The Supreme Court will next week (11 December) hand down a key judgment on village green registration where publically accessible land is held by public authorities pursuant to statutory powers.

A working group seeking solutions to the dearth of medical experts willing to work in the family courts has made 22 recommendations for change including a simpler process for payment and allowing courts work to be part of employment contracts.

Northumberland County Council has had to grant itself retrospective planning permission for three ground source heat pump arrays after realising that it had gone ahead in the mistaken belief that permission was not needed.

The Information Commissioner has launched a consultation on new draft guidance for organisations on how to handle Subject Access Requests (SARs) under the GDPR.

The Court of Appeal had dismissed as academic a case brought against the London Borough of Islington over its discretionary housing payments (DHP) policy and a requirement for a claimant to make a contribution to a shortfall in rent.

A group of 13 barristers specialising in family law are to move next year to Parklane Plowden Chambers.

A regulatory enforcement lawyer at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Aaminah Khan, has joined St John’s Buildings.

Shropshire Council has obtained an injunction to secure affordable housing provision on a housing development site, it has been reported.

Cheltenham Borough Council has successfully prosecuted five drivers for unlawfully plying for hire during Cheltenham Festival 2019.

Fewer than a third of 432 scrutiny officers and councillors who responded to a survey by the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) agree that there is “parity of esteem between the executive and scrutiny”.

Cumbria County Council has defeated a statutory challenge to a traffic regulation order (“TRO”) made in respect of an unadopted highway in Carlisle city centre.

The Court of Appeal last month rejected a claim that an environmental permit granted by the Environment Agency for a waste incineration plant was vitiated by an error made in the permit application.

Piers Riley-Smith of Kings Chambers has recently secured confirmation of three compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, all at public inquiry.

A campaign group has said it has successfully raised sufficient funds to pursue a judicial review against East West Rail (EWR) should a route announcement for the new Bedford to Cambridge rail line be by way of Bassingbourn or neighbouring villages.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a consultation on new draft guidance for organisations using, or thinking about using, artificial intelligence (AI) to support or make decisions about individuals.

Local authorities and housing associations could face having to refund millions of pounds to tenants after a council lost a test case in the High Court on water re-selling, it has been claimed.

Joint action by Hillingdon Council’s planning enforcement and trading standards teams has seen a Hayes landlord ordered to pay more than £430,000 after she turned her property into an illegal House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

National law firm Browne Jacobson has elected corporate partner Richard Medd as its new managing partner with effect from 1 May 2020 for a three year term.

A Welsh council has successfully defended its decision not to renew a dog breeder’s licence over breaches of conditions identified during unannounced inspections.

Camden Council has submitted claims to the High Court to recover costs from the contractor PFIC (Partners for Improvement in Camden) and its principal subcontractors, who previously had responsibility for refurbishment and maintenance of the Chalcots Estate, under a private finance initiative…

Premises used to accommodate a 15-year-old girl became "secure accommodation" within the meaning of s.25(1) of the Children Act 1989, even though they were not designed as such, because of the use to which they were put in her case, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The Court of Appeal has this week heard an appeal by Wakefield City Council over the High Court’s decision to quash the authority’s decision fixing licensing fees for private hire vehicles and taxis.

Lord Justice Baker has given permission for two judgments he made in the Family Court to be published in full, except for identification of the child involved, following the end of criminal proceedings against the parents.

The former acting Head of Legal and Deputy Head of Legal (Regeneration and Governance) at Blackpool Borough Council, Gemma Duxbury, has joined Forbes Solicitors as a Senior Associate.

The Metropolitan Police has agreed to delete information relating to a referral of a primary school age child under the government’s Prevent programme, and other referring authorities have also agreed to correct and delete the relevant records.

A district judge has ruled that two roads are of so little use to the public that the London Borough of Barnet need not adopt them.

A resident of a housing association in London has failed in a Court of Appeal challenge over an injunction restraining him from committing anti-social behaviour.

A children's legal rights charity has launched an information hub to help professionals and community organisations challenge unfair school exclusions in England.

The Court of Appeal has given a local resident permission to appeal a High Court ruling on the lawfulness of a decision by the Cabinet at Birmingham City Council to fund – at a cost of £19m – the retro-fitting of sprinkler systems to all the tower blocks it owns.

The University of London has lost an appeal over whether the Upper Tribunal has power under the Electronic Communications Code to impose on the occupier of a building an agreement permitting access by an operator to determine whether that building is suitable for the installation of electronic…

­­The Planning Board at the Royal Borough of Greenwich has removed a clause from a s106 agreement that was intended to restrict future occupants of a housing development from pursuing claims for nuisance or damages over noise, after receiving legal advice suggesting it was unlawful.

DAC Beachcroft has advised Blackpool Council on its £47m purchase of the town’s Houndshill Shopping Centre from the receivers of its previous owners, BCC Eiffel.

The Welsh Government is to consult on which public bodies should be captured by the socio-economic duty under Part 1, Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 and how the duty should be delivered.

Camden Council is reported to have obtained London’s first rogue landlord banning order against a man who repeatedly placed tenants’ lives at risk through letting unsafe housing.

Injunctions restricting street protests over an infant and junior school’s teaching of “LGBT issues” should remain in place, a High Court judge has ruled.

Employment and discrimination specialist Thomas Linden QC of Matrix Chambers has been appointed as a High Court judge, assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division.

A borough council has failed to persuade the Planning Court that a planning inspector, when granting permission for a 55-dwelling scheme, erred in affording significant rather than full weight to the conflict between the proposed development and policies in the development plan restricting…

The Supreme Court will next week hear a county council’s appeal over whether it misapplied part of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) when considering mineral extraction in the Green Belt.

Transport for London (TfL) has decided not to grant Uber London Limited (Uber) a new private hire operator's licence after concluding the company was “not fit and proper”.

The Law Society has issued an updated practice note on legal professional privilege (LPP) to reflect recent developments in case law.

National Grid has appointed ten law firms to a framework agreement for the provision of legal services.

The Court of Appeal has said that where a homeless applicant had accepted the accommodation offered, a council conducting a subsequent review under s.202 of the Housing Act 1996 was required to reconsider its decision to secure accommodation outside the local authority's area in the light of all…

Local authorities face a legal recruitment squeeze as levels of legal work continue to grow exponentially, research published this week by Local Government Lawyer has found.

Vale of White Horse District Council had the right to correct an error on a map of Green Belt boundaries without going through a complete consultation on the matter, the High Court has ruled.

A long-serving councillor at Kings Lynn & West Norfolk has been removed from office for using a bogus signature on his nomination paper for last May’s election.

Runnymede Borough Council has breached the Home Standard for fire and electrical safety, the Regulator for Social Housing has said.

The High Court has ruled as unlawful a Home Office policy of allowing victims of trafficking seeking a reconsideration of a negative decision to approach it only through specified organisations.

The number of applications made by care homes and hospitals to local authorities under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) has increased by an average of 15.0% each year since 2014-15, official statistics from NHS Digital have revealed.

There is “still much to do if we are to become a country that works for all children”, the President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has said on the 30th anniversary of the landmark Children Act 1989.

The Welsh Government has introduced a Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill which includes a general power of competence, a power for local authorities to make an application to merge voluntarily, and powers to facilitate regional working through corporate joint committees.

The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that a district council acted unlawfully when, in granting planning permission for a wind turbine, it took into account a proposed donation to a local community fund.

A Church of England multi-academy trust facing legal action over compulsory collective worship in its schools has agreed to provide alternative inclusive materials and activities featuring no prayers or other acts of Christian worship.

Local authorities in the UK have detected 22% more cases of council tax fraud compared to last year, research by CIPFA has found.

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal brought by a great-aunt from care and placement orders made by a judge at the conclusion of proceedings concerning a two-year-old boy, J.

The Court of Appeal is this week hearing a challenge to the decision by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to transfer services away from South Tyneside Hospital.

The Legal Aid Agency has published the list of 21 providers appointed to two panels for the delivery of civil legal aid services in education and discrimination cases.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has appointed 12 law firms to a framework for the provision of prosecution and legal services worth an estimated £4m.

A long-established gliding club has won a Planning Court challenge over Harborough District Council’s decision to grant prior approval for a barn conversion on a site next to its airfield.

The leaders of the UK’s four Local Government Associations earlier this month agreed a shared programme of action promoting greater civility in public life.

A solicitor and former councillor has been sentenced to serve 16 months in custody after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud.