High Court judge quashes selective licensing scheme over consultation failings – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 15th, 2014 in appeals, consultations, housing, landlord & tenant, licensing, local government, news by sally

‘The High Court has quashed a selective licensing scheme that Enfield Council was seeking to apply to the entire borough.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th December 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Housing: Homeless Persons and Review of Accommodation Needs – No. 5 Chambers

Posted December 11th, 2014 in homelessness, housing, local government, news by sally

‘This paper considers some selected topics in the broad (and full of case law) topic of homeless persons, together with a brief mention of the duty of local housing authorities to carry out a review of accommodation needs.’

Full story (PDF)

No. 5 Chambers, 9th December 2014

Source: www.no5.com

Supreme Court to hear challenge to key test on homelessness and vulnerability – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court will next week hear three cases where homeless applicants for housing assistance are seeking to challenge the Pereira test of vulnerability.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th December 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Regina (Akin) v Stratford Magistrates’ Court – WLR Daily

Posted December 8th, 2014 in law reports, licensed premises, licensing, local government, police, regulations by sally

Regina (Akin) v Stratford Magistrates’ Court [2014] WLR (D) 518

‘The approach to procedural irregularity in R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Ex p Jeyeanthan [2000] 1 WLR 345 was applicable to the Licensing Act 2003 and the Licensing Act 2003 (Premises Licences and Club Premises Certificates) Regulations 2005 made thereunder.’

WLR Daily, 2nd December 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

How much?! Damages for unlawfully evicted secure tenants – NearlyLegal

Posted December 5th, 2014 in damages, housing, local government, news, repossession by sally

‘So, if a local authority unlawfully evicts a secure tenant (and yes, it happens) what should the measure of damages be? Under s.27 and s.28 Housing Act 1988, damages fall to be assessed under a valuation exercise, governed – so far as is relevant to this case – by s.28(1).’

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NearlyLegal, 4th December 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Tenant wins Supreme Court fight with council over damages for unlawful eviction – Local Government Lawyer

‘A secure tenant who was unlawfully evicted from his accommodation has won his Supreme Court battle with a London council over the level of damages payable.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd December 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Regina (Joicey) v Northumberland County Council – WLR Daily

Posted December 2nd, 2014 in disclosure, documents, energy, law reports, local government, noise, planning by sally

Regina (Joicey) v Northumberland County Council [2014] EWHC 3657 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 506

‘As in failure to take account of relevant material consideration cases, so also in a case involving a breach of statutory duty to disclose information, relief would be granted unless the decision-maker could demonstrate that the decision in question would inevitably have been the same had the decision-maker acted as he was required to do.’

WLR Daily, 7th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (J) v Worcestershire County Council (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted December 2nd, 2014 in children, law reports, local government, social services by sally

Regina (J) v Worcestershire County Council (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) [2014] EWCA Civ 1518; [2014] WLR (D) 503

‘A local authority’s power to provide services to children in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 was not limited to children who were physically present in the local authority’s area at the time when the services were provided but extended to the provision of services to children who, although physically present at the time of assessment as children in need, were outside the area at the time of provision.’

WLR Daily, 25th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (C1 and another) v Hackney London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Posted December 2nd, 2014 in children, housing, law reports, local government by sally

Regina (C1 and another) v Hackney London Borough Council [2014] EWHC 3670 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 507

‘The system by which one local authority handling local government responsibilities could, under section 27 of the Children Act 1989 and with mandatory effect, request another authority to assist in relation to housing did not apply as between departments within the same local authority.’

WLR Daily, 7th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Boris Johnson to seek control of CPS and court system in London – The Guardian

‘Boris Johnson wants to secure control of the courts and the prosecution service, a move which would put London’s mayor in charge of the criminal justice system in the capital, the Guardian has learned. The plan would see control wrested from Whitehall and the devolution of the most important pillars of the justice system.’

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The Guardian, 1st December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

High Court judge rejects challenge to 400-home planning consent, despite planning officer’s mistaken advice – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 27th, 2014 in judicial review, local government, news, planning, reports by sally

‘A High Court judge has refused to quash a decision to grant planning consent for 400 homes within the Surrey countryside, after deciding that a council was not misled by a planning officer’s mistaken advice.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th November 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Theresa May to publish new anti-terror powers – BBC News

‘New measures to tackle terrorism are to be unveiled by the home secretary, days after she said the UK faces a “greater” terror threat than ever before.’

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BBC News, 26th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Southwark: Not appealing – NearlyLegal

‘It is not unknown for losing parties in a case to not be happy, indeed very upset. There are two basic options. To shut up and put up with it, or appeal. Rather unusually, faced with one of the most coruscating High Court judgments I can recall, in AA V LB Southwark [our report here], the senior officers of Southwark Council have chosen to do neither. Instead, Southwark’s Housing and Communities Strategic Director has chosen to publicly announce that the judgment was ‘unjust’ and ‘clearly wrong’, but that Southwark aren’t going to appeal it.’

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NearlyLegal, 25th November 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

County loses appeal over support for disabled Roma child who moves out of area – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 26th, 2014 in appeals, children, disabled persons, local government, news, travellers by sally

‘A county council has lost a Court of Appeal bid to overturn a ruling that the authority had the power to provide support for a disabled child even when his Roma Gypsy family are working in different parts of the country and outside its borders.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th November 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Commons Registration – Local Government Law

Posted November 25th, 2014 in commons, land registration, local government, news, regulations by sally

‘County Councils in England, District Councils in England for an area without a County Council, London Borough Councils and County or County Borough Councils in Wales are “commons registration authorities”. The commons registration authority in relation to any land is the authority in whose area the land is situated. Where any land falls within the area of two or more commons registration authorities, the authorities may by agreement provide for one of them to be the commons registration authority in relation to the whole of the land.’

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Local Government Law, 17th November 2014

Source: www.11kbw.com/blogs/local-government-law

Legitimate Expectations – Local Government Law

Posted November 25th, 2014 in contracts, energy, local government, news by sally

‘In Solar Century Holdings Ltd v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change [2014] EWHC 3677 (Admin) the submissions made for the Claimant included that (1) certain pre-legislative statements were admissible and in effect bound the Government, according to the principles laid down by Lord Steyn in R (Westminster City Council) v National Asylum Support Service [2002] UKHL 38 at paragraph 6, (2) certain statements made by the Government were “clear and unequivocal” representations which gave rise to a legitimate expectation, and (3) the expectation could not be trumped or thwarted by any of the policy considerations advanced by the Government. Green J rejected all these submissions. The case concerned renewable energy sources by way of large scale “solar farms”, governed by the Electricity Act 1989, as amended by the Energy Act 2013, and whether the Government was bound to maintain a particular scheme in place until 2017. Clear and repeated representations had been made to that effect, but they had always been qualified.’

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Local Government Law, 17th November 2014

Source: www.11kbw.com/blogs/local-government-law

Public access to local authority information: transparency with teeth – Panopticon

Posted November 21st, 2014 in documents, freedom of information, local government, news, planning by sally

‘The Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations are the dominant statutory regimes for public transparency, but they are of course not the only ones. A good example is the regime under the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), particularly sections 100A-K. Those provisions govern public access to local authority meetings, as well as the public availability of minutes, reports, background documents and so on for such meetings, subject to provisions for exempt information (Schedule 12A). A recent judgment of the Admin Court (Cranston J) in a planning matter, Joicey v Northumberland County Council [2014] EWHC 3657 (Admin) illustrates the importance of compliance with that regime for public access to information.’

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Panopticon, 20th November 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Birmingham ‘exploitation’ order: Two more men banned – BBC News

Posted November 21st, 2014 in burden of proof, child abuse, injunctions, local government, news, sexual grooming by sally

‘Two more men have been banned from contact with young girls in an “innovative” High Court case to prevent child sexual exploitation.’

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BBC News, 20th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court judge dismisses challenge to Ealing shopping centre planning permission – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 20th, 2014 in appeals, local government, news, planning, substitution by sally

‘A High Court judge has dismissed a challenge to Ealing Council’s approval of plans to redevelop the Oaks Shopping Centre in west London, after disagreeing with claims that the substitution of a councillor on the Council’s planning committee was unlawful.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th November 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Family pressure group “had no business” in applying for habeas corpus on behalf of mother – UK Human Rights Blog

‘An application for habeas corpus by a pressure group was completely “hopeless” and “entirely misconceived”. The appellant’s challenge to the decision of the judge below was equally devoid of merit. Third party applications are only appropriate where the prisoner is incommunicado or where the impediment preventing the prisoner from acting is ignorance or disability. It was entirely inappropriate in these circumstances, where the prisoner had been represented by counsel throughout the proceedings which resulted in her imprisonment, or where her detention had already ended before the application for habeas corpus was made.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th November 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com