Updates include data breach claims, contract law, procurement & bids, Environmental Protection Act, historical abuse & negligence.
Welcome to our Public Matters Newsletter.
This month we have:
Ros Foster and Matthew Alderton summarise recent cases, which give considerable comfort to data controllers seeking to defend themselves against claims that relate to breaches arising as a result of a failure rather than a direct act and/or are based on assertions of damage or distress that are exaggerated, unsubstantiated or bear little relation to the breach itself.
Ruairi O'Grady sets out the legal position on the incorporation of both standard and onerous T&Cs into a contract before exploring HHJ Davies’ conclusion that the claimant’s onerous T&Cs had not been successfully incorporated.
It is critical that contracting authorities are aware of this biennial review and the amended threshold figures.
Peter Ware takes us through the changes.
Anja Beriro looks at the three key pinch points that need to be properly managed: the selection qualification stage, award criteria evaluation and contract finalisation.
Traditionally Environmental Protection Act (EPA) claims in respect of statutory nuisance were made by local authorities against occupiers, however claimant solicitors are increasingly pursuing this avenue on behalf of tenants by suggesting that the condition of their home constitutes a statutory nuisance.
Victoria Curran outlines what to do if you receive an EPA notice.
It is an unfortunate reality that many local authorities face historical abuse claims, and often held vicariously liable for abuse by their former employees.
Ryan Wise sets out an overview of recoveries law and insight into successes we have had in recouping money for local authorities.
Louise Fisher explains why the judgment in YXA v Wolverhampton City Council [2021] is significant for several reasons.
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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.
