Legal
Navigating Digital Transformation
Lucy Woods at legal firm Ashfords shares her top tips for getting the best outcome from digital procurement.
Government stands firm after Pickles plea
The Government has said it ‘would not be appropriate’ to pay legal costs to whistleblowers in electoral fraud cases despite a former communities secretary revealing he fought for it to happen.
Councils lose appeal to keep publishing fortnightly newspaper
Two London boroughs have lost their final legal appeal to keep publishing their fortnightly newsletters.
EXCLUSIVE: Two LEPs still do not have legal personality
Two local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) have been granted extensions due to ‘exceptional circumstances’ after failing to adopt legal personalities before the April deadline, The MJ has learnt.
EXCLUSIVE: Charity Commission to intervene in £2.4bn rates dispute
Charity Commission experts will be called on to help the High Court settle the long-running legal dispute between councils and NHS trusts over rates relief.
Redditch slapped with rare Section 24
Auditor Grant Thornton has slapped Redditch BC with a rare Section 24 notice and urged it to take urgent steps to address its financial challenges.
Audit sign off delayed for fourth year
Auditors will not be able to sign off Scarborough BC’s accounts by the statutory deadline with a formal objection stretching back four years still unresolved.
Unlawful pensions judgement will apply to local government
Council pension schemes will be affected by a legal ruling that found proposed changes unlawfully discriminatory.
Youth service review launched
A review has been launched into statutory guidance for councils on youth service provision.
Reading considers action against auditor over accounts
Reading Council has been left with a bill of more than £500,000 as it gets to grips with accounting problems.
Court date set for councils' £2bn tax dispute with NHS trusts
A court date has been set for the long-running legal dispute between councils and NHS trusts over rates relief.
Scotland to exclude pension strain from exit cap
Scotland will not follow England by counting the mandatory cost of pension strain towards the £95,000 cap on public sector exit payments, finance secretary Derek Mackay has said.
Dealing with disciplinary investigations
Serious disciplinary allegations against a chief executive or other statutory officer are never welcome news, say Sarah Lamont and Judith Barnes as they outline the mechanisms to be put in place and what councils will need to focus on.
Breaking the non-disclosure habit?
Non-disclosure clauses in employment settlements are often being used by employers to cover up complaints of harassment and discrimination, says a select committee report. To what extent is this the case in local government? Ann McGauran reports
Legal officers press for standards reform
The rise in the number of independent councillors has strengthened the case for a tougher standards regime, monitoring officers have argued.
EXCLUSIVE: £95k exit cap regulations are 'lawyers' charter to print money'
Government regulations introducing a £95,000 cap on local government exit payments are a ‘lawyers’ charter to print money,’ the trade union representing the most senior managers in the sector is expected to tell Whitehall.
Councils to appeal 'town hall Pravdas' ruling
Waltham Forest and Hackney LBCs will appeal after a judge backed Government attempts to stop them publishing a council newspaper every two weeks.
Call for Liverpool intervention after mayoral review frustration
Liverpool City Council’s Lib Dem leader has called for the Government to intervene after he claimed the authority blocked his attempts to review the elected mayor position.
Information sharing tensions found in child harm review
Legal and ethical tensions between maintaining confidentiality and sharing information are continuing, a review of some of the most serious child protection cases in Scotland has found.
Court ruling defends council but warns others
A crucial Supreme Court judgment has dismissed a family’s claim against a council for housing them next to an abusive household, but stressed authorities may still have a duty of care in other circumstances.