Owners of illegal shisha café ordered to pay nearly £200k following council prosecution – Local Government Lawyer

‘Manchester City Council has secured the confiscation of £174,074 from a company that owned a property used as an illegal shisha café in breach of a planning enforcement notice.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th May 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judge rejects challenge over council’s alcohol detox policy – Local Government Lawyer

‘A High Court judge has rejected a man’s legal challenge to Surrey County Council’s alcohol detox policy after he was refused residential treatment by social services due to his lack of prior engagement with early stage treatment plans for his alcoholism.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th May 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Suitability duties and reasonable preferences that weren’t unreasonable – Nearly Legal

‘A judicial review on three grounds:

i) Breach of section 193(2) Housing Act 1996 duty to secure suitable accommodation;

ii) The Westminster’s allocation policy was unlawful in that it denied the applicant medical need priority reasonable preference, restricting him to homeless reasonable preference; and

iii) Breach of the duty under section 166A(9)(a)(ii) Housing Act 1996 to provide the applicant sufficient information to permit the applicant to determine whether housing accommodation appropriate to his needs is likely to be available to him and, if so, how long it is likely to be before such accommodation becomes available for allocation to him.’

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Nearly Legal, 8th May 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Elections watchdog to conduct analysis of implementation of voter ID – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 10th, 2023 in elections, identification, local government, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The Electoral Commission has revealed it will conduct a “full report” on the May 2023 local elections, which will analyse the impact of the voter ID requirement.’

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Local Government Lawyer, May 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

London estate resident goes to high court over demolition plans – The Guardian

Posted May 10th, 2023 in housing, local government, London, news, planning by sally

‘A woman who has lived on the same council estate for 30 years has taken developers and her local authority to the high court over plans to demolish her home.’

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The Guardian, 9th May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge criticises fundamental errors in childcare case after earlier ruling ignored – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 9th, 2023 in care orders, case management, judgments, local government, news by sally

‘Her Honour Judge Madeleine Reardon has highlighted “fundamental errors” made in the preparation and presentation of a childcare case, in which a previous judgment given by the court was “completely ignored”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th May 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘I was denied my right’: voter ID rules a barrier for some in England – The Guardian

Posted May 5th, 2023 in elections, fraud, identification, local government, news by tracey

‘The introduction of voter ID in England has left a number of people, often from more marginalised groups, unable to cast ballots in local elections – although some officials’ fears of widespread chaos did not materialise.’

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The Guardian, 4th May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council defeats High Court challenge to enforcement notice – Local Government lawyer

Posted May 4th, 2023 in enforcement notices, equality, local government, news, planning by tracey

‘Luton Borough Council has defeated a developer’s challenge to a planning enforcement notice in the High Court.’

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Local Government lawyer, 4th May 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Family members taking on vulnerable children to receive better legal support – Ministry of Justice

‘Extended family members seeking to provide long-term, stable care for vulnerable children will be able to access free legal advice, thanks to new government investment announced today (30 April 2023).’

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Ministry of Justice, 1st May 2023

Source: www.gov.uk

Judge allows appeal against decisions of city council over whether accommodation was unsuitable – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 3rd, 2023 in appeals, burden of proof, homelessness, housing, local government, news by tracey

‘A homelessness appeal has been allowed on three out of four grounds on behalf of a man who was placed in unsuitable accommodation by Cambridge City Council.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd May 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Legal aid widened but grandparents ‘will fall through justice gap’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The scope of legal aid has been widened to family and friends applying to look after a vulnerable child – however, the Law Society says the changes do not go far enough.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 2nd May 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Drivers face being fined ‘unfairly’ for using yellow box junctions – report – The Independent

Posted May 3rd, 2023 in enforcement, fines, local government, news, police, road traffic offences, roads by tracey

‘Drivers risk unfair fines for using most yellow box junctions which councils want enforcement powers over, according to a new report. Problems with the boxes include poor visibility and being too large, research commissioned by the RAC found.’

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The Independent, 3rd May 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Suitability review – excluding information, and ending existing accommodation – Nearly Legal

Posted May 2nd, 2023 in housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, statutory duty by tracey

‘Querino v Cambridge City Council. County Court at Cambridge, 29 March 2023. Continuing the trend (of which I wholeheartedly approve) of people sending me notes of judgments, the following is a note of a s.204 appeal of a suitability review decision from Toby Vanhegan of 4-5 Gray’s Inn and Manjinder Atwal of Duncan Lewis, for which we are very grateful. The issues were i) whether a “minded to” letter should have been sent, ii) whether the council should have been satisfied that the applicant could end his licence in time to take up the offer of Part VI accommodation, and iii) the review officer had wrongly excluded the applicant’s supporting material from CAFCASS.’

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Nearly Legal, 1st May 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Military sites and asylum seeker accommodation – Local Government Lawyer

‘The High Court recently struck out an application by a council for an injunction to prevent the use of an airfield for asylum accommodation. Paul Brown KC, Nick Grant and Rebecca Sage explain why.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th April 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

High Court dismisses legal challenge over government failure to implement Care Act system for appeals against care and support decisions – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 28th, 2023 in appeals, duty of care, judicial review, local government, news, social services by tracey

‘A High Court judge has rejected a judicial review challenge to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s decision not to make regulations for appeals against local authority decisions under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th April 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Tree that damaged house too valuable to cut down – BBC News

Posted April 28th, 2023 in housing, local government, news, planning, trees by tracey

‘A man who claims a five-metre branch fell from a tree and damaged his house has been told it is too valuable to be cut down.’

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BBC News, 27th April 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

John Stanton: Law, Localism, and the Constitution: A Comparative Perspective – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 27th, 2023 in constitutional law, local government, news, parliament by sally

‘Local government is an aspect of UK constitutional law that is often neglected or overlooked. Councils, though, are a vital part of our governmental order, providing the services and opportunities, and making the decisions and policies, that shape a large part of our day-to-day lives. They are also the institutions of government with which the population interact most frequently. Local government across the UK, however, is hampered by the constitutional system of which it is part. The predominance of the sovereign Parliament and the lack of any codified constitutional provision means that councils in the UK are at the mercy of the centre and that they do not enjoy any protection from easy change, manipulation or prescription. This has a profound effect on the way in which councils operate, as my new book, “Law, Localism, and the Constitution: A Comparative Perspective”, explores.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th April 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Tougher licensing rules for taxi drivers come into force – BBC News

Posted April 27th, 2023 in licensing, local government, news, road safety, standards, taxis by sally

‘Tougher rules for taxi and private hire drivers will be introduced in England in a bid to make passengers safer.’

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BBC News, 27th April 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Coffin sliding – urban myths vs the law – Law & Religion UK

Posted April 26th, 2023 in burials and cremation, local government, news by sally

‘The procedure of “coffin sliding” is one of the devices employed in the funeral trade for moving coffins to adjacent plots to remedy errors and other changes following their initial interment. Whilst its use is only infrequently reported, to date it has featured in four consistory court determinations. The associated law is discussed below with reference to the most recent reference to “coffin sliding”, Re Chevington Cemetery [2023] ECC New 3.’

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Law & Religion UK, 25th April 2023

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Judgment reserved in dispute over when honey is “raw honey” – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 26th, 2023 in appeals, EC law, food, judgments, labelling, local government, news by sally

‘Judgment has been reserved in an appeal over a London borough’s service of an improvement notice under the Food Information Regulations 2014, it has been reported.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th April 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk