Philip McCourt
Philip joined Top 100 law firm Bevan Brittan in 2022 following a distinguished career in local government. He is qualified as both a solicitor and chartered secretary and began his local government career in 1988. He was first appointed as a monitoring officer, head of legal services and member of an authority’s senior management team in 2000.
He has since gone on to work for and on behalf of a number of local authorities and has additionally led on a number of projects for wider local government, such as designing the ethical governance toolkit for the Local Government Association and in leading on a number of best practice documents, including the code of corporate governance for interests in local authority companies and the model member planning member code, which was described by the UK Supreme Court in 2017 as providing sound practical advice.
Philip was president of his professional association, the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors and leading into what is now Lawyers in Local Government (LLG), in 2011-13.
His practice relates to all aspects of local authority governance, including constitutional matters, decision making, standards and ethics and the support of the monitoring officer role across all forms of councils, combined authorities and related bodies.
As well as the author of a number of texts and guides, Philip is an examiner for the Law Society’s Diploma in Local Government Law & Practice.
Practice Area
Panels
- Consulting Editorial Board
- Contributing Author
4 Contributions by Philip McCourt
PRACTICE NOTES
Appointment and dismissal of local authority statutory officers: standing orders, decision-making roles, JNC/Green Book terms and pay policy statements (England and Wales)
This Practice Note addresses the supplementary employment obligations specific to local government regarding the recruitment and removal of statutory post-holders, including the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) for Local Authority Chief Officers terms, green book provisions, occupation-specific conditions of service, and authorities’ rules on employment procedures. It sets out the varying rules that apply to different categories of officers. It further outlines the part played by leaders or elected mayors and the cabinet under executive arrangements, together with the Chief Executive, in these processes as applicable.
Discussion of employment issues in local government fall into three areas:
routine employment law issues, such as those concerning discrimination, fair or unfair dismissal (including redundancy), TUPE, etc
contractual obligations, which necessitate consultation with national conditions of service except where local agreements have been made
...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
English and Welsh Local Government: Statutory Powers, Devolution Structures, Governance Models, Decision-making and Scrutiny, and the Roles of Members and Statutory Officers
This Practice Note sets out an overview of local authority structure and purpose. It also summarises governance models and explains the respective roles of members and officers within those arrangements. It highlights fundamental features that are often missed by newly elected members (councillors) and newly appointed officers, lawyers included.
Structure and purpose of local authorities
Local authorities are organisations brought into being by statute as single legal entities. They may act only as legislation authorises, whether under their establishing statute or through other enactments that extend their powers. Any action must also pursue solely the purposes Parliament intended when passing the relevant statutes. Where an authority acts outside those powers, or for a purpose not so intended—wilfully as an abuse of power, or inadvertently—it is acting ‘beyond its powers’. This is the concept of ‘ultra vires’. Any ultra vires act by a local authority is liable to legal challenge...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Lawful local authority decision-making: powers, purpose, delegation, duties, procedure, proportionality and judicial review risks (England and Wales)
Legal status of local authorities
At first glance, councillors chosen to lead a local authority might appear free to act on their mandate, with the authority’s staff making operational choices to deliver elected members’ programmes. That picture is, however, too neat. Despite the emphasis on the so‑called general power of competence, members still face limits on their actions, and the senior officers and wider workforce who administer the authority are subject to even tighter constraints. A local authority is a statutory corporation, brought into being by Parliament as a single legal person. As affirmed in Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham, a council, though democratically elected and representative of its locality, is not sovereign and may only act where Parliament has expressly or by implication permitted it. Numerous statutory provisions exist: a few set the overall architecture, but most require the authority to discharge one of many, sometimes conflicting, functions of a council or local authority for specific ends. When decisions are taken, each pertinent statutory duty or power must be read alongside the broader principles governing corporations and public bodies. Decision‑makers must therefore identify the correct source of power, consider any relevant limitations, and act within those boundaries at law...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Local authority councillors: elections, terms of office, qualification and disqualification, and politically restricted posts (England and Wales)
Council members for a principal area
Local government electors within a principal area choose its council members. Non-metropolitan counties are divided into electoral divisions, while metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts are arranged into wards, each electing a specified number of councillors. The electoral arrangements for every principal council are reviewed periodically, from time to time, or when a review is requested. A separate election is held for each electoral division or ward. Councillors serve a term of four years in duration...
Local Government
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