Apr 03, 2020
Michael Brendan Brett, who previously practised as an employed barrister in the Government Legal Department, has joined Francis Taylor Building with immediate effect.
Apr 03, 2020
Councils cannot treat disabled facilities grant (DFG) applications from council tenants differently to those from others, the High Court has ruled.
Apr 02, 2020
The Government has issued the regulations that will give local authorities greater flexibility in the conduct of meetings, including allowing members to attend remotely, and for public and press access to those meetings.
Apr 02, 2020
Ashfield District Council has used its powers working with Nottinghamshire Police to shut a pub under new rules introduced during the COVID-19 outbreak, after the licence holder held a lock in at her pub.
Apr 02, 2020
A housing association has lost an appeal over whether it granted an inter-generational tenancy to a resident.
Apr 02, 2020
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) acted irrationally and put a council in an impossible position when it ordered it to issue a caravan site licence, the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has decided.
Apr 02, 2020
The Metropolitan Police face a judicial review over the governance of its safer schools officers and whether their presence could have disproportionately negative consequences for black and minority ethnic (BAME) groups.
Apr 02, 2020
The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that supermarket chain Morrisons was not liable for the actions of employee who published staff salary data.
Apr 02, 2020
Law firm Birketts has appointed Jonathan Hulley as a partner in its social housing team as part of a drive to create a national practice in the sector.
Apr 01, 2020
A pre-action protocol letter has been sent to the Government calling on it to reconsider the policy that all citizens are only permitted to leave the house for exercise once per day.
Apr 01, 2020
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (‘NICE’) has changed the COVID-19 guideline for clinical care after being threatened with a judicial review challenge.
Apr 01, 2020
More than two thirds (69%) of local government professionals believe poor organisational controls leave local authorities vulnerable to fraudsters, research by CIPFA has found.
Apr 01, 2020
The Department of Health & Social Care has published guidance setting out local authorities can use the new 'easements' under the Coronavirus Act 2020 that mean they no longer need to meet certain duties under the Care Act.
Apr 01, 2020
Philip Coppel QC and Tom Cosgrove QC have been appointed as Joint Heads of Chambers at Cornerstone Barristers with effect from 1 April 2020.
Apr 01, 2020
Sharpe Pritchard, the London-based firm of public and commercial law specialists, has appointed Justin Mendelle as its new senior partner.
Mar 31, 2020
The Vice-President of the Court of Protection has today (31 March) issued updated guidance on remote access to the court.
Mar 31, 2020
An order prohibiting car cruising in the Black Country continues to fulfil the purposes for which it was granted, and appears to be operating satisfactorily, the High Court has said.
Mar 31, 2020
HM Courts and Tribunal Service has published listing priorities for civil courts, dividing cases between work that must be done and work that could be done.
Mar 31, 2020
The directors of two care homes in the Midlands have been disqualified after they diverted council funds before abandoning elderly residents and staff, the Insolvency Services has revealed.
Mar 31, 2020
Medway Council has lodged an appeal against a High Court decision which found that a joint committee of clinical commissioning groups had acted lawfully when dealing with health inequalities when they decided the locations of three hyper acute stroke units (HASUs) in Kent.
Mar 30, 2020
The Divisional Court will this week (3 April) consider whether to suspend the Home Office’s ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) policy.
Mar 30, 2020
The Ministry of Justice, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the judiciary have created a network of 157 priority courts and tribunal buildings that will remain open for essential face-to-face hearings during the coronavirus pandemic to make sure the justice system continues to operate effectively.
Mar 30, 2020
A council head of legal secured a fresh Employment Tribunal hearing because a member of the original tribunal was asleep for part of the proceedings, it has emerged.
Mar 30, 2020
The University of Westminster’s Centre for Law, Society and Popular Culture has appointed Philip Kolvin QC as an Associate Fellow.
Mar 27, 2020
Manchester housing association Mosscare St Vincent’s has been granted an urgent injunction against a tenant who continued to ignore government guidelines on social distancing by hosting parties for up to twenty people.
Mar 27, 2020
The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by a housing association in a case where it breached the public sector equality duty when seeking possession of a property.
Mar 27, 2020
The Master of the Rolls has decided that from today (27 March) the court service will suspend all ongoing housing possession action.
Mar 27, 2020
Leading public law junior Steve Broach has joined 39 Essex Chambers with immediate effect.
Mar 27, 2020
A company was not liable for business rates on a building it does not wholly occupy, the High Court has found.
Mar 27, 2020
The High Court has rejected an appeal by a developer over a building described by a planning inspector as “a brilliant response to its context".
Mar 26, 2020
The Coronavirus Act 2020, which contains a wide range of emergency measures as part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, has been given Royal Assent.
Mar 26, 2020
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal over whether it was not reasonable for the appellant to stay in a property from which she was evicted for rent arrears given that there was evidence she had been subjected to domestic violence.
Mar 26, 2020
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has suspended all casework activity that demands information from, or action by, local authorities and care providers, in light of the current coronavirus outbreak.
Mar 26, 2020
A Family Court case has highlighted a “virtually insoluble dilemma” between diplomatic immunity and child protection, leading Mr Justice Mostyn to call for an amendment to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Mar 25, 2020
Lord Justice Hickinbottom has given guidance on making applications to the Court of Appeal for interim relief, in a housing case he declined to conclude because it had become academic.
Mar 25, 2020
The Upper Tribunal has ruled on where the burden of proof lies when it is said that the manager of a house in multiple occupation had a reasonable excuse for conduct which, but for that defence, would amount to a relevant housing offence under section 249A, Housing Act 2004.
Mar 25, 2020
The Upper Tribunal has allowed in part an appeal over civil penalties of £236,000 imposed on each of two defendants for housing offences, reducing the total amount to be paid to £174,000.
Mar 25, 2020
Barristers who took part in one of the first remote substantive hearings in the Planning Court have said the experience demonstrates that the courts should remain open for business during the coronavirus outbreak.
Mar 25, 2020
The Upper Tribunal has rejected an appeal by a landlord over the imposition of a condition on his licence requiring him to attend training on how to manage tenancies.
Mar 25, 2020
In response to courts moving online during the COVID-19 crisis, CaseLines has released a tool, eBridge, that allows them to move to electronic bundles for hearings using existing filing protocols.
Mar 25, 2020
Eleonore Berthelsen has joined the Family Group at 42 Bedford Row from Atlantic Chambers in Liverpool.
Mar 25, 2020
The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper on provisions in the Coronavirus Bill on local authority meetings.
Mar 24, 2020
The Cabinet Office has issued a procurement policy note (PPN) setting out information and guidance for public bodies on payment of their suppliers to ensure service continuity during and after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mar 24, 2020
No hearings in the Court of Protection which require people to attend are to take place unless there is a genuine urgency and it is not possible to conduct a remote hearing, the Court’s Vice-President has said.
Mar 24, 2020
The Bar Council has told barristers that the Prime Minister’s message yesterday evening was “clear that everyone must stay at home to inhibit all contact and stall the spread of Covid-19” and that this affects all court hearings.
Mar 24, 2020
Commercial tenants who miss a payment in the next three months because of the coronavirus outbreak will be protected from eviction, the government has announced.
Mar 24, 2020
Environmental Health and Trading Standards officers will be able to issue prohibition notices to enforce regulations requiring non-essential businesses and premises to close during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mar 24, 2020
The company balance sheet at social enterprise law firm LGSS Law is being restructured with an injection of £1.425m of equity capital, shared equally between its three shareholding authorities, Northamptonshire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and Central Bedfordshire Council. A report…
Mar 24, 2020
Nick Bano, a barrister specialising in representing homeless people, residential occupiers, and destitute and migrant households in both public law and private law disputes, has joined Garden Court Chambers.
Mar 23, 2020
Amendments to the Coronavirus Bill will rule out uncertainty over whether local authority meetings can be held online, writes Charles Holland.
Mar 23, 2020
it should be possible to continue substantially the full operation of the family justice system, albeit on a remote access basis, notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, guidance produced by the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary has said.
Mar 23, 2020
The Ministry of Justice has shared a list of key workers considered “essential to the running of the justice system” during the coronavirus outbreak and therefore whose children will be prioritised for education provision, the Bar Council has revealed.
Mar 23, 2020
The owner of a field that was compulsorily acquired to provide land for the construction of a link road has lost his appeal over the certificate of appropriate alternative development he was given.
Mar 23, 2020
A man who claimed to be a Grenfell Tower resident who was in hospital recovering from surgery when he was actually in prison at the time, has been convicted of fraud and jailed.
Mar 23, 2020
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets last week launched a legal challenge to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s decision to grant planning permission for the Westferry Printworks site.
Mar 23, 2020
The judiciary have published a protocol on the conduct of remote hearings in civil justice in England and Wales.
Mar 23, 2020
The Local Government Association has called for additional powers to be given to local government as it published a briefing on the measures contained in the Coronavirus Bill.
Mar 20, 2020
Barristers from 39 Essex Chambers, 11KBW and Monckton Chambers have set out proposed amendments to the Coronavirus Bill, warning that, as it is currently drafted, the legislation is likely to have a serious negative impact on adults with care and support needs and their carers.
Mar 20, 2020
The government has published the Coronavirus Bill with provisions covering areas such as the emergency registration of social workers, the suspension of most local authority social care obligations, the closure of educational institutions and the postponement of elections.
Mar 20, 2020
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has set out the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees when working from home, in response to government advice for many workers to stay away from the office.
Mar 20, 2020
Only those administrative occupations in local and national government essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response, or delivering essential public services, such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms-length bodies are among those considered 'key…
Mar 20, 2020
The Cabinet Office has issued a Procurement Policy Note (PPN) setting out information and associated guidance on the public procurement regulations and responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mar 19, 2020
The President of the Family Division has published national guidance on Covid-19 that should be followed with immediate effect by all levels of the Family Court and the High Court Family Division.
Mar 19, 2020
The High Court has recently granted Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement (“GLEAM”) permission to pursue a claim for judicial review against the Lake District National Park Authority over its refusal to pursue a traffic regulation order (“TRO”) to prohibit or reduce traffic from motorised…
Mar 19, 2020
The default position now in all jurisdictions must be that hearings should be conducted with one, more than one or all participants attending remotely, the Lord Chief Justice has said in a message to judges in the civil and family courts about the impact of the coronavirus.
Mar 19, 2020
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has accepted he was wrong to grant planning permission for a west London hotel site and has agreed to pay the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea costs of £90,000.
Mar 19, 2020
A false statement given in support of an application for social housing can invalidate a tenancy even if it was not directly determinative of the decision to grant it, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Mar 19, 2020
Emergency legislation will suspend new evictions from social or private rented accommodation while the national emergency over Covid-19 is taking place, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced.
Mar 19, 2020
A doctor who lost his job after making whistleblowing disclosures has been awarded more than £857,000 by an Employment Tribunal.
Mar 19, 2020
The High Court has dismissed the first judicial review to be brought against the Office for Students (OfS).
Mar 18, 2020
The Communities Secretary has confirmed that planning regulations will temporarily be relaxed to allow all pubs and restaurants to operate as takeaways of hot food and drinks, as part of plans to help the hospitality industry during the coronavirus outbreak.
Mar 18, 2020
No one should lose their home because of coronavirus, the National Housing Federation has said.
Mar 18, 2020
The Local Government Association has welcomed a government commitment to bring forward measures protecting tenants from eviction amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Mar 18, 2020
Claimant law firm Simpson Millar has sent a letter before action on behalf of the mother of a child with a number of complex health and learning disabilities calling on the UK government to confirm its strategy for “meeting the needs of younger disabled people (children and working age adults) in…
Mar 18, 2020
Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) and the Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) have written to the Local Government Secretary on the impact of Covid-19 on governance issues.
Mar 18, 2020
The Supreme Court has given the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal’s ruling that voluntary overtime needed to be included in the calculation of holiday pay for its workers.
Mar 18, 2020
The High Court is due tomorrow (19 March) to hear an action brought by Lee Valley Leisure Trust as part of a bitter dispute with the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.
Mar 18, 2020
Law firm Browne Jacobson has promoted 22 lawyers across its five offices to senior associate with effect from 1 May 2020.
Mar 17, 2020
A town clerk has been fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £1,493 after being prosecuted by the Information Commissioner’s Office for intentionally blocking records with the intent to prevent disclosure.
Mar 17, 2020
The government has launched a consultation this month on the development of a targeted intervention designed to stop ‘debt for yield’ activity where local authorities use low-cost loans from the Public Loans Works Board (PWLB) to buy investment property primarily for rental income.
Mar 17, 2020
There is an urgent need to increase the use of telephone and video technology immediately to hold remote hearings where possible, the Lord Chief Justice has said, saying it is “of vital importance that the administration of justice does not grind to a halt”.
Mar 17, 2020
Ofsted has temporarily suspended all routine inspections of schools, further education, early years and social care providers as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Mar 17, 2020
Electoral legislation that originates from the Victorian era is “out-dated, confusing and no longer fit for purpose”, the Law Commissions of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission have said in a report calling for the adoption of a single, consistent legislative framework.
Mar 17, 2020
Judges have dismissed a legal challenge over an alleged systemic failure by a London council to provide adequate secure accommodation for children at risk of being detained in police cells in circumstances where normal local authority accommodation would be unsuitable to meet the risks they pose to…
Mar 17, 2020
The government is to consider bringing forward legislation to legislation to allow council committee meetings to be held virtually for a temporary period during the coronavirus outbreak, the Local Government Secretary has said.
Mar 17, 2020
The Care Quality Commission has stopped routine inspections as it adapts its regulatory approach in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Mar 16, 2020
Sandwell Council is to suspend council debt-related court action against residents during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mar 16, 2020
A judge was entitled to conclude that the appropriate course was to make no order for costs in a housing case where legal proceedings were withdrawn because the claimant had obtained all the relief she was seeking, the Court of Appeal has found.
Mar 16, 2020
A 34-year-old man’s refusal of dialysis was a manifestation of his mental disorder and so he should be ordered to undergo treatment at times when he does not consent to it, a Court of Protection judge has found.
Mar 16, 2020
Lichfield District Council, South Staffordshire Council and Tamworth Borough Council are to create a shared legal service.
