Woman fined £150 for feeding pigeon sausage roll in Bath – BBC News
‘A woman has been fined £150 after feeding a bit of sausage roll to a pigeon.’
BBC News, 19th June 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: local government
Judge rejects application by Official Solicitor for council to pay costs in s.21A proceedings – Local Government Lawyer
‘A Court of Protection judge has rejected an application by the Official Solicitor (OS), acting as litigation friend, for the London Borough of Harrow to pay its costs in proceedings under Section 21A of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th June 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
High Court rejects challenge over refusal of legal aid for bid to quash PSPO prohibitions – Local Government Lawyer
‘ A High Court judge has rejected a judicial review challenge brought by human rights group Liberty over the refusal to grant civil legal aid for the pursuit of an application to quash prohibitions contained in a public spaces protection order (PSPO).’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th June 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Reasonable Expenses and intentional homelessness – Nearly Legal
‘Samuels v Birmingham City Council (2019) UKSC 28. The Supreme Court, finally, has delivered its judgment on the issue of the assessment of “reasonable expenses” when considering the affordability of rent in homelessness decisions.’
Nearly Legal, 16th June 2019
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Supreme court rules in favour of single mother declared ‘intentionally homeless’ – The Guardian
‘The supreme court has ordered a council to reconsider its decision to declare a single mother of four to be “intentionally homeless” because she was unable to afford the rent.’
The Guardian, 12th June 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Supreme Court gives new guidance on liability of local authorities – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Poole Borough Council v GN and another [2019] UKSC 25. The Supreme Court has found that Poole Borough Council did not owe a duty of care to two children, CN and GN, who it failed to re-house, despite the fact that they were suffering abuse from their neighbours. However, the court overruled previous authority and found that in some situations a duty of care might arise.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 7th June 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Anti-abortion activists launch legal challenge against council over public spaces protection order – Local Government Lawyer
‘The London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames faces a legal challenge from anti-abortion activists over a public spaces protection order (PSPO) it has imposed to restrain their protests.’
Local Government Lawyer, 31st May 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Suspension of Contract – Local Government Law
‘Kenson Contractors v Haringey LBC (2019) EWHC 1230 (Admin) was an application made by the Claimant contractor, for an interim injunction against the Council to suspend its decision to award or execute a road-improvement contract to the Interested Party, Marlborough Highways Limited (“MHL”). Kenson came second in the procurement exercise for that contract and MHL came first. Because of the value of the contract (some £630,000 plus VAT) this procurement exercise was well below the threshold for the operation of the otherwise relevant parts of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The underlying claim was brought by way of judicial review (“JR”) of the Council’s decision to award the contract to MHL rather than Kenson.’
Local Government Law, 22nd May 2019
Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com
Court of Appeal hands down ruling on village greens and ‘trigger events’ – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by a local authority in a key ruling on the trigger events that suspend the registration of village greens.’
Local Government Lawyer, 22nd May 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
High Court considers Article 2 inquests in medical cases – UK Human Rights Blog
‘A three-judge panel of the Divisional Court has re-affirmed that, in general, medical inquests do not engage the State’s positive obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 21st May 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Government announces new register for retail landlords – BBC News
‘The government says it will make it easier to find out who owns empty buildings on the High Street in a bid to revitalise the UK’s retail sector.’
BBC News, 16th May 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Impecunious” company with wealthy backers denied costs cap – Litigation Futures
‘It would not be reasonable for an “impecunious” company to withdraw a crowdfunded claim for judicial review if it was denied a costs-capping order (CCO), because its shareholders have sufficient resources to back the case, the High Court has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 16th May 2019
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
New Judgment: Telereal Trillium v Hewitt (Valuation Officer) [2019] UKSC 23 – UKSC Blog
‘This appeal considered whether regard should be given, when ascertaining the rateable value of a property under the statutory hypothesis in the Local Government Finance Act 1988, Sch 6, para 2(1), to general demand for comparable properties in the market. It also considered what the relevance is, if any, to the ascertainment of rateable value under the statutory hypothesis, of the absence of an actual prospective tenant who would pay a positive price in order to occupy the property at the valuation date.’
UKSC Blog, 15th May 2019
Source: ukscblog.com
Court of Appeal to hear case on public sector equality duty and possession orders over false representations – Local Government Lawyer
‘A case concerning the interrelationship between the public sector equality duty and the court’s discretion to make a possession order because of false representations is to go to the Court of Appeal, it has been reported.’
Local Government Lawyer, 16th May 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Judge rejects claims by parish that nuns conspired to provide district council with false information to secure planning permission – Local Government Lawyer
‘A High Court judge has rejected claims made by a parish council that an international congregation of nuns conspired to provide false information to a district council in order to obtain planning permission for a former school site.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th May 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
The socio-economic duty: A powerful idea hidden in plain sight in the Equality Act – Oxford Human Rights Hub
‘Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 asks public authorities to actively consider the way in which their policies and their most strategic decisions can increase or decrease inequalities. I am talking about the socio-economic duty. However, successive governments since 2010 have failed to commence it, to bring it to life in technical terms, which means that public authorities are not technically bound by Section 1.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 15th May 2019
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
Family President to issue guidance to courts on secure accommodation placements and statutory regime – Local Government Lawyer
‘The President of the Family Division has said he will issue practice guidance to the courts before the end of July so that more can be done to bring secure accommodation placements within the statutory regulatory scheme.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th May 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
High Court hears judicial review challenge over proposed closure of day care centre – Local Government Lawyer
‘The High Court in Leeds is this week (13-14) hearing a judicial review challenge to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council’s decision to close a day care centre for adults with learning disabilities.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th May 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Council makes a mess of Portage – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The biblical Esau rashly sold his birthright for ‘a mess of pottage’ (a bowl of lentil stew). But in a rather different context, Worcestershire Council could be said to have made a mess of Portage. For Portage (named after a US town in Wisconsin where the concept originally developed) is a pre-school educational support service (from birth to five-years-old) provided through regular home visits from a trained home visitor. However, on 22 August 2016 the council (through councillor Bayliss, cabinet member with responsibility for children and families) decided to close the Portage scheme from 1 October 2018. This prompted judicial review proceedings in R (RD and others) v Worcestershire County Council [2019] EWHC 449 (Admin), judgment in which was given by Nicklin J on 28 February 2019.’
Law Society's Gazette, 13th May 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
