Updates include social care, procurement, COP26 and employment law.
Welcome to our Public Matters Newsletter.
This month we have:
We have seen an increased emphasis on potential claims under the Human Rights Act 1998.
Louise Fisher summarises our case of AB v Worcestershire County Council and Anr, a failure to remove claim brought under the Human Rights Act 1998.
Neil Kates outlines the scope of PPN 09/21, associated guidance and impact for contracting authorities.
Laura Hughes sets out the key points for local authorities following the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow.
James Tait takes a look at what employment law developments may be on the cards for the coming year.
First published on the localgov, Craig Elder's article summarises the Government's response (Green Paper) to the Transforming Public Procurement consultation.
Does it herald real change, and what are the key elements that will be of interest or concern to government buyers and their suppliers?
One of the key considerations in the Government's Green Paper are the grounds for excluding bidders from a procurement process.
Angelica Hymers considers what we can expect when the new procurement regime goes live in 2023.
We have been advising a number of schools on their Covid-19-impacted ski trips.
Ruairi O'Grady provides a guide for schools planning their forthcoming ski trips, including discussions with trip providers.
Law firm Browne Jacobson has collaborated with Wiltshire Council and Christ Church Business School on the launch event of The Council Company Best Practice and Innovation Network, a platform which brings together academic experts and senior local authority leaders, allowing them to share best practice in relation to council companies.
In the Autumn Statement delivered on 17 November, rises to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates were announced, to take effect from 1 April 2023.
Announced in September but scrapped on 17 November the investment zone proposals were very short lived. The proposal has now morphed into the proposal for a smaller number of clustered zones earmarked for investment.
Settlement agreements are commonplace in an employment context and are ordinarily used to provide the parties to the agreement with certainty following the conclusion of an employment relationship.
On 2 November 2022, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the much awaiting case of Hillside Parks Ltd v Snowdonia National Park Authority [2022] UKSC 30. The Court’s judgment suggests that the long established practice of using drop-in applications is in fact much more restricted than previously thought. This judgment therefore has significant implications for both the developers and local planning authorities.
In ‘failure to remove’ claims, the claimant alleges abuse in the family home and asserts that the local authority should have known about the abuse and/or that they should have removed the claimant from the family home and into care earlier.
Across the UK, homelessness is an urgent crisis, and one that is set to grow amid the rising cost of living. Local authorities are at the forefront of responding to this crisis, but with a lack of properties that are suitable for social housing across the UK, vulnerable individuals and families are often housed in temporary accommodation.
Settlement agreements in an employment context are ordinarily used to provide both parties with certainty following the conclusion of an employment relationship – but what happens when there is alleged discrimination after entering into a settlement agreement?
Updates include UK Shared Prosperity Fund, contracts, Subsidy Control Bill, data controller liability, Government Covid-19 procurement and Highway Code revisions.
The complex and rather nebulous transitional subsidy control regime set out in the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement and the UK’s wider international commitments has made it difficult for public authorities and those working with them to proceed with certainty where subsidies are involved.
