Category: local government

Councils fail in legal challenge over Heathrow Airport expansion – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 2nd, 2019 in airports, climate change, compensation, environmental health, environmental protection, inquiries, local government, London, news by tracey

‘A Divisional Court has dismissed a legal challenge brought by five councils, the Mayor of London and a number of other claimants over the Secretary of State for Transport’s decision to designate the Airports National Policy Statement (“ANPS”), which sets out that the Government’s preferred location for additional airport capacity in the South East of England is a new runway at Heathrow.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st May 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Appellant ordered to pay £5k costs after acting unreasonably in SEN appeal – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 2nd, 2019 in appeals, children, costs, education, legal aid, local government, news, protective costs orders, school children by tracey

‘A mother has been ordered to pay Hertfordshire County Council costs of £5,245 after being held to have acted unreasonably over an appeal on her daughter’s schooling, a judgment published this week on Bailii has revealed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st May 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court of Appeal agrees to hear case on housing allocation policy and religion – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 30th, 2019 in appeals, equality, housing, Judaism, landlord & tenant, local government, news, proportionality, religious discrimination by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal a Divisional Court ruling that a housing association letting homes on the basis of religion was lawful.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 29th April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ticket resellers win tribunal case over action taken by trading standards team – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 26th, 2019 in appeals, consumer protection, licensing, local government, news, penalties, time limits, tribunals by sally

‘Four ticket resellers have won a case in the First-Tier Tribunal, which ruled that North Yorkshire County Council took action out of time.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

London borough defeats appeal over licence and secure tenancy – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 26th, 2019 in appeals, children, homelessness, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by sally

‘The London Borough of Barnet has defeated an appeal over whether a woman found to be intentionally homeless but who continued to be housed under the Children Act 1989 had security of tenure.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Allocation Policy – Local Government Law

Posted April 25th, 2019 in equality, housing, local government, news, race discrimination, refugees, travellers by tracey

‘In conjoined appeals, (2019) EWCA Civ 692, R (Gullu) v Hillingdon LBC and R (Ward) v Hillingdon LBC, the Court of Appeal considered the lawfulness of Hillingdon’s housing allocation policy. The policy prioritised people who had been resident in the local area for 10 years. That was found to discriminate indirectly against protected groups.’

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Local Government Law, 23rd April 2019

Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com

Council takes 10 years not to make a decision on village green status – The Guardian

Posted April 25th, 2019 in commons, compensation, delay, local government, news, planning by tracey

‘Ombudsman orders Cornwall to pay compensation over locals’ plan for land near Saltash.’

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The Guardian, 25th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Parish councils win High Court challenge over abolition after borough misinterpreted guidance – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 24th, 2019 in codes of practice, consultations, interpretation, local government, news, statistics by sally

‘Slough Borough Council misinterpreted government guidance and so an order providing for the abolition of two parish councils in its area must be quashed, a High Court judge has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Give local authorities extra powers to curb junk food ads – report – The Guardian

Posted April 24th, 2019 in advertising, children, enforcement, food, health, local government, London, news by sally

‘Local authorities should be given greater powers to make it easier for them to impose restrictions on junk food advertising in their areas, a report has recommended.’

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The Guardian, 24th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

But, it’s a long, long while … – Nearly Legal

Posted April 23rd, 2019 in equality, judicial review, local government, news, travellers by sally

‘The Court of Appeal reviewed Hillingdon’s Equality Impact Assessments, both when introducing the policy in 2013, and when amending it in 2016 (this latter being after Mr Gullu had begun his judicial review). On neither occasion was there any consideration of Travellers or refugees (or indeed Non UK nationals).’

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Nearly Legal, 22nd April 2019

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Hackney defeats High Court challenge to approach on SEN funding and Education and Health Care Plans – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 15th, 2019 in judicial review, local government, news, special educational needs by michael

‘A High Court judge has rejected claims that Hackney Council’s policies on Special Educational Needs and Disability, including a reduction in its expenditure on SEND, were unlawful.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government guidance to end “aggressive enforcement tactics” in recovery of unpaid council tax – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 15th, 2019 in council tax, debts, enforcement, local government, news by michael

‘The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is to publish new guidance to improve how councils recover unpaid council tax and end their use of “aggressive enforcement tactics”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

No rogue landlords issued with banning orders in 12 months – The Guardian

Posted April 15th, 2019 in defective premises, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by michael

‘Not a single rogue landlord has been issued with one of the government’s new banning orders, a year after the key new power in the battle to root out the country’s worst rental property owners was launched.’

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The Guardian, 15th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Regulator warns policy makers to “think very carefully” before setting up charity for singular public project – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 12th, 2019 in budgets, charities, Charity Commission, local government, London, news, planning, public interest, taxation, transport by sally

‘The fact that more than £50m of public funds was spent by the Garden Bridge Trust without producing demonstrable public benefit or impact represented “a failure for charity which risks undermining public trust”, the Charity Commission has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Solicitor convicted of subletting council home – Legal Futures

Posted April 12th, 2019 in appeals, disciplinary procedures, fraud, housing, landlord & tenant, law firms, local government, news, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority, suspended sentences, theft by sally

‘A solicitor’s conviction for illegally subletting his council flat has been upheld after he lost his appeal against a suspended jail sentence.’

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Legal Futures, 12th April 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Clean air zones: Where will UK drivers pay for polluting? – BBC News

Posted April 12th, 2019 in brexit, congestion charges, EC law, environmental health, environmental protection, local government, news, pollution, road traffic, Supreme Court by sally

‘Drivers of the most polluting vehicles now have to pay to drive into central London – and soon other towns and cities across the UK will follow suit.’

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BBC News. 12th April 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Two-thirds of councils say they can’t afford to comply with homelessness law – The Guardian

Posted April 10th, 2019 in benefits, budgets, homelessness, housing, local government, news, statistics by sally

‘The Homelessness Reduction Act, in operation for the past 12 months, is potentially the greatest piece of homelessness legislation for 40 years in England, according to Southwark council in south London. The Labour-run council pioneered the government’s new flagship act, and is upbeat about it. While homelessness went up in the borough last year, as it did across London, the rise was less steep than expected: 8.6% for families placed in temporary accommodation and a similarly small increase for rough sleepers. At the same time, there was also a 50% increase in the number of people the council helped to stay in their home. “It shows the act works,” says the council’s cabinet member for housing, Stephanie Cryan.’

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The Guardian, 10th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

London borough secures temporary injunction prohibiting illegal encampments at 350+ sites – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 10th, 2019 in injunctions, local government, London, news, travellers, waste by sally

‘Hillingdon Council has secured a High Court injunction until 18 June that prohibits illegal encampments on more than 350 sites across the borough.’

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Local Government Lawyer, April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Mother crowd funds legal action after autistic son “forced to wear fluorescent yellow bib” at school – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 9th, 2019 in autism, disability discrimination, local government, news, school children by sally

‘The mother of a seven-year-old boy is crowd funding a legal challenge against a council, claiming he was “forced to wear a fluorescent yellow bib at school so teachers and the children in the playground where aware, that he is autistic”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th April 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ending duties after the HRA – Nearly Legal

Posted April 8th, 2019 in animals, benefits, consent orders, duty of care, homelessness, housing, judicial review, landlord & tenant, local government, news by sally

‘This is a settled judicial review, I’ve seen the grounds, interim order and final consent order. It raises a number of issues about the performance of the new Housing Act 1996 Part VII duties as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.’

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Nearly Legal, 7th April 2019

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk