Jill Morgan
Jill Morgan is a Chartered Legal Executive and the founder of Clear and Credible Ltd, a content writing and copywriting business, specialising in law, local government and social welfare.
Jill has specialised in housing law for a number of years, particularly homelessness and possession proceedings. She has a keen interest in social welfare law and associated issues and has contributed to a number of published texts.
Jill’s practice extends across all aspects of local government law, including governance, planning, licensing, environmental health, property, housing and commercial contract. In her role as Deputy Monitoring Officer, she was heavily involved in governance arrangements and standards matters. Jill managed the local authority’s licensing team for a number of years and has a wealth of experience in advising at committees, sub-committees and contested hearings.
In addition to contributing to the legal practice notes below, Jill has prepared numerous court digests and summaries of judicial decisions across various practice areas.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2017
Experience
- Durham County Council (2023 - 2024)
- Allerdale Borough Council (2015 - 2023)
- Citizens Advice Allerdale (2006 - 2018)
Membership
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
Qualifications
- Copywriting Level 4 (2023)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Local Government Law (2020)
- Level 6 Diploma in Legal Practice (2015)
- Common Professional Examination (2006)
- BA (Hons) English Language (2003)
Education
- College of Media and Publishing (2023)
- The Creative Copywriting Academy (2022)
- The Law Society (2020)
- CILEX Law School (2015)
- Northumbria University (2006)
- Lancaster University (2003)
12 Contributions by Jill Morgan
PRACTICE NOTES
Abandoned motor vehicles: offences and local authority powers under RD(A)A 1978 and RTRA 1984, including removal, disposal and cost recovery (England, Wales and Scotland)
offences
Section 2 of the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 (RD(A)A 1978) creates a criminal offence where, without lawful authority, a motor vehicle is abandoned on any land in the open air, or on any land that forms part of a highway. It is likewise an offence to abandon anything that once formed part of a motor vehicle and was taken from it while the vehicle was being dismantled on the land. Where the vehicle has not been abandoned but is left on the road and is causing a nuisance to residents and road users, this conduct may well amount to an offence. See Practice Note: Nuisance parking criminal offences.
Sentences for abandoning a vehicle
The maximum penalty upon summary conviction is a level 4 fine, three months’ imprisonment, or both. RD(A)A 1978, s 2A authorises an officer of a local authority to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) as an alternative to prosecution for the offence. The fixed penalty is £200.
Duty of local authority in respect of abandoned vehicle
RD(A)A 1978, s 3 imposes a duty on a local authority to remove abandoned vehicles...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Care plans and looked-after children reviews in England: statutory duties, content and preparation, IRO oversight, review process and timing, and challenging plans before, during and after proceedings
This Practice Note explains what a care plan is, when it must be created and when it should be created.
It outlines what constitutes a care plan, the points at which it is required and when it ought to be prepared. It offers practical guidance on who should compile the plan, who needs to be consulted, and the matters it should cover. The information in this Practice Note concerns the law currently in force in England. The position in Wales is addressed by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and related statutory instruments, such as the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/1818. Note that regulations 4 and 5 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/1818, mirror the wording of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, SI 2010/959. See further Practice Note: Local authority duties to looked after children in Wales. Chapter 1 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017 created a duty on local authorities to take into account additional general needs, described as principles, when dealing with:
children who are looked after children (LAC)
relevant children
former relevant children under the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989)...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Children in Need in England: Local Authority Duties, Assessments under Children Act 1989 ss 17 and 47, Service Provision (including NRPF), and Judicial Review
Please note that this Practice Note reflects the law currently in force in England as it stands. In Wales, this subject area is governed by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 together with the related statutory instruments.
General duties of the local authority
In each local authority area, the safeguarding partners are namely:
the local authority
integrated care boards, any part of which falls within the local authority area
the chief officer of police for a police area, any part of which falls within the local authority area
These partners are required to put in place arrangements for themselves and relevant agencies to collaborate in exercising their functions, with the clear aim of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children within the area.
All partners and agencies identified in the Child Safeguarding Practice Review and Relevant Agency (England) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/789 (broadly, education and childcare, health and social care providers, housing, health, criminal justice and police) should be fully aware of, and comply in full with, the published arrangements issued by the local safeguarding partners, and maintain processes for sharing information. See Practice Note: Safeguarding children...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Discrimination in Social Housing: PSED, Allocations, Homelessness, ASB, Reasonable Adjustments, Remedies and Key Case Law under the Equality Act 2010
This Practice Note explores what may amount to discrimination in a social housing setting and the situations in which it may occur. It also outlines the obligations on social housing providers to ensure the needs of people with protected characteristics are met, and to remove or lessen disadvantages they face when accessing housing support services. Social housing providers are treated as public authorities for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010). Consequently, public bodies must publish relevant, proportionate information demonstrating how they will meet the public sector equality duty (PSED). See Practice Notes: Specific public sector equality duties—England and Specific public sector equality duties—Wales.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination is the less favourable treatment of an individual or group regarded as ‘protected’ under the EqA 2010 because they have protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are:
age
disability
gender reassignment
marriage and civil partnership
pregnancy and maternity
race
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation
For further reading, see: Protected characteristics—overview.
Public authorities must have due regard to the need to:
eliminate unlawful discrimination
advance equality of opportunity between those who do and do not share a...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles: Licensing Offences, Plying for Hire Case Law, Enforcement, Insurance and Recent Legislative Developments
Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles
A ‘hackney carriage’ means a vehicle authorised to ‘ply for hire’, namely to offer a taxi service and stand on taxi ranks awaiting passengers. See the Practice Note: Taxi licensing. Plying for hire without a hackney carriage licence is an offence under section 45 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 (TPCA 1847). Touting for car hire services constitutes an offence by virtue of section 167 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPOA 1994). See Practice Notes: Taxi touting or soliciting for hire, and Taxi and private hire vehicles enforcement. A ‘private hire vehicle’ is defined at section 80 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (LG(MP)A 1976) as ‘a motor vehicle constructed or adapted to seat fewer than nine passengers, other than a hackney carriage or public service vehicle, or a London cab or tramcar, which is provided for hire with the services of a driver for the purpose of carrying passengers’. A ‘private hire vehicle’ must not ‘ply for hire’ nor stand on taxi ranks to await customers, for customers at authorised taxi ranks and not otherwise...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Highway stopping-up, diversion and closures: statutory powers, procedures and consequences, including temporary orders (England and Wales)
Although the common law adage ‘once a highway, always a highway’ is well known, statutory powers can prevail. As a result, highways can be diverted or closed under numerous Acts of Parliament, or through natural events. For diversion and closure arising from natural causes, see Practice Note: Natural and other causes of diversion and closure.
Stopping-up of highways
The principal powers most often used to stop up a highway are found in section 116 of the Highways Act 1980 (HiA 1980) and section 247 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990). Under HiA 1980, s 116, the highway authority may seek a stopping-up order from the magistrates’ court. The sole basis for such an order is that the highway is unnecessary. Under HiA 1980, s 117, anyone wishing to have a highway stopped up as unnecessary may request the local highway authority to apply for a section 116 order on their behalf. The authority can require the applicant to meet the costs of the application made for them. Section 116 applications are frequently brought for parts of highways, and not invariably for the full width, and whether concerning the entire width or only...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Local authority governance and executive decision-making: models, key decisions, private meetings, agendas and papers, access to information, attendance, conflicts, and reporting (England)
This Practice Note sets out the three principal models of governance for local authorities. It explains the difference between decisions that are executive and those that are non-executive or taken by the council. It also outlines the strict requirements for convening meetings and the notice that must be given, and discusses the rules and procedures concerning the agenda, minutes and executive meetings that apply in practice in detail.
Executive and non-executive decision making
There are three basic models of governance for local authorities:
the Executive Leader and Cabinet Model:
the Council, comprising all councillors, elects an Executive Leader, who appoints up to nine other councillors as members of the Executive (or ‘Cabinet’)
each Cabinet Member has a defined portfolio of responsibility
the Executive Leader is elected by full council for a term determined by the council, or on a four-yearly basis
certain ‘non-executive’ functions are reserved to Council by the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000, SI 2000/2853. These may largely be delegated to committees and to officers
under the Local Government Act 2000, all remaining functions of the authority fall to the Executive as ‘executive functions’...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Ownership by School Type, School Sites Act 1841 Reverter, and Community Use and Disposal of School Land and Premises (England and Wales)
This Practice Note outlines that who owns school land and buildings is chiefly determined by the school’s category, and examines ownership across community schools, voluntary schools, foundation schools, academies and free schools. It highlights renewed attention to the School Sites Act 1841 (SSA 1841), under which landowners were encouraged to gift plots for local schools on the understanding that, if a school later closed, the site would revert to the original donor. It also addresses provisions allowing schools to serve community uses such as elections.
Ownership of school land and premises
In broad terms, the ownership of school sites and playgrounds, school buildings and playing fields is largely dictated by the type of school.
Community schools
At ‘community’ schools, the land and premises are owned by the local authority for the area in which the school sits (that is, the county council, borough council or unitary authority). The same position applies to maintained nursery schools and community special schools. The local authority holds the legal freehold interest in the relevant land and premises...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Secure tenancies under the Housing Act 1985: statutory conditions, exclusions, variation, possession, demotion, flexible terms and tenants’ rights (England; Welsh position under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016)
Secure tenancy
This Practice Note outlines the tests in section 79 of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985) that must be satisfied for a tenancy to be secure, and then examines each test in detail. It considers whether the accommodation constitutes a dwelling, whether the dwelling is the tenant’s principal home, the landlord requirement, the tenant requirement, and the Schedule 1 HA 1985 exceptions where a tenancy or a licence cannot be secure. It also explains how a secure tenancy can be varied and highlights the additional rights available to secure tenants. Secure tenancies are the tenancy form most commonly provided by local authorities (LAs). The definition of a secure tenancy, and the rights afforded to secure tenants, are derived from Part 4 of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985)...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Taxi and private hire: touting/soliciting and plying for hire: CJPOA 1994 s167 offence, defences, prosecution, sentencing, ride-hailing case law, and DfT standards (England and Wales)
This Practice Note addresses a number of issues arising where a taxi or private hire vehicle engages in ‘touting’ or seeking custom for business. The areas covered are:
terminology
offence under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPOA 1994)
statutory defences
prosecution and sentencing
reforms in the law
Terminology
‘Private Hire Vehicle’ (PHV) is an umbrella term for minicabs, executive cars, chauffeur-driven services, limousines and certain school or day centre transport. Every PHV journey must be pre-booked via a licensed PHV operator and is subject to a ‘triple licensing lock’: the operator that takes the booking must use drivers and vehicles licensed by the same authority that granted the operator’s licence. In contrast, ‘taxis’—such as licensed black cabs or hackney carriages—can be hired instantly by hailing on the street or from a rank. As no operator booking is needed, taxis sit outside the triple licensing lock. Instead, the taxi licence itself falls under a separate licensing regime.
Offences under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
Because of the distinction between taxis and PHVs, the law prevents PHV drivers under the CJPOA 1994 from...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Unlawful Eviction and Quiet Enjoyment in England and Wales: Civil Liability, Defences, Remedies and Damages under HA 1988 s 27-28 and PEA 1977, with Overlapping Torts
This Practice Note sets out clearly and clarifies precisely what amounts to unlawful eviction, when and how it can arise in a civil context, the civil remedies on hand and available, and any knock-on causes of action.
Unlawful eviction
Unlawful (or illegal) eviction is defined by the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (PEA 1977) and constitutes a criminal offence in law. A claim for unlawful eviction occurs where a landlord, or any other individual, removes or seeks to remove a residential occupier from their home and occupation without using the lawfully prescribed process.
A ‘residential occupier’ means a person living in the premises as a residence, whether under a contract or by virtue of any enactment or rule of law that gives them a right to remain in occupation or limits another’s right to recover possession of the premises. This definition extends to tenants and licensees alike. It does not, however, include a contractual licensee whose licence has expired—R v Blankley [1979] Crim LR 166 (not reported by LexisNexis®) (decided under section 30 of the Rent Act 1965 (repealed)).
Has the occupier’s right to occupy the land been terminated?
For most people occupying land (including tenants and licensees), particular legal procedures are...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
When tenancies or licences are not secure: statutory exclusions and special regimes (England and Wales)
Excluded tenancies
A tenancy or licence will not be secure if it falls into any of these exceptions:
long tenancies
introductory tenancies, including those that have ceased to be introductory
demoted tenancies
property occupied in connection with employment
land acquired for development
accommodation for people who are homeless
family intervention tenancies
accommodation for asylum seekers
temporary accommodation for individuals taking up employment
private sector leasing
temporary accommodation during works
agricultural holdings
licensed premises
student lettings
business tenancies to which the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) applies
almshouses
Long tenancies
A long tenancy is one granted:
for a term exceeding 21 years, whether or not it is (or may become) terminable before that term ends
for a term fixed by law under a grant carrying a covenant or obligation for perpetual renewal, excluding a tenancy created by sub-demise from one that is not a long tenancy
under the right to buy or the right to acquire
Certain tenancies that can be brought to an end by notice after death are not included...
Local Government
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