Transcript Legal Update - Society of Local Council Clerks
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Power, Freedom and Grass: Local Council Law in 2014
Debbie Ashton and Nicholas Hancox SLCC National Conference 2014
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Power…
The General Power of Competence, including the issue of generating electricity for sale: what a council can do and what it can’t under the Localism Act 2011
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Freedom…
The Freedom of Information Act 2000: getting it right. Recent FOI Act Court judgments and Tribunal decisions affecting local councils
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Grass…
Village Green cases including the Barkas case in the Supreme Court
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Power (1)
Power to install solar panels, wind turbines etc
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Power (2)
Power to sell surplus electricity generated?
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Power (3)
Statutory provisions:
•
LGA 1972, section 111
•
Localism Act 2011, section 1 Court decisions
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Power (4)
Other solutions
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Freedom (1)
The Freedom of Information Act 2000: getting it right. Recent FOI Act Court judgments and Tribunal decisions affecting local councils
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Freedom (2)
Vexatious or repeated requests (section 14)
Paul Campbell v (1)The Information Commissioner and (2) Steyning Parish
Council [FTT Decision EA/2013/0225]
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Freedom (3)
Appeals against the Upper Tribunal decisions in (1) Information Commissioner v Devon CC v Dransfield and (2) Craven v Information
Commissioner and DECC
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Freedom (4)
Law enforcement (s 31), health and safety (s 38), personal data (s 40)
Stephen Hepple v (1) Information Commissioner and (2) Durham
County Council [FTT Decision EA/2013/0168]
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Freedom (5)
Personal data (section 40)
Edem v Information Commissioner
and another [2014] EWCA Civ 92
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Freedom (6)
Personal data of children or young persons
Surrey Heath Borough Council v Information Commissioner and
another [2014] UKUT 339 (AAC) (the Morley case)
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Freedom (7)
Information provided in confidence (section 41)
Telford & Wrekin Council v Information Commissioner and
Honarmond [FTT Decision EA/2013/0035]
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Freedom (8)
Inquiries etc - exemption lasting beyond the inquiry (section 32(2))
Kennedy v Charity Commission
[2014] UKSC 20
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Freedom (9)
What are requesters entitled to?
IPSA v Information Commissioner
and Leapman [2014] UKUT 33: copies of original receipts and invoices relating to expenses claimed by MPs
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Freedom (10)
What are requesters entitled to?
Innes v Information Commissioner
[2014] EWCA Civ 1086: information in the requested format if reasonably practicable
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Freedom (11)
The Freedom of Information Act 2000: getting it right ICO guidance at www.ico.org.uk
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Grass (1)
Village Green cases:
R (on the application of Barkas (Appellant) v North Yorkshire County Council and another (Respondents)
[2014] UKSC 31
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Grass (2)
Barkas
– use of council-owned recreation ground was ‘by right’ rather than ‘as of right’
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Grass (3)
R (Beresford ) v Sunderland City
Council [2003] UKHL 60 wrongly decided
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Grass (4)
Adamson v Paddico and Taylor v Betterment cases [2014] UKSC 7: applications for rectification of the register – lapse of time not immaterial
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Grass (5)
R (Church Commissioners for England)
v Hampshire County Council [2014] Civ 364: an applicant could be given a reasonable opportunity to correct errors in a defective application and the application, if corrected, would take effect from the filing date
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Allotments
R (Wood and Turley) v Leeds City Council
[2014] EWHC 2598 (Admin) A decision to increase allotment rents was flawed – Allotments Act 1950, section 10 and the importance of a valuation exercise
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