The Local Government (Structural and Boundary Changes) (Amendment) Regulations 2018, S.I. 2018/1296, will come into force on 2 January 2019. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 Part 1 provides for structural and boundary changes in relation to local government areas in England. These Regulations, made under Section 14 of the 2007 Act, make incidental, consequential, transitional and supplementary provision of general application in relation to the exercise of certain functions for the purposes of, and in consequence of, Orders made by the Secretary of State under Sections 7 and 10 of the 2007 Act. Part 1 of these Regulations amends Regulations previously made under Section 14 of the 2007 Act. Part 2 of the Regulations makes provision to specify the dates on which the collection funds and general funds of councils established under a Section 10 Order must be established in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, and modifies relevant provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to allow those councils, in setting their council tax, to take account of precepts which may be issued by charter trustees which may be established under a Section 10 Order.
Legitimate Expectation
December 7th, 2018 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsIn R (Jeffries) v SSHD, (2018) EWHC 3239 (Admin) a Divisional Court held that views given by the then Prime Minister in a private meeting with press misconduct victims, about the desirability of completing the anticipated second part of a Public Inquiry into press misconduct, could not give rise to a legitimate expectation that the second part would go ahead. The meeting had been off the record by agreement, and the Prime Minister could not have thought, or objectively be expected to have thought, that his words could be relied on as creating a legitimate expectation. Read more »
Local Government Reorganisation
November 30th, 2018 by James Goudie KC in Best ValueMHCLG has on 29 November 2018, pursuant to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, launched an eight week Consultation, for response by 25 January 2019, on a proposal from seven of the eight Northamptonshire councils (the exception being Corby Borough Council) for local government reorganisation in Northamptonshire. An independent inspection report, by Max Caller CBE, had found that the County Council, in this currently two-tier local government area, has failed to meet its “Best Value” duty under the Local Government Act 1999. MrCaller recommended that new single tier, i.e. unitary, authorities should be created. The Government accepted the unitary recommendation, and rejected the option of a single unitary covering the whole of Northamptonshire. Read more »
Legitimate Expectation
November 29th, 2018 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsThe Upper Tribunal (Fancourt J presiding) has in judicial review proceedings restated the principles for a claimant establishing or a defendant resiling from a legitimate expectation potentially established by published guidance from a public authority, as follows, in R (Vacation Rentals (UK) Ltd v HMRC), (2018) UKUT 383 (TCC):-
(1) The principle that substantive as well as procedural legitimate expectation should be protected is now well established as a ground for judicial review: Read more »
Unlawful Discrimination
November 29th, 2018 by James Goudie KC in Human Rights and Public Sector Equality DutyIn R (Stott) v SoS for Justice (2018) UKSC 59 the Supreme Court considered the scope of “other status” within the Article 14 prohibition of the ECHR. Lady Black, delivering the principal Judgment, said, at paragraph 80, that when considering an as yet unconsidered characteristic, a Court will have in mind the nature of the grounds it was thought right to list specifically. However, a strict ejusdem generis interpretation would be unduly restrictive. At paragraph 81, Lady Black said that, although “not open-ended”, the grounds within Article 14 are to be given “a generous meaning”.
Waste Sites
November 29th, 2018 by James Goudie KC in Environment, Highways and LeisureThe Environmental Protection (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England and Wales) Regulations 2018, S.I. 2018/1227 (“the 2018 Regulations”), make amendments to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (“the EPA”) and the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, S.I. 2016/1154 (“the EP Regulations”).
The 2018 Regulations amendments relate to matters including new conditions for environmental permits authorising certain waste operations, and provisions relating to flood risk activities and radioactive substance activities. Read more »
Restrictive Covenants
November 29th, 2018 by James Goudie KC in Land, Goods and ServicesIn Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust v Millgate Developments Limited (2018) EWCA Civ 2679 the Court of Appeal considered the modification of restrictive covenants pursuant to Section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The covenants in question prevented residential development on an area of open land. The modification applied for would allow such development. The Upper Tribunal had a discretion whether to modify the restrictive covenants or not. The Tribunal will not generally be inclined to reward parties who deliberately flout their legal obligations by deliberately breaching a restrictive covenant. Read more »
Village Greens
November 27th, 2018 by James Goudie KC in Land, Goods and ServicesThe Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal in conjoined cases R (Lancashire County Council) v SoS for DEFRA and R (NHS Property Services) v Surrey County Council on town and village greens, local authority owned land, and the important concept of “statutory incompatibility”.