 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 if it fell into Class B: “a dwelling owned by a body established for charitable purposes only, which is unoccupied and has been so for a period of less than sixmonths since the last occupation day, and was last occupied in furtherance of the objects of the charity”. When seeking exemption from council tax under that provision applicants were required to provide sufficient evidence to show that those conditions were satisfied.’

WLR Daily, 29th January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Court of Appeal slams judge for “unprincipled” approach to final care orders – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 2nd, 2015 in appeals, care orders, case management, children, judges, local government, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has sharply criticised a county court judge for adopting a “ruthlessly truncated” and “fundamentally unprincipled” process when he made final care orders at what the parties expected to be a directions hearing.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd February 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Appointment to the bench is not a licence for judges to be gratuitously rude to those appearing before them – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 2nd, 2015 in appeals, care orders, case management, children, judges, local government, news by sally

‘HHJ Dodds is well known to readers of this blog. His style of case management was also analysed (and found wanting) by the Court of Appeal the following day in Re S-W (children) [2015] EWCA Civ 27 (30 January 2015). The judgments leave one to ponder whether these cases are a product of the stresses that have emerged from the greater expectations now put on the shoulders of judges to case manage litigation or whether, as previously discussed in this blog by David Hart QC here, it is a problem that arises with clever judges who find that they are, by temperament, not inclined to listen patiently to other people (generally considered to be a core part of the job description).’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 1st February 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

First judicial review over 2014 Act duties to disabled children reaches court – Local Government Lawyer

‘A High Court judge will this week hear what is being billed as the first judicial review to consider local authorities’ duties to disabled children following reforms brought in under the new Children and Families Act.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 29th January 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk