Legal News

D. E. L. T. A. Merseyside Ltd v Uber Britannia Ltd UKSC/2024/0119 Background This appeal concerns the proper interpretation of the statutory framework governing the provision of private hire vehicles (‘ PHVs’). PHVs, unlike traditional taxis, are not permitted to ply for hire on the streets and must instead be booked in advance through an ‘operator’. Uber, one of the parties to the appeal ( Uber Britannia Ltd, or ‘ UBL’), is a well known PHV operator. The relevant framework is contained in Part II of the Local Government ( Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 as amended ( LG( MP) A 1976). It regulates the PHV sector outside London (and Plymouth) by imposing a ‘triple licensing lock’, under which the operator, the driver, and the vehicle each require a licence from the appropriate local authority. Historically, the PHV trade has run under several different models: an...

In this issue: Children's social care Public Procurement Social housing CQC weekly round up Education Social care Healthcare Governance Licensing Planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Children's social care Post adoption contact—where are we now? ( Re S ( Placement Order Contact)) In Re S ( Placement Order Contact), the Court of Appeal closely examines how courts should approach sibling contact at the pre-adoption placement stage. Recent years have seen a move, supported by significant research, towards recognising the possible benefits for adopted children of preserving some direct links with their birth relatives. Even so, direct contact orders under section 26 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 ( ACA 2002) are still uncommon, with final care plans more typically providing for indirect or ‘letterbox’ contact. The Court of Appeal...

Background The Bill sits within the government’s wider drive to devolve power and bolster decision-making at local and regional levels. This programme was trailed in the King’s Speech and taken forward through the English Devolution White Paper of December 2024, which proposed handing substantial planning and infrastructure responsibilities to newly designated strategic authorities. The White Paper pledged to reinstate strategic planning across England, after years without a cross-boundary framework beyond London. It further set out intentions to finish the devolution map, establish a new layer of ‘strategic authorities’, and provide them with more coherent powers for planning, infrastructure, housing and growth. Key planning provisions Strategic authorities and tiers of devolution The Bill introduces a new class of Strategic Authority, spanning Combined authorities, Combined County authorities ( CCAs), the Greater London Authority, and specified unitary authorities where designated. These are arranged into three tiers: ...

Re S ( Placement Order Contact) [2025] EWCA Civ 823 In practical terms, what does this case signify?...

In this issue: Social housing Local government finance Public procurement Governance Coronavirus ( COVID-19) Education Children's social care Social care Healthcare Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Social housing Landlord overpayment and recovery of housing benefit ( Capital Housing v Ealing LBC) Capital Housing v Ealing LBC was determined in the Upper Tribunal by a three-judge panel examining how regulation 101(2) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 operates when recovering Housing Benefit overpaid to a landlord. That provision permits recovery from the claimant or from the person to whom the payment was made, which includes a landlord receiving benefit directly. Here, a significant overpayment arose after the tenant moved out, yet payments to the landlord continued; the landlord’s appeal against the First Tier Tribunal’s decision failed, the tribunal having upheld the...

Capital Housing Association Ltd v Ealing London Borough Council and another [2025] UKUT 125 ( AAC) What are the practical implications of this case? This was an atypical appeal, initially set before a three-judge UT panel on the footing that it raised a point of law of special difficulty, or an important issue of principle and practice, namely the proper interpretation of the HB Regs ( SI 2006/213), regs 88 and 101. Regulation 101 addresses recovery of housing benefit overpayments, while reg 88 imposes a duty—both on tenants and on any party to whom the benefit was paid—to notify the authority of a change of circumstances. Who is the correct recovery target under reg 101 may hinge on how changes were notified pursuant to reg 88, and the panel expected a detailed analysis of the prescribed methods by which reg 88...

Rogers v Wills [2025] EWHC 1367 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Reimbursement of costs of caring for family members— In this claim the claimant sought repayment from her late mother’s estate for expenses incurred in providing care. Although outcomes will always depend on the specific facts, this ruling may pave the way for comparable claims where contractual arrangements or unjust enrichment are pleaded. Intention to create legal relations— It is unusual for a court to find that relatives intended a binding contract. Yet the judge appeared to dismiss any presumption against such intention. Rather, the issue was said to be a matter for the evidence available (with the nature of the relationship only one component) as to whether there was an intention to create legal relations. Capacity— Having considered the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the judge...

Bunyan ( Valuation Officer) v Fridays Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 666 What are the practical implications of this case? Although Fridays succeeded in the Court of Appeal, the court rejected their broader submission. To qualify as an ‘agricultural building’ (and thereby benefit from the exemption) a structure must satisfy an occupation test—that it is occupied with agricultural land—and a use test—that it is employed solely for agricultural operations on that land or on other agricultural land. The Upper Tribunal concluded that the 2003 revision to the definition displaced earlier authority which had required the building and land to comprise a single agricultural unit. It held instead that the correct approach was that the building and land needed to be held as part of the same enterprise and be geographically proximate, if not adjoining. The Court of Appeal found that analysis to be mistaken and...

In this issue: Children's social care Healthcare Education Licensing Social housing Highways Local government finance Coronavirus ( COVID-19) Governance Social care Planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Children's social care Scope of court’s powers under section 37(1) of the Children Act 1989 ( Re E ( Section 37 Direction)) Re E ( Section 37 Direction) explored how section 37(1) of the Children Act 1989 ( Ch A 1989) should be construed, namely the court’s ability to require a local authority to investigate a child’s circumstances and, in consequence, to make interim public law orders under Ch A 1989, s 38(1)(b). The point on appeal was whether these powers reach any child who comes to the court’s attention during proceedings, or are limited to the child who is the actual...

The latest updated KCSIE 2025 guidance can be found here. Below are four essential points to be aware of today. Possible further updates The present edition mentions signposting towards forthcoming relationship, sex and health education guidance expected this summer. Therefore, a small potential additional tweak to KCSIE 2025 could appear before September. No changes are proposed, merely signposting currently. Annex F likewise notes that later versions may reflect the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill’s passage into law, insights from the Casey Audit, and the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy. Could that mean an update part-way through the year?......

Announcing the Plan Presenting the Plan, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, remarked: ‘ The idea is straightforward: care should be provided as near as possible—digital by default, in a patient’s home where feasible, in a neighbourhood health centre when required, and in a hospital if necessary.’ In recent months there has been a flurry of groundbreaking activity, including government moves to set out its ‘3 big shifts’, dissolve NHS England, reshape integrated care boards, and sharply reduce non-clinical spending and workforce; NHS organisations have been told to press on with this—so it has, at points, been easy to overlook that the overarching plan itself was not yet published. Now it is, and although the finer points of delivery are still being developed, we have clearer direction and the opportunity for system leaders to begin taking steps forward to...

At the hearing, counsel representing Uber Britannia Ltd argued that local government laws designed to safeguard the public place the duty to discharge a booking on licensed operators—those who accept taxi reservations without themselves providing the ride. Tim Ward KC of Cornerstone Barristers submitted that 'the operator’s terms govern performance of the contract. That remains true even where the operator subcontracts delivery of the booking to another party'. Ward continued that this ensures public protection through 'transparency' about the contracting party, so the customer knows 'who bears legal responsibility' if anything goes awry. ' Once a booking is accepted, the hirer has a contractual remedy against the operator', he said. In July 2023, High Court judge Alison Foster held that operators had to enter contracts with passengers to lawfully operate under the Local Government ( Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 ( LG( MP) A 1976)....

What are the practical implications of this case? The decision provides welcome clarity on the reach of Ch A 1989, ss 37(1) and 38(1)(b), in scenarios familiar to many practitioners. It also reiterates the procedural protections that require public law orders—other than emergency protection orders—to be made only after respondents are duly notified, including being served with the evidential material on which the local authority depends. The Court of Appeal examined the text of the pertinent provisions of Ch A 1989 together with the Family Proceedings Rules 1991—operative when those provisions took effect and later superseded by the Family Procedure Rules 2010, SI 2010/2955—and the relevant authorities, setting out the reasons for a restrictive reading of Ch A 1989, s 37. What was the background? Baby E arrived in December 2024 and was, for a period, cared for by her mother’s sister ( A), A’s partner ( B), and...

Surrey County Council v R (on the application of BC) [2025] EWCA Civ 719 What are the practical implications of this case? The practical effects for practitioners are set out below and are as follows: a reiteration of the court’s stance that deciding whether a young person sits within the ‘child in need’ category, and whether accommodation is required by reference to section 20, are questions entrusted to the professional judgement, appraisal and evaluation of a social worker as part of their role in this case where a social worker’s expert judgement concludes a young person’s needs are fully capable of being met through non-statutory early help rather than statutory provision, that assessment is ever susceptible to challenge only on Wednesbury grounds (as was the position in this case) the child’s age dictates the weight to be given to their views. Here, BC was seventeen, so...

In this issue: Social housing Children's social care Highways Public procurement Education Local government finance Social care Licensing Planning Lex Talk®Local Government: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Social housing Can a local housing authority determine the suitability of offered accommodation if it has not prepared a lawful assessment under section 189A(1) of the Housing Act 1996? ( Norton v London Borough of Haringey) The Court of Appeal in Norton v London Borough of Haringey confirmed the local authority’s approach to meeting its homelessness obligations under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996. It found that Haringey had lawfully concluded it had satisfied its duty to Mr Norton by offering accommodation that was suitable, and that its decision-making was both procedurally fair and rational. The ruling is of...

Thomas Norton v London Borough of Haringey [2025] EWCA 746 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling carries significant practical consequences for housing lawyers, particularly those supporting clients with homelessness applications and disputes over local authority determinations. The Court of Appeal confirmed that councils enjoy a broad discretion when judging whether their statutory obligations under the Housing Act 1996 have been fulfilled. For practitioners, guidance on prospective judicial review must be anchored in cogent evidence of procedural unfairness or a misdirection in law. The court stressed that the judiciary should not replace a council’s assessment unless the outcome is irrational or unlawful. Local authorities ought to ensure their decision letters are carefully reasoned and show that all pertinent considerations, including personal circumstances and medical material, have been taken into account. For claimants, the judgment underlines the challenge of upsetting a...

In this issue: Public procurement Governance Education Social housing Children's social care Social care Healthcare Local government finance Environmental law and climate change Planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Public procurement Damages are an adequate remedy in a procurement dispute despite no sufficiently serious breach ( Millbrook Healthcare Ltd v Devon County Council) In Millbrook Healthcare Ltd v Devon County Council, the Technology and Construction Court ( TCC) determined that, at the interim stage of a procurement claim, whether a breach is “sufficiently serious” is not directly relevant to the question of adequacy of damages; damages can still be the proper remedy. The TCC reviewed established authorities confirming that damages are available in procurement challenges only where the contracting authority’s breach is “sufficiently serious”, a test grounded in EU law. The issue was recently examined in Braceurself v NHS England, where the TCC held that the “sufficiently serious” assessment turns on the nature and...

Millbrook Healthcare Ltd v Devon County Council [2025] EWHC 744 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? Millbrook contended that removing the automatic suspension would damage its reputation, diminish its capacity to compete in later procurements, and erode market share, so that an award of damages would not be an adequate remedy in the circumstances as they stood. Notably, in open correspondence at the time Millbrook stated it would agree to the suspension being lifted if Devon County Council acknowledged that each pleaded breach of duty, if established at trial, would be sufficiently serious to merit an award of damages. The TCC was therefore asked to decide whether, at the interim stage of the proceedings, judges can meaningfully evaluate the chance of a claimant being left without an effective remedy by the time of trial. Put...

Employment Judge Zeenat Islam held that the Greenwood Academies Trust in northern England is required to compensate Mary- Ann Pearson after dismissing her amid concerns she failed to report that a pupil had been sexually abused and had become pregnant, even though staff as a whole were unaware of what was taking place. In a decision issued on 24 June 2025, Judge Islam expressed the tribunal’s concern about a regrettable attempt to single out the claimant for what was plainly a systemic failing. The ruling also recorded a complete refusal by the respondent’s witnesses to consider or reflect upon what were clearly systemic and institutional safeguarding shortcomings. According to the judgment, Pearson served as a physical education teacher at the trust for 18 years and, acting as a form tutor, mentored a 12-year-old pupil until her dismissal in 2023. Management...

Birmingham City Council v Persons Unknown and others; Wolverhampton City Council and another v Persons Unknown and others [2025] EWHC 1102 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment offers another illustration of the settled principles applied when considering whether to continue contramundum (against the world) injunctions targeting persons unknown for unlawful and/or nuisance behaviour. It demonstrates the High Court’s approach to the different factors and stages in determining if continuation is appropriate. The decision is useful to advisers evaluating whether, and to what degree, their evidence meets the court’s expectations in these applications—particularly in relation to car-cruising injunctions, while also having broader relevance... What was the background? In December 2022, both local authorities—having previously secured similar injunctions in 2015 and 2016—issued new claims seeking injunctions and powers of arrest to restrain renewed car-cruising and related nuisance under section 222 of the Local...