Discount Rate and Accommodation Claims: Is there a will and is there a way – Byrom Chambers

‘On 07.09.2016, the Lord Chancellor announced his much awaited response to the Consultation commenced by his predecessor following the decisions made on 27.02.2017 to lower the discount rate from 2.5% to -0.75%.’

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Byrom Street Chambers, September 2017

Source: www.byromstreet.com

Further education college wins court battle with vending company over fire – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 22nd, 2017 in damages, evidence, expert witnesses, fire, judges, local government, news, statutory duty by sally

‘A judge has held a vending machine company responsible for fire damage at a further education college after a complex dispute involving conflicting views among expert witnesses.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st November 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

High Court hears judicial review challenge over £2bn development vehicle – Local Government Lawyer

‘The High Court has this week begun hearing a judicial review challenge to the London Borough of Haringey’s decision to establish the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV), which is said to be the largest local authority development vehicle of its kind.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th October 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The felling of protest? – UK Police Law Blog

‘In Sheffield City Council v Fairhall [2017] EWHC 2121 (QB), the Court has been asked to consider the extent to which the decision in DPP v Jones [1999] UKHL 5; [1999] 2 AC 240 can be relied upon as a right to conduct peaceful but disruptive protest on the highway.’

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UK Police Law Blog, 30th September 2017

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Data law: don’t expect a soft start, lawyers warned – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Any hope that a tough new data protection regime will be enforced lightly at first were dashed this week by a senior figure at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May next year, regardless of domestic legislation currently before parliament.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 29th September 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judge rules council and CCG not required to fund visits of mother – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 22nd, 2017 in expenses, local government, mental health, news, statutory duty by sally

‘Central Bedfordshire Council and North Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group need not meet the travelling expenses of a woman who makes a lengthy weekly trip to see her son in a mental hospital.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st September 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

UK legal claims grow over exposure at work to toxic diesel fumes – The Guardian

‘Legal claims over exposure to diesel exhaust fumes at work are growing as unions warn toxic air in the workplace is a ticking time bomb on a par with asbestos.’

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The Guardian, 16th September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

R (Davey) v Oxfordshire CC in the Court of Appeal – Community Care Blog

‘Last Friday the Court of Appeal delivered judgment in R (Davey) v Oxfordshire CC [2017] EWCA Civ 1308. This is the first time the Court of Appeal has examined the provisions of the Care Act 2014.’

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Community Care Blog, 7th September 2017

Source: communitycare11kbw.com

Use of cloud-based communications raises challenges over compliance with FOI laws, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

‘The use of cloud-based communications tools by employees of public sector bodies presents challenges over the way those organisations comply with freedom of information (FOI) laws in the UK, the information commissioner has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, September 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Grenfell Tower fire: lawyers warn Theresa May she may be breaching inquiry laws – The Guardian

Posted September 4th, 2017 in equality, fire, inquiries, legislation, London, news, statutory duty by sally

‘Lawyers acting for the family of one of the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster have written to the prime minister, warning her that she may be in breach of key laws relating to the public inquiry.’

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The Guardian, 4th September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Wages of Sin is: the Ability to Rely on Section 12 – Panopticon

‘What happens when your FOIA request to a public authority is met with the response that it would breach the cost limits set under section 12 to respond to the request because the authority’s record keeping systems are in a particular (i.e. poor) state? In a word: tough.’

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Panopticon, 24th August 2017

Source: panopticonblog.com

Government threatened with new court action for ‘failing to act’ on harsh impact of immigration rules on children – The Independent

‘Campaigners have threatened a fresh court challenge after accusing the Government of failing to act on the Supreme Court’s ruling that harsh immigration rules unfairly punish children.’

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The Independent, 31st July 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Potholes Galore! – Zenith PI

‘Crawley v Barnsley MBC [2017] 1WLR 2329 may well have surprised both local authorities and those who follow the law reports. It strikes one as very much a decision on its own facts and typical of the numerous cases which these days clutter the Lexis reports. If it does indeed state a matter of principle, it may be thought a singular advance on previous authorities.’

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Zenith PI, 26th July 2017

Source: zenithpi.wordpress.com

Judge quashes Care Act assessment and decision to terminate placement – Local Government Lawyer

‘A Deputy High Court judge has quashed a London borough’s Care Act assessment for a man with autism spectrum disorder and severe learning difficulties.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th July 2017

Source: localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Service Occupiers: Exclusion from Security of Tenure Regime Compatible with ECHR – Garden Court Chambers

‘The claimant, Hertfordshire County Council, were the owners of a bungalow occupied by the defendant, Mr Davies, and his family. The accommodation was tied to a local school, and Mr Davies had lived there since 2003 in his role as caretaker for the school.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 5th July 2017

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Continuing Duty under s.17 Children Act 1989 – Community Care Blog

Posted June 23rd, 2017 in children, housing, judicial review, local government, London, news, statutory duty by tracey

“The Administrative court has confirmed that the duty on local authorities under s.17 of the Children Act 1989 is an ongoing one and held that Lewisham London Borough Council had acted irrationally in concluding in a follow-up assessment that a mother had the means to provide her children with accommodation and that the children were not in need within the meaning of s.17.”

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Community Care Blog, 22nd June 2017

Source: communitycare11kbw.com

Refugee campaigners launch legal challenge over Home Office ‘failure’ to implement Dubs scheme – The Independent

‘Campaigners have launched a High Court challenge against the Government over the number of unaccompanied child refugees accepted into the UK under the Dubs scheme.’

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The Independent, 20th June 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Council appeals £150k fine imposed over publication of sensitive data – Local Government Lawyer

‘Basildon Council has confirmed it is to appeal the imposition by the Information Commissioner of a £150,000 monetary penalty for publishing sensitive personal information about a family in planning application documents that were made publicly available online.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th June 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

R (C) v Islington LBC – Arden Chambers

‘The Administrative Court has held that priority within a housing allocation scheme providing that existing social housing tenants are to be preferred over other applicants, such as the homeless and women fleeing domestic violence, for certain local lettings of eg new and refurbished accommodation was justified and accordingly had not been unlawfully discriminatory for the purposes of art.14 and ss.19, 29 Equality Act 2010; the introduction of the local lettings policies had complied with s.149 Equality Act 2010 and s.11 Children Act 2004; but the operation of a system of direct offers, used particularly to allocate accommodation to homeless applicants, had not been sufficiently set out in the scheme and was accordingly unlawful.’

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Arden Chambers, 31st May 2017

Source: www.ardenchambers.com

Making it up as you go – Nearly Legal

‘C was accepted for the full housing duty by Islington, with her 3 children, as a result of domestic violence. C is profoundly deaf. She had been living in Southwark, but following the DV, was in refuge in Islington and applied as homeless there. She was, eventually, given 3 bed temporary accommodation in Islington.’

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Nearly Legal, 6th June 2017

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk