Local Government - February 2008
In this edition we look at data protection, homelessness,
trips at work,public procurement,school organisation ...
.... and admissions, alcohol-related
dismissals and protective awards in redundancy cases. We also
provide updates on children and adult services, and we include our
regular ethical standards clinic and our digest of case law and new
legislation.
Data protection
Missing discs and stolen laptops are big news
now, but what are the real risks? Simon Charlton looks at damages claims and the
penalties the Information Commissioner can impose for breached of
the Data Protection Act.
Homelessness
Homeless because they didn’t pay the rent, but
challenging the landlord’s rent increase. Peter Wake considers the Court of Appeal’s judgment
in Green & Coyne v Croydon London Borough
Council, and the implications for homelessness Reviewing
Officers faced with a tricky set of facts.
Litigation
Trips and slips at work can lead to civil
claims. Saul Burton describes
the unreported case of Sims v Herefordshire County
Council and considers the obligation placed upon the
employer by regulations 12(1) and 12(2) of the Workplace (Health,
Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
Ethical Standards Clinic
Strange things can happen at Standards
Committee hearings. Claire Lefort
considers whether complainants can take part, disruption at
Standards Committee hearings, and what to do if the member
complains that a document has been stolen.
Procurement
Provisions within The Public Contracts and
Utilities Contracts (Amendment ) Regulations 2007 came into force
on 1 January 2008. Sean Crotty takes a quick
look at the new public procurement thresholds and a challenge to
the application of the Teckal doctrine.
Continuing Care
What happens when the local authority and the
PCT disagree about how an individual’s need should be met?
Morris Hill comments on R (St
Helens Borough Council) v Manchester PCT and PE and the
implications for resolving disputes about who is responsible for
providing a continuing care package.
Adult Services
New treatment consent forms, the progress of
the Health and Social Care Bill, a report from the Mental
Health Act Commission on the idea that you need to find funding
before sectioning, Government strategy on integrating health and
social care with housing, proposals for the future funding of
social care for adults with learning disabilities, guidance on
nominating a consultee for research involving adults without
capacity to consent, and City of Westminster v
IC on capacity to marry . Catriona Sangster provides an update for adult
services lawyers.
Children’s Services
Practice direction on experts, revised DCSF
guidance for local authorities applying for court orders, cases on
sexual abuse, DNA testing, the removal of “baby K”, a failed care
order, adoption abroad and maladministration - Children’s services law update from Catriona
Sangster.
Education
It’s that time of the year again! Morris Hill looks at the new School Admissions Code,
Ombudsman complaints on admissions and new Regulations on School
Organisation changes.
Alcohol related dismissals
Sinclair v Wandsworth County
Council confirmed that an employer’s failure to implement
its alcohol policy when disciplining an employee with an alcohol
problem rendered the dismissal unfair. The case is also of interest
as it explored the issue of whether misconduct arising from the
employee's alcoholism could amount to contributory fault for the
purposes of assessing unfair dismissal compensation. Carley Wilson considers recent case law on
reasonable adjustments.
Protective awards
Since the introduction of the Employment
Protection Act 1975, there has been an obligation to consult with
representatives ahead of decisions to make employees redundant;
whilst this particular form of obligation has changed following
case law and amendments to the legislation, the framework remains
constant – an employer proposing to make redundancies must provide
information in advance, and consult appropriate representatives.
Kate Rashid considers protective awards and
the recent case of Evans & Ors v Permacell Finesse Ltd
[2007].
Cases and legislation
We highlight new cases
and legislation of interest to local authorities in January
2008.
We hope that you find our bulletin informative
and practical and we would welcome feedback on ways in which we can
ensure that the bulletin best meets your needs. The
Bulletin’s editor is Graeme Creer, Partner, who can be contacted
at: Graeme.creer@weightmans.com
This update does not attempt to provide a full
analysis of those matters with which it deals and is provided for
general information purposes only and is not intended to constitute
legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for legal
advice. Weightmans LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that
may arise from reliance on the information in this update. The
copyright in this update is owned by Weightmans.