Leading public law junior Steve Broach has joined 39 Essex Chambers with immediate effect.

A company was not liable for business rates on a building it does not wholly occupy, the High Court has found.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

Amendments to the Coronavirus Bill will rule out uncertainty over whether local authority meetings can be held online, writes Charles Holland.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The judiciary have published a protocol on the conduct of remote hearings in civil justice in England and Wales.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

A doctor who lost his job after making whistleblowing disclosures has been awarded more than £857,000 by an Employment Tribunal.

The High Court has dismissed the first judicial review to be brought against the Office for Students (OfS).

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.

No one should lose their home because of coronavirus, the National Housing Federation has said.

The Local Government Association has welcomed a government commitment to bring forward measures protecting tenants from eviction amid the coronavirus outbreak.

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…

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.

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.

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.

Law firm Browne Jacobson has promoted 22 lawyers across its five offices to senior associate with effect from 1 May 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.

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.

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”.

Ofsted has temporarily suspended all routine inspections of schools, further education, early years and social care providers as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

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.

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…

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.

The Care Quality Commission has stopped routine inspections as it adapts its regulatory approach in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Sandwell Council is to suspend council debt-related court action against residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

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.

Lichfield District Council, South Staffordshire Council and Tamworth Borough Council are to create a shared legal service.

Lawyers acting for a mother with a child at primary school in County Armagh have said they intend to apply for emergency judicial review of the decision not to close schools across Northern Ireland.

The government has decided to postpone the 7 May 2020 local and mayoral elections in England for one year.

Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) and the Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) have issued a joint statement on local authority decision-making and the democratic process in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service has today (13 March) issued guidance for all court and tribunal users during the coronavirus outbreak.