Jan 13, 2021
The Government has published a white paper on reforming the Mental Health Act 1983, promising that its proposed changes would provide patients with greater choice and autonomy in a mental health crisis.
Jan 13, 2021
Law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised Poplar HARCA on the selection and the appointment of Hill as joint venture partner on the delivery of the Teviot Estate regeneration in Tower Hamlets.
Jan 13, 2021
Defendant law firm Plexus Law has appointed partner Andrew Steel as Head of Public Sector Services with effect from 18 January 2021.
Jan 13, 2021
The caps set out in the Civil Procedure Rules on the costs payable by losing parties in Aarhus Convention claims are inclusive of VAT, the Court of Appeal has ruled as part of the third Heathrow runway litigation.
Jan 12, 2021
Controversial reforms to the make-up of the Law Society Council – including a reduction in the representation of local government – have been passed.
Jan 12, 2021
The London Criminal Courts Solicitors' Association (LCCSA) has advised its members that it is not safe to continue to attend Magistrates’ courts.
Jan 12, 2021
The Good Law Project has launched judicial review proceedings over what it says is the Government’s failure to ensure, “in a timely fashion”, adequate devices are provided to disadvantaged children who require them to be educated at home.
Jan 12, 2021
A High Court judge has rejected a contention by an academy trust that a claim brought over the procurement exercise for a three-year contract to supply a cloud-based management information system was commenced out of time.
Jan 12, 2021
Hyde Housing has appointed four law firms to a £1m panel providing legal advice on complex matters of strategic importance to the social landlord.
Jan 11, 2021
A developer has been ordered to pay an extra £500,000 towards local infrastructure after it lost an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate over a £1.6m Community Infrastructure Levy bill.
Jan 11, 2021
A High Court judge has dismissed a judicial review challenge over the reorganisation of hospital provision in Hertfordshire.
Jan 11, 2021
The allocation of additional hearing time outside the normal sitting hours of the Family Court - between 10.00am and 4.30pm, with an adequate adjournment at lunchtime - should be seen as an exceptional occurrence, and not the norm, and should be limited to no more than a 30-minute extension to the…
Jan 08, 2021
The ban on bailiff-enforced evictions has been extended until 22 February with no evictions expected to 8 March at the earliest, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has said.
Jan 08, 2021
Monitoring officers have given a lukewarm response to the Model Code of Conduct issued by the Local Government Association last month, LLG (Lawyers in Local Government) has said.
Jan 08, 2021
The High Court is to hear the judicial review challenge being brought by LLG (Lawyers in Local Government) and ALACE (the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers) over the Exit Payment Cap Regulations in the second half of March.
Jan 07, 2021
The London Borough of Hackney has won a tribunal case in a dispute with the parents of a child with learning difficulties over which school he should attend.
Jan 07, 2021
The Court of Appeal has imposed a costs order against a London borough and criticised both sides for the way a dispute over a parking Blue Badge ended up in the courts.
Jan 07, 2021
Shropshire Council has won a case in the Court of Appeal over what happens when a local authority disposes of land subject to a statutory trust for public recreational purposes without complying with the relevant statutory requirements.
Jan 07, 2021
The Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) has refused an applicant permission to appeal a ruling that he was not entitled to receive a copy of the notes made by a First-tier Tribunal judge in an earlier hearing.
Jan 07, 2021
The latest lockdown has raised the possibility of elections due on 6 May being postponed, some of which are already delayed from May 2020.
Jan 07, 2021
The Environment Agency (EA) has too little money to carry out its enforcement work effectively, a letter obtained by The Times has said.
Jan 06, 2021
The legal department at Rochdale Borough Council is set to adopt the legal workflow and case management solution, Lexis Visualfiles, as its electronic file system.
Jan 06, 2021
The Adjudication Panel of Wales has suspended the Leader of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, Cllr Kevin O’Neill, for seven months for breaching the local authority’s code of conduct.
Jan 06, 2021
A Welsh council has won an appeal to the Divisional Court over a ruling that informations it laid under s.179 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 were defective.
Jan 06, 2021
The National Procurement Service of the Welsh Government has selected 20 law firms for its £60m framework for the provision of solicitors’ services to the Welsh public sector.
Jan 06, 2021
The Senedd Cymru's standards committee last month launched a consultation on a proposed new Code of Conduct for Members of the Senedd.
Jan 05, 2021
A recent judicial review case over decisions made by a council in relation to the allocation of rented housing was “an object lesson in how a public body should not respond to public law proceedings”, a Deputy High Court judge has said.
Jan 05, 2021
The Lord Chancellor has said the vital work of courts and tribunals “can and should continue”, with the use of remote hearings wherever appropriate, during the latest national lockdown.
Jan 05, 2021
A High Court judge has dismissed an appeal over a ruling in a housing case that there had been no breach by Slough Borough Council of the public sector equality duty.
Jan 05, 2021
Thurrock Council has won an appeal from a decision of the First-tier Tribunal to cancel a civil penalty imposed for the offence of managing or being in control of a house in multiple occupation that is required by the Housing Act 2004 to be licensed, when it was not so licensed.
Jan 04, 2021
The Environment Agency last month secured one of its largest confiscation orders, against a defendant who operated an illegal waste site.
Jan 04, 2021
Buckinghamshire Council last month secured compliance with a High Court injunction to restore land to open countryside.
Jan 04, 2021
A county council has won an appeal over a ruling that it was liable in negligence for personal injuries suffered by a teaching assistant.
Jan 04, 2021
Law firm Browne Jacobson has been appointed to a £240,000, one-year contract to augment the in-house legal team being set up for the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA).
Jan 04, 2021
A Welsh housing association has named a county council and eight law firms to a multi-lot legal services framework.
Dec 23, 2020
A Planning Court judge has dismissed a legal challenge to Surrey County Council’s grant of planning permission for the drilling of four new oil wells.
Dec 23, 2020
A High Court judge has allowed a legal challenge to the introduction of an experimental traffic order (ETO) in the City of London, but refused to quash the ETO.
Dec 23, 2020
The New Forest National Park Authority earlier this month (11 December) obtained an interim High Court injunction preventing further unauthorised felling or other works to trees protected by a woodland Tree Preservation Order.
Dec 23, 2020
A blind woman has brought a legal challenge over the government’s alleged failure to provide her with accessible shielding information during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dec 23, 2020
Law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised North Star Housing Group on a refinancing deal worth £110m.
Dec 22, 2020
A High Court judge has given LLG (Lawyers in Local Government) and ALACE (the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers) permission to bring a judicial review challenge over the Exit Payment Cap Regulations.
Dec 22, 2020
The average time for a care or supervision case to reach first disposal was 40 weeks in July to September 2020, up seven weeks from the same quarter in 2019, the latest statistics from the Ministry of Justice have revealed.
Dec 22, 2020
A county council has successfully brought a private law claim in restitution against a clinical commissioning group ("CCG"), to recover sums paid by the local authority for the costs of accommodation and care of a young man with autism spectrum disorder.
Dec 22, 2020
A 24-year-old woman with Down Syndrome has won a judicial review claim over the decision by a county council to change the basis on which it calculated the charges made to her for council-provided care.
Dec 22, 2020
The High Court has granted permission to judicially review the decision of Norfolk County Council to formally respond as statutory consultee, in its capacity as highways authority, to an application for planning permission, it has been reported.
Dec 22, 2020
A Planning Court judge has dismissed a judicial review challenge to Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council’s grant of outline planning permission for the development of up to 265 dwellings and full planning permission for a new link road.
Dec 22, 2020
A High Court judge has rejected a housebuilder’s legal challenge to a decision by East Cambridgeshire District Council to accept the recommendations of the examiner in relation to a neighbourhood plan.
Dec 22, 2020
A High Court judge has granted a claimant interim relief in a case where he wishes to challenge an age assessment conducted on behalf of Liverpool City Council.
Dec 21, 2020
Anglian Water has won a judicial review challenge over the Environment Agency's classification of the water quality at three popular beaches in Lincolnshire as 'good' in 2019, having classed it as 'excellent' in 2018.
Dec 21, 2020
A Welsh council has won its appeal over whether a decision in relation to a major schools reorganisation programme was taken lawfully.
Dec 21, 2020
The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal over whether an appellant, who lives with his partner and their two children in a one bedroom flat where they are "statutorily overcrowded", is entitled to be included within Band 1 of Southwark Council's Housing Allocation Scheme.
Dec 21, 2020
A housing association was earlier this month fined £80,00 after four employees developed a debilitating nerve condition over a period of several years.
Dec 18, 2020
A city council has won an appeal over its designation as the local authority in respect of a care order for a 15-year-old girl (J) who was in need of secure accommodation.
Dec 18, 2020
The Local Government Secretary has appointed Max Caller to carry out an inspection of Liverpool City Council’s compliance with its best value duty, in the wake of arrests including of its mayor.
Dec 18, 2020
A range of specialists in children, public, planning and environmental law have been appointed Queen’s Counsel in the 2020 silk round.
Dec 18, 2020
The Local Government Secretary has said the Government will appoint experts in governance and finance to a new Improvement and Assurance Board at Nottingham City Council.
Dec 18, 2020
The Information Commissioner's office has published its new code of practice laying out how organisations and businesses can carry out responsible data sharing.
Dec 17, 2020
Serious damage resulting from unauthorised traveller encampments has led the High Court to grant a three-year injunction to the London Borough of Redbridge.
Dec 17, 2020
The Court of Appeal has overturned an Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling in an equal pay case brought by female employees at Reading Borough Council.
Dec 17, 2020
A Hampshire cabinet member has resigned after a standards investigation found he breached the code of conduct over a council grant to a children’s motorcycle display team.
Dec 17, 2020
Confidential evidence meant a vulnerable woman’s maternal aunt should not be joined to proceedings about her welfare, the Court of Protection has ruled.
Dec 17, 2020
The High Court has allowed Basildon District Council to continue with two injunctions against both named and unnamed defendants and has added a power of arrest.
Dec 16, 2020
A consortium of Scottish councils, a major social landlord and other public bodies are to procure a legal services framework worth an estimated £3.9m.
Dec 15, 2020
The London Borough of Harrow has been criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for not following up on its agreement to apologise to a resident who made a complaint in February of this year.
Dec 15, 2020
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has cancelled its order that schools in the borough close following a Direction from the Secretary of State requiring that its schools stay open until the end of term.
Dec 15, 2020
Merton Council has sent a pre-action letter to the Health Secretary over his decision not to order a full independent review into plans to close the accident and emergency department and consultant-led maternity services at St Helier Hospital.
Dec 15, 2020
The Family Justice Board (FJB) has set out the priority actions it intends to pursue in response both to immediate pressures within the family justice system, and to bring about longer-term reform.
Dec 15, 2020
The Divisional Court has allowed an appeal by a Welsh council after the Crown Court held that charges the local authority laid against four defendants over alleged failures to comply with planning enforcement notices were defective.
Dec 15, 2020
The Department for Transport has appointed law firm Pinsent Masons to provide legal support in relation to the judicial review challenge over government plans to build a dual carriageway beneath the Stonehenge World Heritage Site.
Dec 14, 2020
The Housing Ombudsman has - for the first time - published performance data on all landlords in its scheme with complaints recorded in 2019-20, as part of an effort to increase openness and transparency.
Dec 14, 2020
The Court of Appeal is thought to have heard oral submissions in Welsh for the first time during an appeal this month over a county council’s plans for school reorganisation.
Dec 14, 2020
The Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal in a case concerning the question of the extent to which journalists can gain access to court records in family law proceedings, it has been reported.
Dec 14, 2020
A letter before claim was last week sent to the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, calling for individuals with learning disabilities to be granted priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine on an equal basis with other highly vulnerable adults.
Dec 14, 2020
A major house builder has been ordered to pay what is understood to be the largest fine ever issued by a court in relation to a wildlife crime.
Dec 14, 2020
The NHS North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC) isto re-procure its framework agreement for the provision of legal services.
Dec 14, 2020
Law firm Weightmans has hired social housing governance specialist Jo Loake as a principal associate.
Dec 11, 2020
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has called on council scrutiny committees to be more proactive following research that found vulnerable children being looked after by councils are far more disadvantaged than those looked after by parents.
Dec 11, 2020
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised a council’s children’s trust after an investigation found it failed to support properly a couple caring for a girl whose mother had died.
Dec 10, 2020
Woking Borough Council has appointed prominent local government lawyer Gifty Edila to conduct an independent review of its actions over a controversial stadium development in which it offered a developer a £250m loan.
Dec 10, 2020
A mislaid Article 4 direction did not invalidate an enforcement notice served by planners at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, the High Court has found.
Dec 10, 2020
Social landlord London & Quadrant Housing Trust and phone masts firm Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure have each been ordered to pay their own costs after a lengthy dispute that ran up a total bill of £450,000.
Dec 10, 2020
A building is not split into individual hereditaments for rating purposes just because it has property guardians resident, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Dec 10, 2020
A High Court judge has had to consult legislation dating back to the 18th century in a dispute over a bridle road in Somerset.
Dec 09, 2020
The Leader of financially-troubled Nottingham City Council has denied reports that the local authority is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Dec 09, 2020
The Government has asked Liverpool City Council to provide information on the steps it has taken and proposes to take to secure effective governance, in light of a Merseyside Police investigation which has resulted in the arrest and subsequent release on conditional bail of a number of people…
Dec 09, 2020
The ban on business evictions has been extended until the end of March 2021, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced.
Dec 09, 2020
Stratford-on-Avon District Council has ruled out a judicial review challenge “at this stage” over ministers’ decision to place it in Tier 3 on the lifting of the latest lockdown, after the Government Legal Department responded to its pre-action letter.
Dec 09, 2020
A High Court judge has quashed the grant of planning permission for 73 dwellings near a heritage asset in Surrey because a planning officer's reports “seriously and materially” misled the council’s planning committee.
Dec 08, 2020
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a “major and wide-ranging review of gambling laws to ensure they are fit for the digital age”.
Dec 08, 2020
A campaign group, in collaboration with the Environmental Law Foundation, plans to bring a judicial review challenge against a London council's decision to dismantle a temporary cycle lane before its trial period had ended.
