Leading lawyers criticise plans to restrict legal aid – BBC News

“Ninety leading barristers have urged the government to withdraw ‘unjust proposals’ to restrict legal aid for people demanding judicial reviews.”

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BBC News, 29th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina (Hemming (t/a Simply Pleasure Ltd and others) v Westminster City Council – WLR Daily

Regina (Hemming (t/a Simply Pleasure Ltd and others) v Westminster City Council [2013] EWCA Civ 591; [2013] WLR (D) 203

“Since the coming into force of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 a local authority was not permitted, when determining the reasonable licence fee for sex establishments, to reflect in the fee which it determined the cost of enforcing the licensing system against unlicensed operators.”

WLR Daily, 24th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Too soon? – NearlyLegal

Posted May 28th, 2013 in housing, injunctions, judicial review, local government, news by sally

“Unusually, this is a published Judicial Review permission decision. Further, Anthony Thornton QC J has ‘certified that this judgment may be cited and referred to in other cases or situations. This direction is made pursuant to paragraph 6.1 of the Practice Direction (Citation of Authorities) [2001] 1 WLR 1001, CA.’. Why will become clear.”

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NearlyLegal, 27th May 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Rochdale Council leaders ‘let down’ groomed girls – BBC News

Posted May 28th, 2013 in local government, news, reports, sexual grooming, social services, victims by sally

“Former senior managers at Rochdale Borough Council did not do enough to stop the grooming and sexual abuse of children, a report has found.”

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BBC News, 24th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sex shop chain in Soho wins landmark legal battle against Westminster Council over license fees – The Independent

Posted May 28th, 2013 in appeals, fees, licensed premises, local government, news, sex establishments by sally

“A sex shop chain in Soho has won a major victory against license fees charged by Westminster City Council, in a landmark decision that the council believe could ‘open the flood gates for illegal pornography.'”

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The Independent, 24th May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Domestic violence victim seeks bedroom tax judicial review – The Guardian

“A victim of domestic violence who faces losing her council home which has a secure ‘panic room’ is to challenge the government’s so-called bedroom tax.”

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The Guardian, 24th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Report into Rochdale grooming a ‘damning indictment’ of council – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 24th, 2013 in children, local government, news, reports, sexual grooming, social services by tracey

“A new report into the child sex grooming scandal in Rochdale is a ‘damning indictment’ of the local council, the town’s MP said.”

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Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (Trail Riders Fellowship and another) v Dorset County Council – WLR Daily

Posted May 23rd, 2013 in appeals, documents, law reports, local government, rights of way by sally

Regina (Trail Riders Fellowship and another) v Dorset County Council [2013] EWCA Civ 553; [2013] WLR (D) 186

“A map produced to a scale of 1:25,000, even if digitally derived from an original map of a different scale, satisfied the requirements for a map accompanying an application to modify a right of way that were set out in paragraph 1(a) of Schedule 14 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.”

WLR Daily, 20th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Birmingham City Council v James (Secretary of State for the Home Department intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted May 23rd, 2013 in appeals, ASBOs, gangs, injunctions, law reports, local government, violence by sally

Birmingham City Council v James (Secretary of State for the Home Department intervening) [2013] EWCA Civ 552; [2013] WLR (D) 185

“If the conditions in section 34 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 were met then an injunction to prevent gang-related violence was appropriate. The court would not be required to ask itself whether an anti-social behaviour order under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 would have provided an adequate remedy.”

WLR Daily, 17th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

The meaning of care and attention – NearlyLegal

“SL v Westminster [2013] UKSC 27 is a very important case concerning the meaning of ‘care and attention’ in the context of s.21, National Assitance Act 1948.”

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NearlyLegal, 20th May 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

What Place does Wardship have in Modern Family Proceedings? – Family Law Week

Posted May 20th, 2013 in care orders, children, jurisdiction, local government, news, wardship by sally

“Leanne Buckley-Thomson, barrister at 12 College Place, provides an overview of wardship and considers its usefulness in modern family proceedings.”

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Family Law Week, 18th May 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Hotak v Southwark London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Posted May 20th, 2013 in appeals, homelessness, housing, law reports, local government by sally

Hotak v Southwark London Borough Council [2013] EWCA Civ 515; [2013] WLR (D) 180

“When assessing an applicant’s priority need for accommodation under section 189(1)(c) of the Housing Act 1996 the local housing authority was entitled to consider evidence of personal support and assistance provided by a family member which would continue should the applicant become street homeless. The weight to be given to the evidence was a separate and important consideration. The reviewing officer was required to assess the vulnerability of the applicant as it would be when he was made homeless.”

WLR Daily, 15th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Night Shelters, dwellings and housing benefit – NearlyLegal

Posted May 20th, 2013 in benefits, homelessness, hotels, housing, local government, news, tribunals by sally

“This a late note on OR -v- Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Isle of Anglesey CC [2013] UKUT 065 (AAC) because, bluntly, I had read it quickly at the time and overlooked its broader significance.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 19th May 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Council wrongly classed asylum seeker children as adults – The Guardian

Posted May 17th, 2013 in asylum, children, costs, immigration, local government, London, news by sally

“A London council has had to pay out more than £1m in costs for wrongly assessing asylum seeker children as adults. These wrong decisions have condemned some children to homelessness, prevented them from going to school and led to some being unlawfully held in adult detention centres.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina (A) v Lowestoft Magistrates’ Court – WLR Daily

Posted May 16th, 2013 in children, law reports, local government, reporting restrictions by sally

Regina (A) v Lowestoft Magistrates’ Court [2013] EWHC 659 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 177

“The child specifically referred to in any charge under section 2(1) of the Licensing Act 1902 was a subject of criminal proceedings which were taken ‘in respect of’, and thus “concerned”, that child for the purposes of the court’s power to impose reporting restrictions under section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.”

WLR Daily, 26th March 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

PC ( by her litigation friend the Official Solicitor) and another v City of York Council – WLR Daily

PC (by her litigation friend the Official Solicitor) and another v City of York Council [2013] EWCA Civ 478; [2013] WLR (D) 176

“The test for whether a person had capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to decide was specific to the decision in question in its particular factual matrix and context.”

WLR Daily, 1st May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Loveridge v Lambeth London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Loveridge v Lambeth London Borough Council [2013] EWCA Civ 494; [2013] WLR (D) 173

“The valuation required by section 28(1) of the Housing Act 1988, in respect of damages for unlawful eviction under section 27, required that the propensity for the rights of a tenant of a local authority to change from those of a secure tenant to those of an assured tenant on a sale of the reversion to a private landlord was to be factored into the hypothetical valuation of the landlord’s interest subject to the tenant’s rights.”

WLR Daily, 10th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Priority need – NearlyLegal

“Hotak v Southwark LBC [2013] EWCA Civ 515 concerned a short point on whether an authority was entitled to have regard to the assistance that a homeless person would receive, in the event he became homeless, when determining whether he was vulnerable or not.”

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NearlyLegal, 15th May 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Taking responsibility – New Law Journal

Posted May 14th, 2013 in families, guardianship, local government, news, supervision orders by sally

“Special guardianship orders have become an increasingly popular means of resolving family proceedings. They have found favour with local authorities as a means of securing kinship care placements and have been described as a half-way house between a residence order and an adoption order.”

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New Law Journal, 10th May 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

NHS ‘cover-up culture’ to be tackled with fines – The Guardian

“Hospitals that give false information about death rates will face unlimited fines under new powers aimed at preventing another Mid-Staffordshire-style health scandal.”

Full story

The Guardian, 10th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk