Fire and Rescue Authority meaning

In this issue: Children's social care Planning Social housing Local government finance Social care Public procurement Education Healthcare Governance LexTalk®Local Government: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q&As Children's social care When is a fact-finding hearing needed to inform risk assessment? (G (A Child: Scope of Fact-Finding)) In G (A Child: Scope of Fact-Finding), the Court of Appeal considered whether refusing to order a fact-finding hearing about allegations that a mother caused the fatal injuries to an older child seven years earlier was erroneous, where the purpose was to inform the risk assessment and overall welfare evaluation in proceedings about her new baby. The majority concluded it was not, and that the assessment of risk could take into account a broad spectrum of potential outcomes even without specific findings as to the circumstances of the older child’s death. That outcome, however, was plainly...

Barnard v Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority [2024] EAT 12 What are the practical implications of this judgment? This decision confirms that a contractual obligation on employees to remain prepared for an operational post (eg by keeping fit and completing the required training) can amount to a genuine material factor, providing a defence to an equal pay claim. That point was, however, scarcely disputed. The contested question was the significance of evidence showing that the relevant comparators had not stayed wholly ready for such an operational role. The EAT stated that the central enquiry is whether the obligation is authentic rather than a ‘dead letter’—that is, whether it remains in force, and has not been abandoned or suspended—and whether it contributes to the pay gap. It ruled that if a comparator is no longer adhering to the obligation, that may actually be evidence from which an employment tribunal might infer that it is not genuine; but a tribunal need not do so, since non-compliance...

In this issue: Relationship breakdown Domestic abuse Public children Private children Financial provision International children Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Useful information Relationship breakdown New divorce law release note HM Courts and Tribunals Service has issued a new divorce law release note confirming that from 5 January 2026, solicitors will be able to remove a draft case. The matter will then move to a withdrawn status on manage cases/core case data (CCD). After submit has been selected, solicitors will no longer be able to view the matter. Where the matter has been shared with colleagues, they will likewise lose access. Solicitors will receive an email notification confirming that the matter has been withdrawn. Domestic abuse Inspectorates find inconsistent recognition of children as domestic abuse victims despite Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and HM Inspectorate of Probation...

BSA 2022, Pt 4 The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) delivered far-reaching reforms to the legal framework and regulation of building safety, intended to ‘secure the safety of people in or about buildings and improve the standard of buildings’. Parts 3 and 4 of BSA 2022 establish the architecture for a new regulatory system governing ‘higher-risk buildings’ (HRBs). Under Pt 3, a strict building control regime was introduced for the design and construction stages of HRBs. Pt 4 imposes duties on those responsible for occupied HRBs, covering risk management and reporting. Collectively, these requirements are known as the ‘HRB regime’. This Practice Note examines BSA 2022, Pt 4, which sets out the arrangements for managing building safety risks in occupied HRBs in England. BSA 2022, Pt 4 does not extend to HRBs in Wales. For analysis of the Welsh position on HRBs, see Practice Note: Building and Fire Safety—the position in England, Scotland and Wales...

Under section 23 of the Local Government Act 1974 (LGA 1974), the office of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) is established to look into complaints about maladministration and/or service failings involving the following bodies: any local authority, covering its members, officers, and any committee or subcommittee (but not town or parish councils) combined authorities, or a joint board where all constituent bodies are local authorities a development corporation constituted for the purposes of a news town, or an urban development corporation fire and rescue commissioners school admission appeal panels police and crime commissioners a national park authority See Practice Note: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. What is Maladministration? Section 26 of the LGA 1974 sets out what the LGO may investigate, but Maladministration itself is not defined in the statute...

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) case tracker This case tracker sets out notable landlord-and-tenant BSA 2022 decisions delivered by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) (FTT), the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) (UT), and the courts, which we regard as pertinent to property disputes lawyers. Entries are arranged in reverse chronological order. The tracker uses the following definitions: Relevant defect: anything done or omitted, or used or not used, in connection with ‘relevant works’ that gives rise to a building safety risk (namely the spread of fire or the collapse of part or all of the building) RO: in England, the FTT may make a remediation order (RO) on the application of an ‘interested person’ (for the purposes of ROs this includes the Secretary of State (in England)), the Building Safety Regulator, the local authority, the fire and rescue authority, persons with a legal or equitable interest in the building, and the Homes and Communities Agency...