Legal
Councils' loans legal action fails
Councils are considering whether to appeal after a High Court judge threw out a bid to sue Barclays over a number of loans.
Jenrick warned of legal action over end to virtual meetings
Local government secretary Robert Jenrick has been served a pre-action letter warning of legal action to allow virtual council meetings to continue.
Ban on bailiff evictions in England extended by six weeks
A ban on bailiff evictions has been extended until the end of March to protect renters during the current lockdown restrictions.
The practical difficulties of Scotland’s new short-term lets licensing regime
Stephen McGowan asks if Scotland’s new short-term lets licensing regime is a further load on local authorities.
Exit pay cap revoked
The Government has dropped its controversial cap on public sector exit payments after admitting it had ‘unintended consequences’.
Split emerges as exit pay cap case approaches
Divisions have emerged between the Local Government Association (LGA) and groups challenging the exit pay cap.
Government 'understands' virtual meetings call
Sector representatives have been told their arguments for allowing virtual meetings to continue have been ‘well-made and are understood’ by the Government.
Disrepair and different tenures
Barrister Andrew Lane offers an overview of scenarios where the local authority freeholder is at risk of damages exposure.
Subsidy Control – the new state aid
Councils still need to comply with new ‘Subsidy Control’ requirements, despite the end of state aid law in Great Britain. Paul McDermott, Victoria Thornton and Julian Jarrett explain how to navigate the new landscape.
Legal advice sought in fight to keep remote meetings
Local government officers are seeking legal advice to work out if councils can continue to hold meetings remotely without a change to the law.
Fresh calls for standards code sanctions
Fresh calls for meaningful sanctions on badly behaving councillors were made this week after the Local Government Association (LGA) unanimously approved a model code of conduct.
Local authorities and coronavirus
Tiffany Cloynes and Clare Hardy of Geldards look at the implications of the pandemic for the way local authorities operate, and the adjustments they need to make.
New procurement rules – a chance to have your say
Helen Randall at Trowers & Hamlins outlines the major changes to procurement rules proposed in the Green Paper. For councils, this could mean co-designing evaluation criteria with health and other tiers of government.
May elections to go ahead as chiefs call for indemnity
Local elections will go ahead on 6 May despite the ongoing pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled.
We need to continue to encourage people to do the right thing
What we need is clear, consistent messaging on how residents can keep themselves and others safe, 'not a bunch of new rules and regulations', says Paul Shevlin.
Grenfell survivors in multimillion pound lawsuit
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Kensington and Chelsea LBC are among the defendants.
Warning over integrated care plan
Proposals to merge health bodies into larger regional integrated care systems (ICS) are ‘in danger of missing the real prize of collaborative place-based leadership,’ councils have warned.
Installing EV charging infrastructure: opportunities for local authorities
Stuart Urquart says the most appropriate EV charging infrastructure procurement option for a particular authority will depend on a number of options, including the risk appetite of each party.
High Court to hear four exit pay cap legal challenges
Another trade union has been granted permission to challenge the public sector exit pay cap at the High Court.
Uncertainty over rates rebate risk
More uncertainty has been heaped on councils after it emerged they could be hit by a £481m business rates rebate for the office sector.
