Merton London Borough Council v B (Central Authority of the Republic of Latvia, intervening) – WLR Daily

Merton London Borough Council v B (Central Authority of the Republic of Latvia, intervening) [2015] EWCA Civ 888; [2015] WLR (D) 365

‘Notwithstanding that concerns might be expressed in many parts of Europe about the law and practice in England and Wales in relation to non-consensual adoption where care proceedings involving foreign nationals were in contemplation, domestic law was not incompatible with the United Kingdom’s international obligations or, specifically, its obligations under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.’

WLR Daily, 6th August 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (West Berkshire District Council and another) v Department for Communities and Local Government – WLR Daily

Posted August 21st, 2015 in consultations, housing, judicial review, law reports, local government, planning by sally

Regina (West Berkshire District Council and another) v Department for Communities and Local Government[2015] EWHC 2222 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 367

‘The Government’s decision, announced by way of written ministerial statement and effected by amending National Planning Practice Guidance, to make alterations to the national policy for the provision of affordable housing, was unlawful.’

WLR Daily, 3rd July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

High Court dismisses wind turbine challenge, but variable height condition unlawful – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 20th, 2015 in energy, local government, news, planning by sally

‘A planning condition allowing the height of a new wind turbine to be increased with the approval of the local authority must be “severed” from the otherwise lawful planning permission, the High Court has ruled.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 19th August 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Council defeats High Court challenge to borough-wide selective licensing – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 18th, 2015 in consultations, landlord & tenant, licensing, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has rejected a judicial review challenge to Croydon Council’s decision to introduce a selective licensing scheme for the whole borough.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 17th August 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Inspector misinterpreted policy allowing “reasonable expansion” of business in midlands green belt, High Court rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 14th, 2015 in environmental protection, interpretation, local government, news, planning by tracey

‘A planning inspector was wrong to stop a UK company from expanding its premises into the green belt, the High Court in the UK has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 11th August 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Domestic violence victim wins legal action over borough residency requirement – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 14th, 2015 in domestic violence, families, housing, judicial review, local government, news by tracey

‘A London borough’s revised housing allocations policy was unlawful, a High Court judge has ruled following a judicial review challenge by a victim of domestic violence to the application of a five-year residency requirement.’

Full story

Local Govenment Lawyer, 10th August 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

How Voluntary is Voluntary Accommodation? – Family Law Week

Posted August 14th, 2015 in children, housing, local government, news, parental responsibility by tracey

‘Leah Pitt, pupil barrister, 2 King’s Bench Walk, considers the latest developments in the use of agreements under section 20 of the Children Act 1989.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 13th August 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Wandsworth London Borough Council v Tompkins and another – WLR Daily

Wandsworth London Borough Council v Tompkins and another [2015] EWCA Civ 846; [2015] WLR (D) 357

‘Where a local housing authority provided accommodation under a tenancy pursuant to its duty under Part VII (Homelessness) of the Housing Act 1996, the requirement in paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1985 which had to be satisfied in order for the tenancy to qualify as a secure tenancy (that the housing authority had to give notification that the tenancy “is to be regarded” as a secure tenancy), meant that the notification had to state that the tenancy was regarded as a secure tenancy at the date of grant and not at some unspecified date in the future.’

WLR Daily, 31st August 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Wherever I lay my hat… Residence tests for allocation policies – Nearly Legal

Posted August 11th, 2015 in domestic violence, domicile, homelessness, housing, local government, news by sally

‘This is, I think, a very significant case for all Councils who have or are considering setting residence requirements in their allocation policies.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 9th August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Successful judicial review of social services age assessment – Free Movement

‘R (on the application of GB by litigation friend, Francesco Jeff) v Oxfordshire County Council (age dispute- relevance of documents) IJR [2015] UKUT 429 (IAC) is an interesting and successful judicial review challenge to an age assessment. My colleague Shu Shin Luh was Counsel, instructed by Scott-Moncrieff & Associates.

Full story

Free Movement, 10th August 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Councils have lost or misused private data thousands of times, says watchdog – The Guardian

Posted August 11th, 2015 in data protection, local government, news, privacy, reports by sally

‘Sensitive personal information has been lost or stolen in thousands of data breaches by councils, according to a study by privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch.’

Full story

The Guardian, 11th August 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Council criticised over refusal of direct payments based on Working Time Regulations – Local Government Lawyer

‘A council has admitted wrongly using the Working Time Regulations to refuse the direct payments they assessed a young man as needing, following an investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 6th August 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court overturns relaxed planning requirements for smaller English housing sites – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 10th, 2015 in appeals, codes of practice, equality, housing, local government, news, planning by sally

‘The UK government has been forced to withdraw the exemption from affordable housing contributions and the vacant building credit (VBC) for small housing developments in England after the High Court ruled it was unlawful.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 7th August 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Social care regulators receiving 150 allegations of abuse towards vulnerable adults every day – The Independent

‘Social care regulators receive 150 allegations relating to the abuse of vulnerable adults and the elderly every day, new figures reveal.’

Full story

The Independent, 8th August 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Councils win battle over threshold on developments and s.106 agreements – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 7th, 2015 in housing, local government, news, planning by tracey

‘Two councils have won a High Court challenge over Government proposals for a threshold on the size of developments beneath which planning authorities should not seek affordable housing contributions through section 106 agreements.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 3rd August 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

When can the courts rule on the legality of future behaviour? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘This case concerned the application of the law in relation to future conduct, in particular, the role of the judicial review procedure in determining what precisely is meant by the prohibition on the selling of live animals under the Pet Animals Act 1951.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 4th August 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Exotic pet society fails in legal action against council over cancelled event – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 5th, 2015 in animals, interpretation, judicial review, local government, news by sally

‘A district council has defeated a judicial review challenge over its decision to warn a racecourse owner of “a substantial risk of unlawful activity” taking place at a meeting of private breeders of reptiles and amphibians.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 4th August 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Subjective suitability – Nearly Legal

‘At issue in this second appeal from a s.204 appeal was whether it was reasonable for Ms Poshteh to have refused an offer of accommodation. Both parties agreed that the property was objectively suitable. The question then was the second part of the two stage test in Housing Act 1996 section 193(7F):

(7F) The local housing authority shall not –

(a) make a final offer of accommodation under Part 6 for the purposes of subsection (7);

… unless they are satisfied that the accommodation is suitable for the applicant and that it is reasonable for him to accept the offer.”’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 2nd August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Bedroom Tax and separated families – UT again – Nearly Legal

‘The Upper Tribunal has another go at the separated families issue in CH 0062 2015-00 and this time, unsurprisingly, shuts down completely the FTT dissenting position in a Middlesborough FTT decision, while upholding and amplifying MR v North Tyneside.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 1st August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Disinheritance and the law: why you can’t leave your money to whoever you please – The Guardian

Posted August 3rd, 2015 in appeals, charities, consent, local government, news, probate, statistics, trusts, wills by sally

‘When Melita Jackson decided to disinherit her daughter Heather, she knew what she was doing, and her decision was clear. Now a court has ruled that Heather still has a right to a share of her estate. As Britain experiences a surge in will disputes, is our sense of what we owe our children changing?’

Full story

The Guardian, 31st July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk