Whitehead v Tunbridge Wells Borough Council: FTTGRC 3 Aug 2017

Citations:

[2017] UKFTT CR-2017-0002 (GRC

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 30 March 2022; Ref: scu.594579

Worthmore Properties Ltd v South Oxfordshire District Council and Another: FTTGRC 28 Jul 2017

Citations:

[2017] UKFTT CR-2017-0005 (GRC

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Localism Act 2011

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Land, Local Government, Planning

Updated: 30 March 2022; Ref: scu.594571

Updated: 28 March 2022; Ref: scu.591689

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Local Government, Health

Updated: 27 March 2022; Ref: scu.588883

Updated: 26 March 2022; Ref: scu.584200

Cited – Regina (on the Application of Mani) v London Borough of Lambeth CA 9-Jul-2003
Where a destitute and disabled asylum seeker had a clear need for care and attention, the local authority had a duty to provide it. The claimant was an asylum seeker, with impaired mobility and a history of mental halth difficulties. At first he was . .
Cited – Regina (on the Application of A) v National Asylum Support Service, London Borough of Waltham Forest CA 23-Oct-2003
A family of asylum seekers with two disabled children would be destitute without ‘adequate’ accommodation. What was such accommodation?
Held: The authority was under an absolute duty to house such a family. In satisfying such duty, it was . .
Cited – Regina, ex parte O v The London Borough of Haringey, The Secretary of State for the Home Department CA 4-May-2004
The court considered the duties of local authorities to support infirm asylum seekers with children.
Held: The authority had an obligation to support the adult, but the responsibility for the children fell on the National Asylum Support . .
Applied – S, Regina (on Application of) v South Yorkshire Police; Regina v Chief Constable of Yorkshire Police ex parte Marper HL 22-Jul-2004
Police Retention of Suspects DNA and Fingerprints
The claimants complained that their fingerprints and DNA records taken on arrest had been retained after discharge before trial, saying the retention of the samples infringed their right to private life.
Held: The parts of DNA used for testing . .
Cited – Attorney General’s Reference (No 5 of 2002) HL 14-Oct-2004
The Attorney General sought the correct interpretation of section 17 where a court was asked as to whether evidence obtained from a telephone tapping had been taken from a public or private network. A chief constable suspected that the defendants, . .
Cited – Regina v Montila and Others HL 25-Nov-2004
The defendants faced charges under the two Acts. They raised as a preliminary issue whether it is necessary for the Crown to prove that the property being converted was in fact the proceeds, in the case of the 1994 Act, of drug trafficking and, in . .
Cited – In re P (a minor by his mother and litigation friend); P v National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers HL 27-Feb-2003
The pupil had been excluded from school but then ordered to be re-instated. The teachers, through their union, refused to teach him claiming that he was disruptive. The claimant appealed a refusal of an injunction. The injunction had been refused on . .
Cited – Phillips v Rafiq and Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) CA 13-Feb-2007
The MIB appealed from a judgment making it liable for an award of damages to the estate of the deceased who had been a passenger in a vehicle which he knew to be being driven without insurance. The estate had not sued the MIB directly, but first . .
Cited – King v The Serious Fraud Office CACD 18-Mar-2008
Restraint and Disclosure orders had been made on without notice applications at the request of South Africa. The applicant appealed a refusal of their discharge.
Held: Such orders did not apply to the applicant’s assets in Scotland. The orders . .
Cited – M, Regina (on the Application of) v Slough Borough Council HL 30-Jul-2008
The House was asked ‘whether a local social services authority is obliged, under section 21(1)(a) of the 1948 Act, to arrange (and pay for) residential accommodation for a person subject to immigration control who is HIV positive but whose only . .
Cited – Persimmon Homes (South Coast) Ltd v Hall Aggregates (South Coast) Ltd and Another TCC 10-Oct-2008
The parties had agreed for the sale of land under an option agreement. The builder purchasers now sought to exercise rights to adjust the price downwards.
Held: The provisions had been intended and had achieved a prompt and binding settlement . .
Cited – Mucelli v Government of Albania (Criminal Appeal From Her Majesty’s High Court of Justice) HL 21-Jan-2009
The House was asked whether someone who wished to appeal against an extradition order had an obligation also to serve his appellant’s notice on the respondent within the seven days limit, and whether the period was capable of extension by the court. . .
Cited – Rollins, Regina v SC 28-Jul-2010
The court was asked whether the Financial Services Authority had a power to prosecute money laundering offences under the 2002 Act, or whether, as contended by the defendant, its powers were limited to sections under the 2000 Act.
Held: The . .
Cited – Oceanbulk Shipping and Trading Sa v TMT Asia Ltd and Others SC 27-Oct-2010
The court was asked whether facts which (a) are communicated between the parties in the course of without prejudice negotiations and (b) would, but for the without prejudice rule, be admissible as part of the factual matrix or surrounding . .
Cited – Horton v Henry CA 7-Oct-2016
No obligation on bankrupt to draw on pension fund
The trustee in bankruptcy appealed against a decision dismissing his application for an income payments order pursuant to section 310 of the 1986 Act in respect of income which might become payable to the respondent from his personal pension . .
Cited – Hutchings, Re Application for Judicial Review SC 6-Jun-2019
The appellant, a former army officer challenged proceedings against him as to the death of a civilian shot in Northern Ireland in 1974. His trial had been certified for trial by judge alone, and without a jury under section 1 of the 2007 Act.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Appeal from – Phelps v Mayor and Burgesses London Borough of Hillingdon CA 4-Nov-1998
The plaintiff claimed damages for the negligent failure of an educational psychologist employed by a local authority to identify that the plaintiff was dyslexic.
Held: An educational psychologist has no duty of care to a child, as opposed to . .
Approved – X (Minors) v Bedfordshire County Council; M (A Minor) and Another v Newham London Borough Council; Etc HL 29-Jun-1995
Liability in Damages on Statute Breach to be Clear
Damages were to be awarded against a Local Authority for breach of statutory duty in a care case only if the statute was clear that damages were capable of being awarded. in the ordinary case a breach of statutory duty does not, by itself, give rise . .
Appeal from – Jarvis v Hampshire County Council CA 23-Nov-1999
A child who did not receive sufficient education appropriate to his disability (dyslexia), did not acquire a right to claim in damages against the education authority. This applies both to claims of misfeasance in public office and in negligence. . .
Cited – Barrett v London Borough of Enfield CA 25-Mar-1997
A Local Authority is only vicariously liable for the negligence of a social worker to a child in care. . .
Cited – W v Essex County Council and Another HL 17-Mar-2000
A foster child was placed with a family. The child had a history of abusing other children, but the foster parents, who had other children were not told. The foster child caused psychiatric damage to the carers.
Held: It was wrong to strike . .

Cited by:

Cited – Bradford-Smart v West Sussex County Council CA 23-Jan-2002
The claimant sought damages from the school for failing to prevent injuries arising from bullying, which was taking place on the way to and from school, but not at school.
Held: A school has no general obligation to prevent such bullying, but . .
Cited – A, B v Essex County Council QBD 18-Dec-2002
The applicants sought damages after they had had placed with them for adoption a child who proved to be destructively hyperactive.
Held: The authority might be liable where they failed to disclose to adoptive parents known characteristics of a . .
Applied – Liennard v Slough Borough Council QBD 15-Mar-2002
The claimant sought damages from the respondents who had been responsible for his education, for having failed to diagnose his learning difficulties. The school had recognised that he was underachieving, but diagnosis as to the reason was not easy. . .
Cited – Chagos Islanders v The Attorney General, Her Majesty’s British Indian Ocean Territory Commissioner QBD 9-Oct-2003
The Chagos Islands had been a British dependent territory since 1814. The British government repatriated the islanders in the 1960s, and the Ilois now sought damages for their wrongful displacement, misfeasance, deceit, negligence and to establish a . .
Cited – A and Another v Essex County Council CA 17-Dec-2003
The claimant sought damages. The respondent had acted as an adoption agency but had failed to disclose all relevant information about the child.
Held: Any such duty extended only during the period where the child was with the prospective . .
Cited – Gorringe v Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council HL 1-Apr-2004
Statutory Duty Not Extended by Common Law
The claimant sought damages after a road accident. The driver came over the crest of a hill and hit a bus. The road was not marked with any warning as to the need to slow down.
Held: The claim failed. The duty could not be extended to include . .
Appealed to – Jarvis v Hampshire County Council CA 23-Nov-1999
A child who did not receive sufficient education appropriate to his disability (dyslexia), did not acquire a right to claim in damages against the education authority. This applies both to claims of misfeasance in public office and in negligence. . .
Cited – David Lannigan v Glasgow City Council OHCS 12-Aug-2004
The pursuer said the teachers employed by the defendant had failed to identify that was dyslexic, leading him to suffer damage. The defenders said the claim was time barred, which the pursuer admitted, but then said that the claim ought to go ahead . .
Cited – Singh v Entry Clearance Officer New Delhi CA 30-Jul-2004
The applicant, an 8 year old boy, became part of his Indian family who lived in England, through an adoption recognised in Indian Law, but not in English Law. Though the adoption was genuine, his family ties had not been broken in India. The family . .
Cited – Adams v Bracknell Forest Borough Council HL 17-Jun-2004
A attended the defendant’s schools between 1977 and 1988. He had always experienced difficulties with reading and writing and as an adult found those difficulties to be an impediment in his employment. He believed them to be the cause of the . .
Cited – Kearn-Price v Kent County Council CA 30-Oct-2002
The claimant was injured, being hit in the face by a football in a school playground. It was before school started. There had been accidents, and there were rules which had not been enforced. The school appealed a finding of negligence.
Held: . .
Cited – Jane Marianne Sandhar, John Stuart Murray v Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions CA 5-Nov-2004
The claimant’s husband died when his car skidded on hoar frost. She claimed the respondent was liable under the Act and at common law for failing to keep it safe.
Held: The respondent had not assumed a general responsibility to all road users . .
Cited – Customs and Excise v Barclays Bank Plc CA 22-Nov-2004
The claimant had obtained judgment against customers of the defendant, and then freezing orders for the accounts. The defendants inadvertently or negligently allowed sums to be transferred from the accounts. The claimants sought repayment by the . .
Cited – Carty v London Borough of Croydon CA 27-Jan-2005
The claimant sought damages in negligence from education officers employed by the respondent. He appealed refusal of his claim. A statement of special education needs had been made which he said did not address his learning difficulties. The . .
Cited – JD v East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust and others HL 21-Apr-2005
Parents of children had falsely and negligently been accused of abusing their children. The children sought damages for negligence against the doctors or social workers who had made the statements supporting the actions taken. The House was asked if . .
Cited – West Bromwich Albion Football Club Ltd v El-Safty QBD 14-Dec-2005
The claimant sought damages from the defendant surgeon alleging negligent care of a footballer. The defendant argued that he had no duty to the club as employer of his patient who was being treated through his BUPA membership. It would have created . .
Cited – HM Customs and Excise v Barclays Bank Plc HL 21-Jun-2006
The claimant had served an asset freezing order on the bank in respect of one of its customers. The bank paid out on a cheque inadvertently as to the order. The Commissioners claimed against the bank in negligence. The bank denied any duty of care. . .
See Also – Rhiannon Anderton v Clwyd County Council (2) QBD 25-Jul-2001
The claim form had been issued only just before the limitation period expired. Under the rules it would have been deemed to have been served on a Sunday, the day before the expiry of the period, but evidence suggested it was not received until after . .
See Also – Anderton v Clwyd County Council (No 2); Bryant v Pech and Another Dorgan v Home Office; Chambers v Southern Domestic Electrical Services Ltd; Cummins v Shell International Manning Services Ltd CA 3-Jul-2002
In each case, the applicant sought to argue that documents which had actually been received on a certain date should not be deemed to have been served on a different day because of the rule.
Held: The coming into force of the Human Rights Act . .
Cited – Bowden and Another v Lancashire County Council CA 16-Apr-2002
The claimant had succeeded in her appeal against the cancellation of her registration as a child minder, and now sought damages for negligence in using unnecessarily the emergency procedure leading to damage to the claimant’s reputation and . .
Cited – Jain and Another v Trent Strategic Health Authority CA 22-Nov-2007
The claimant argued that the defendant owed him a duty of care as proprietor of a registered nursing home in cancelling the registration of the home under the 1984 Act. The authority appealed a finding that it owed such a duty.
Held: The . .
Cited – K v Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust and Another QBD 30-May-2008
The claimant appealed against an order striking out his claim in negligence. He had leaped from a window in a suicide attempt. The accommodation was provided by the defendant whilst caring for him under the 1983 Act.
Held: The case should be . .
Cited – Connor v Surrey County Council CA 18-Mar-2010
The claimant teacher said that she suffered personal injury from stress after the board of governors improperly failed to protect her from from false complaints. The Council now appealed against an award of substantial damages.
Held: The . .
Cited – Home Office v Mohammed and Others CA 29-Mar-2011
The claimants sought damages saying that after a decision had been made that they should receive indefinite leave to remain in 2001 (latest), the leave was not issued until 2007 (earliest) thus causing them severe losses. The defendant now appealed . .
Cited – Siddiqui v University of Oxford QBD 5-Dec-2016
The University applied to have struck out the claim by the claimant for damages alleging negligence in its teaching leading to a lower class degree than he said he should have been awarded.
Held: Strike out on the basis that the claim was . .
Cited – Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police SC 8-Feb-2018
Limits to Police Exemption from Liability
The claimant, an elderly lady was bowled over and injured when police were chasing a suspect through the streets. As they arrested him they fell over on top of her. She appealed against refusal of her claim in negligence.
Held: Her appeal . .
Cited – Poole Borough Council v GN and Another SC 6-Jun-2019
This appeal is concerned with the liability of a local authority for what is alleged to have been a negligent failure to exercise its social services functions so as to protect children from harm caused by third parties. The principal question of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Local Government, Education, Vicarious Liability, Professional Negligence

Leading Case

Updated: 11 February 2022; Ref: scu.84699

Stovin v Wise, Norfolk County Council (Third Party): HL 24 Jul 1996

Statutory Duty Does Not Create Common Law Duty

The mere existence of statutory power to remedy a defect cannot of itself create a duty of care to do so. A highway authority need not have a duty of care to highway users because of its duty to maintain the highway. The two stage test ‘involves starting with a prima facie assumption that a duty of care exists if it is reasonably foreseeable that carelessness may cause damage and then asking whether there are any considerations which ought to ‘negative, or to reduce or limit the scope of the duty or the class of person to whom it is owed or the damages to which a breach of it may arise’. Subsequent decisions in this House and the Privy Council have preferred to approach the question the other way round, starting with situations in which a duty has been held to exist and then asking whether there are considerations of analogy, policy, fairness and justice for extending it to cover a new situation: see for example Lord Bridge in Caparo (supra) . . It can be said that, provided that the considerations of policy etc. are properly analysed, it should not matter whether one starts from one end or the other. On the other hand the assumption from which one starts makes a great deal of difference if the analysis is wrong. The trend of authorities has been to discourage the assumption that anyone who suffers loss is prima facie entitled to compensation from the person (preferably insured or a public authority) whose act or omission can be said to have caused it. The default position is that he is not.’ ‘A common law duty must not be inconsistent with the performance by the authority of its statutory duties and powers in the manner intended by Parliament, or contrary in any other way to the presumed intention of Parliament.’ and ‘the minimum preconditions for basing a duty of care upon the existence of a statutory power, if it can be done at all, are, first, that it would in the circumstances have been irrational not to have exercised the power, so that there was in effect a public law duty to act, and secondly, that there are exceptional grounds for holding that the policy of the statute requires compensation to be paid to persons who suffer loss because the power was not exercised.’
Lord Hoffmann said: ‘In my view the creation of a duty of care upon a highway authority, even on grounds of irrationality in failing to exercise a power, would inevitably expose the authority’s budgetary decisions to judicial inquiry. This would distort the priorities of local authorities, which would be bound to try to play safe by increasing their spending on road improvements rather than risk enormous liabilities for personal injury accidents. They will spend less on education or social services. I think that it is important, before extending the duty of care owed by public authorities, to consider the cost to the community of the defensive measures which they are likely to take in order to avoid liability. . .’ Statutory bodies do not occupy a special position so far as liability for nuisance is concerned unless statute puts them in that special position: ‘Since Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Trustees v Gibbs (1866) L.R. 1 H.L. 93 it has been clear law that in the absence of express statutory authority, a public body is in principle liable for torts in the same way as a private person. But its statutory powers or duties may restrict its liability. For example, it may be authorised to do something which necessarily involves committing what would otherwise be a tort. In such a case it will not be liable: Allen v Gulf Oil Refining Ltd [1981] AC 1001. Or it may have discretionary powers which enable it to do things to achieve a statutory purpose notwithstanding that they involve a foreseeable risk of damage to others. In such a case, a bona fide exercise of the discretion will not attract liability: . . . .’.

Judges:

Lord Hoffmann, Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead

Citations:

Gazette 25-Sep-1996, Times 26-Jul-1996, [1996] AC 923, [1996] UKHL 15, [1996] 3 All ER 801, [1996] 3 WLR 389

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Highways Act 1980 41(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Stovin v Wise (Norfolk City Council, 3rd party) CA 16-Feb-1994
A road user was injured on a corner which was known to the highway authority to be dangerous. The authority had sought to make arrangements with the owner of land adjoining the highway to remove a bank which obstructed the view.
Held: The . .
Cited – Donoghue (or M’Alister) v Stevenson HL 26-May-1932
Decomposed Snail in Ginger Beer Bottle – Liability
The appellant drank from a bottle of ginger beer manufactured by the defendant. She suffered injury when she found a half decomposed snail in the liquid. The glass was opaque and the snail could not be seen. The drink had been bought for her by a . .
Cited – Regina v Deputy Governor of Parkhurst Prison, Ex parte Hague, Weldon v Home Office HL 24-Jul-1991
The prisoner challenged the decision to place him in segregation under Prison Rule 43. Under rule 43(1) the initial power to segregate was given to ‘the governor’. The case arose from the fact that the governor of one prison had purported to . .
Approved – Sutherland Shire Council v Heyman 4-Jul-1985
(High Court of Australia) The court considered a possible extension of the law of negligence.
Brennan J said: ‘the law should develop novel categories of negligence incrementally and by analogy with established categories. ‘
Dean J said: . .

Cited by:

Cited – K v the Secretary of State for the Home Department CA 31-May-2002
The applicant sought damages from the defendant who had released from custody pending deportation a man convicted of violent sexual crimes and who had then raped her. She appealed against a strike out of her claim. She had been refused information . .
Cited – Bellefield Computer Services Limited, Unigate Properties Limited; Unigate Dairies Limited; Unigate (Uk) Limited; Unigate Dairies (Western) Limited v E Turner and Sons Limited Admn 28-Jan-2000
The Defendant builders constructed a steel building to be used as, inter alia. a dairy. The original owners sold it to the appellants. A fire spread from the storage area to the rest of the dairy and caused much damage. The Builders, had they . .
Cited – JD, MAK and RK, RK and Another v East Berkshire Community Health, Dewsbury Health Care NHS Trust and Kirklees Metropolitan Council, Oldham NHS Trust and Dr Blumenthal CA 31-Jul-2003
Damages were sought by parents for psychological harm against health authorities for the wrongful diagnosis of differing forms of child abuse. They appealed dismissal of their awards on the grounds that it was not ‘fair just and reasonable’ to . .
Cited – Chagos Islanders v The Attorney General, Her Majesty’s British Indian Ocean Territory Commissioner QBD 9-Oct-2003
The Chagos Islands had been a British dependent territory since 1814. The British government repatriated the islanders in the 1960s, and the Ilois now sought damages for their wrongful displacement, misfeasance, deceit, negligence and to establish a . .
Cited – A and Another v Essex County Council CA 17-Dec-2003
The claimant sought damages. The respondent had acted as an adoption agency but had failed to disclose all relevant information about the child.
Held: Any such duty extended only during the period where the child was with the prospective . .
Cited – Binod Sutradhar v Natural Environment Research Council CA 20-Feb-2004
The defendant council had carried out research into a water supply in India in the 1980s. The claimant drank the water, and claimed damages for having consumed arsenic in it.
Held: There is a close link between the tests in law for proximity . .
Cited – Gorringe v Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council HL 1-Apr-2004
Statutory Duty Not Extended by Common Law
The claimant sought damages after a road accident. The driver came over the crest of a hill and hit a bus. The road was not marked with any warning as to the need to slow down.
Held: The claim failed. The duty could not be extended to include . .
Cited – Larner v Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council CA 20-Dec-2000
The duty on a local authority to promote road safety did not remove from them the discretion as to how that duty was to be implemented. A claim that the authority had failed to place certain signage, and that an accident had occurred which might not . .
Applied – Capital and Counties Plc and Another v Hampshire County Council; Etc CA 20-Mar-1997
Three cases were brought against fire services after what were said to be negligent responses to call outs. On one, the fire brigade was called to a fire at office premises in Hampshire. The fire triggered the operation of a heat-activated sprinkler . .
Cited – Sandhar, Murray v Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions QBD 19-Jan-2004
The claimant asserted a common law duty on the respondent to maintain a roadway free of frost.
Held: No such common law duty existed. Where parliament has conferred a discretionary power, ‘ . . the minimum preconditions for basing a duty of . .
Cited – Jane Marianne Sandhar, John Stuart Murray v Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions CA 5-Nov-2004
The claimant’s husband died when his car skidded on hoar frost. She claimed the respondent was liable under the Act and at common law for failing to keep it safe.
Held: The respondent had not assumed a general responsibility to all road users . .
Cited – OLL Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport QBD 22-Jul-1997
Coastguard Not liable in Negligence
Eight children with a teacher and two instructors set off on a canoeing trip but did not return. They got into difficulties at sea. Two became separated from the rest. The canoes capsized and sank. Some tried to swim ashore. Two more members became . .
Cited – Bybrook Barn Garden Centre Ltd and Others v Kent County Council CA 8-Jan-2001
A culvert had been constructed taking a stream underneath the road. At the time when it came into the ownership of the local authority, it was adequate for this purpose. Later developments increased the flow, and the culvert came to become an . .
Cited – Thoburn v Northumberland County Council CA 19-Jan-1999
The claimant alleged that the defendant by allowing a flood across a road not to be cleared was in breach of their statutory duty under the 1980 Act.
Held: Though the blockage was not entirely on the Highway, the nature and extent of it was . .
Cited – Barrett v London Borough of Enfield HL 17-Jun-1999
The claimant had spent his childhood in foster care, and now claimed damages against a local authority for decisions made and not made during that period. The judge’s decision to strike out the claim had been upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Cited – Carty v London Borough of Croydon CA 27-Jan-2005
The claimant sought damages in negligence from education officers employed by the respondent. He appealed refusal of his claim. A statement of special education needs had been made which he said did not address his learning difficulties. The . .
Cited – Regina v Lam and Others (T/a ‘Namesakes of Torbay’) and Borough of Torbay CA 30-Jul-1997
The claimant sought damages after the planning authority allowed the first defendant to conduct a manufacturing business in the course of which spraying activities took place which caused them personal injuries and loss of business.
Held: The . .
Cited – HM Customs and Excise v Barclays Bank Plc HL 21-Jun-2006
The claimant had served an asset freezing order on the bank in respect of one of its customers. The bank paid out on a cheque inadvertently as to the order. The Commissioners claimed against the bank in negligence. The bank denied any duty of care. . .
Cited – Neil Martin Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners 28-Sep-2006
The claimant sought damages from the revenue for their failure properly to process his claim for a sub-contractor’s certificate which had led to losses.
Held: The revenue owed no common law duty of care to the claimant and nor were damages . .
Cited – Vellino v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police CA 31-Jul-2001
The police were not under any duty to protect someone who had been arrested from injuring himself in an attempt to escape. The claimant had a history of seeking to avoid capture by jumping from his flat window. On this occasion he injured himself in . .
Cited – Somerville v Scottish Ministers HL 24-Oct-2007
The claimants complained of their segregation while in prison. Several preliminary questions were to be decided: whether damages might be payable for breach of a Convention Right; wheher the act of a prison governor was the act of the executive; . .
Cited – K v Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust and Another QBD 30-May-2008
The claimant appealed against an order striking out his claim in negligence. He had leaped from a window in a suicide attempt. The accommodation was provided by the defendant whilst caring for him under the 1983 Act.
Held: The case should be . .
Cited – Connor v Surrey County Council CA 18-Mar-2010
The claimant teacher said that she suffered personal injury from stress after the board of governors improperly failed to protect her from from false complaints. The Council now appealed against an award of substantial damages.
Held: The . .
Cited – Home Office v Mohammed and Others CA 29-Mar-2011
The claimants sought damages saying that after a decision had been made that they should receive indefinite leave to remain in 2001 (latest), the leave was not issued until 2007 (earliest) thus causing them severe losses. The defendant now appealed . .
Cited – Michael and Others v The Chief Constable of South Wales Police and Another SC 28-Jan-2015
The claimants asserted negligence in the defendant in failing to provide an adequate response to an emergency call, leading, they said to the death of their daughter at the hands of her violent partner. They claimed also under the 1998 Act. The . .
Cited – Hurst and Another v Hampshire County Council CA 19-Jun-1997
A Local Authority is liable for any damage to adjacent property caused by the roots of a tree growing on the verge of a public highway.
Held: Pre-adoption trees vest in the highway authority for all purposes. . .
Cited – Dodson v Environment Agency QBD 28-Feb-2013
The claimant asserted that the steps taken by the defendant to encourage wildlife in the estuary had led to otters predating his fish farm stocks, and that the claimant had not been informed of this, in particular as to the construction of otter . .
Cited – Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police SC 8-Feb-2018
Limits to Police Exemption from Liability
The claimant, an elderly lady was bowled over and injured when police were chasing a suspect through the streets. As they arrested him they fell over on top of her. She appealed against refusal of her claim in negligence.
Held: Her appeal . .
Cited – Poole Borough Council v GN and Another SC 6-Jun-2019
This appeal is concerned with the liability of a local authority for what is alleged to have been a negligent failure to exercise its social services functions so as to protect children from harm caused by third parties. The principal question of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Administrative, Personal Injury, Local Government

Local Government, Planning

Updated: 09 February 2022; Ref: scu.579627

X (Minors) v Bedfordshire County Council; M (A Minor) and Another v Newham London Borough Council; Etc: HL 29 Jun 1995

Liability in Damages on Statute Breach to be Clear

Local Government

Updated: 06 February 2022; Ref: scu.313379

Judges:

The Honourable Mr Justice La

Citations:

[2021] EWHC 1673 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 03 February 2022; Ref: scu.663452

[2002] EWHC 2771 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 47, National Assistance Act 1948 29

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Health, Local Government

Updated: 30 January 2022; Ref: scu.189103

Emmerson v Saltmarshe And Others: 12 Jun 1837

Citations:

[1837] EngR 842, (1837) 7 Ad and E 266, (1837) 112 ER 472

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 30 January 2022; Ref: scu.313959

Citations:

[1837] EngR 824, (1837) 7 Ad and E 215, (1837) 112 ER 452

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Local Government, Elections

Updated: 28 January 2022; Ref: scu.313941

Greenock Improvement Provisional Order: HL 8 Aug 1919

[1919] UKHL 667 – 1
Bailii
Scotland

Local Government

Updated: 27 January 2022; Ref: scu.632788

Taylor v Honiton Town Council and Another: Admn 21 Dec 2016

Edis J
[2016] EWHC 3307 (Admin)
Bailii
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 27 January 2022; Ref: scu.572729

The King v Erle-Hurlstone; Thomas Johnson, Attorney General (Sir John Campbell)-Recorder Of London (Law)-Bullock: 19 Feb 1839

[1839] EngR 512, [1839] Macl and R 1, (1839) 9 ER 1
Commonlii
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 27 January 2022; Ref: scu.311044

Birmingham City Council v SS and Others: CA 30 Nov 2016

The parties disputed the Council’s power to set the net eligible rents for Housing Benefits payable for accomodation.

[2016] EWCA Civ 1211
Bailii
Housing Benefit Regulations 2006
England and Wales

Housing, Benefits, Local Government

Updated: 26 January 2022; Ref: scu.571998

The King v The Mayor, Aldermen, And Burgesses Of The City And Borough Of Oxford: 28 Jan 1837

If a councillor of a corporation be ousted, and another elected in his stead, and such election be merely colourable, a mandamus will go to permit the ousted party to exercise his office, but not to restore him to his office. If such ouster and election be bona fide, the Court will not grant a mandamus in favour of the party displaced :
the proper Proceeding is by quo warrarnto against the party holding the office de facto. Quaere, whether, if a party be elected a councillor, and duly qualified at the time of his election, and his name be afterwards improperly omitted in the burgess-list before his time of service as a councillor is expired, such omission vacate the office of councillor. If so, quaere, whether the office be absolutely vacant before notice to that effect be given, under sect. 52 of stat, 5 and 6 W. 4, c. 76.

[1837] EngR 453, (1837) 6 Ad and E 349, (1837) 112 ER 133
Commonlii
England and Wales

Local Government, Elections

Updated: 26 January 2022; Ref: scu.313570

The King v The Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses Of The Borough Of Bridgewater: 27 Jan 1837

[1837] EngR 448, (1837) 6 Ad and E 339, (1837) 112 ER 129
Commonlii
England and Wales

Employment, Local Government

Updated: 26 January 2022; Ref: scu.313565

Rex v The Church Trustees of St Pancras: 26 Jan 1837

Trustees appointed under a local Act for building a new parish church, with power to make rates for that purpose and for discharging debts to be incurred under the Act, are liable to account before parochial auditors appointed under the Vestry Act, 1 and, 2 W. 4, c. 60, as a board having control over part of the parochial expenditure; though the local Act requires such trustees to keep an account of the assessments, receipts and payments under the Act, to be examined and allowed once a year at Quarter Sessions ; and though, by the same Act, their accounts are open to inspection (on payment of 1s.) by any person liable to the above rates. A mandamus calling on such trustees to produce before the auditors ‘the accounts’ (without limit as to time) kept by them under the local Act, and requiririg the clerk to the trustees to produce the books of account which may concern the above accounts, is bad, as exceeding the authority given by stat. 1 and, 2 W. 4, c. 60, ss. 34, 35, although such mandamus begin by reciting a demand made by the auditors upon the trustees in terms conformable to the Act, and a refusal to comply with such demand. When the validity of a return to a mandamus is argued on a concilium, the party impugning the return must begin, although the opposite party states that he shall object to the form of the mandamus.

[1837] EngR 445, (1837) 6 Ad and E 314, (1837) 112 ER 119
Commonlii
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 26 January 2022; Ref: scu.313562

In Re Z (Local Authority: Duty): FD 3 Dec 2004

Mrs Z suffered a terminal disease, and sought to travel to Switzerland supported and assisted by her husband, so that she could terminate her life. She appealed an injunction obtained by the authority to prevent her leaving.
Held: The authority had been supporting her. When circumstances came to their attention suggesting she had made a decision seriously against her interests, it was proper for them to investigate, and if appropriate report their concerns to the police. Though she was a vulnerable adult under the statutes, Mrs Z had full capacity, and it was not for them to intervene in this way. Mr Z might be putting himself at risk of a prosecution uunder the 1961 Act. The power to seek an injunction to prevent criminal activity did vest in a local authority, but the jurisdiction should be exercised only with the greatest caution. The authority had had no duty to apply for an injunction, and it was discharged.

A by-law made by a county council under s 16 of the 1888 Act, was in the following terms: ‘No person shall in any street or public place, or on land adjacent thereto, sing or recite any profane or obscene song or ballad, or use any profane or obscene language’
Held: that the by-law was invalid, since even if the words ‘or on land adjacent thereto,’ which were clearly too wide, were struck out, it was still unreasonable, because it did not contain any words importing that the acts must be done so as to cause annoyance.

Lindley LJ discussed the validity of a byelaw where part appeared invalid: ‘I have no doubt whatever that those words are bad. But that being so, is the rest of the byelaw bad? There is plenty of authority for saying that if a byelaw can be divided, one part may be rejected as bad while the rest may be held to be good. In the present case there is, I think, no difficulty whatever in severing the byelaw. If the words ‘on any land adjacent thereto’ are omitted, the rest of the byelaw reads quite grammatically. The byelaw is, therefore, distinctly severable.’

Lindley LJ
[1896] 1 QB 290, [1896] UKLawRpKQB 380
Commonlii
Local Government Act 1888 16
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Director of Public Prosecutions v Hutchinson; Director of Public Prosecutions v Smith HL 12-Jul-1990
Protesters objected that byelaws which had been made to prevent access to common land, namely Greenham Common were invalid.
Held: The byelaws did prejudice the rights of common. The House was concerned to clarify the test applicable when . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Local Government

Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.259757

Glasgow Corporation: HL 6 May 1919

[1919] UKHL 665
Bailii
Scotland

Local Government

Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.632775

Hajrula, Regina (on The Application of) v London Councils: Admn 28 Jan 2011

Challenge to decision to cut the finance for the Roma Support Group.

Calvert-Smith J
[2011] EWHC 448 (Admin)
Bailii
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.523756

Hornsey Local Board v Monarch Investment Building Society: CA 1889

The local authority had incurred expense in paving a street. They were entitled to apportion those expenses amongst the owners of the properties fronting onto that street and summarily to recover from the respective owners the amounts so apportioned. In addition statute provided that such expenses should be charged on the premises in respect of which they were incurred with interest thereon at the rate of 5% until payment. It was not necessary for the amount due to be ascertained on the sale of a house before the Society had a right to receive it. The charge was imposed when the paving works were completed in 1875. The expenses were not apportioned until 1885. In 1887 a demand for payment was made on the defendant and in 1888 the local board sought to enforce the statutory charge against the defendant. The county court judge granted the order, but the Queen’s Bench Division reversed him.
Held: The appeal failed. The limitation period for a local authority to recover paving expenses ran from the time of imposition even though the charge had not yet been apportioned between the frontagers. The right to receive payment had arisen even though it could not yet enforce payment.
Lord Esher MR ‘It was strongly argued that the words ‘present right to receive the same’ in this section are equivalent to ‘present right to enforce payment of the same’. If there were some overwhelming reason why that construction should be given to the words; if that were the only construction that would render the procedure sensible, I think possibly the words might receive that construction, but I do not think it would be their ordinary meaning in the English language. A present right to receive is not in ordinary English the same as a present right to enforce payment. Then is there any overwhelming reason why we should read the words otherwise than in their natural sense? So far from that, I think that in the present case to read the words in the way suggested for the plaintiffs would raise insuperable difficulties, whereas to read them in their natural sense makes the whole legislation sensible and easier application. The difficulty that arises on the plaintiffs’ construction has been pointed out, viz., that the Board, who have to receive the money, and also to apportion the amount, would have the power to delay the application of the Statute of Limitation for any time they please. When that difficulty was presented, the plaintiffs’ Counsel endeavoured to meet it by the ingenious suggestion that, if the apportionment were not made within a reasonable time, the making of it might be enforced by mandamus; and other modes were suggested of meeting the difficulty. But why should we embark on such questions and invent means of overcoming this difficulty, when by reading the words in their ordinary sense no such difficulty arises? . . .
‘The charge exists, though the exact amount charged may not be ascertained. It is suggested that a person in whose favour a charge is imposed cannot be entitled to receive an amount which is not ascertained. I do not see why this should be so. A sum may be offered to him, which the person offering it thinks to be the right sum, and which he may also think to be the right sum, although the actual calculation of the exact amount has not been made. What is there in law, or reason, or business, to shew that he is not entitled to receive the sum when so offered to him? I cannot see any difficulty in saying that there is a present right to receive the expenses. In the case where a person has only a reversionary right to receive money, or for some other reason the time when he is entitled to receive the money has not yet arrived, it would be different, and there would be no present right to receive the money. . .
So, reading the words of the section in their ordinary sense, it seems to me that in the present case the Local Board were a body of persons in whose favour a charge existed for a sum of money, who were entitled to receive it, and who were capable of giving a receipt or discharge for it . . . It seems to me therefore that the case comes within the words of the section read in their ordinary sense and that there is no reason for giving them any other construction. Consequently the claim of the plaintiffs is barred by the Statute of Limitations.’
Lindley LJ said that expression, a ‘present right to receive’ was ‘a little ambiguous’, but agreed with Lord Esher: ‘. . . and as distinguishable, as apparently it is meant to be, from ‘present right to sue’, everything works out harmoniously; the moment the time of the coming into existence of the charge is ascertained, the period of limitation will begin to run: whereas, if the opposite construction is adopted, we are at once landed in the curious anomaly that the creditor, that is to say, the person who is entitled to the charge, can by his own act postpone his right to sue indefinitely . . .
The section is dealing with charges on land, and it must be borne in mind that such charges are present charges and future charges, reversionary charges, charges in remainder, and such like. One general form of expression is used to include the whole, and that expression is ‘present right to receive.’ It seems to me clear that the meaning is that in each case the moment to be looked to is the moment when the charge comes into present operation; for instance, when reversionary charges are being dealt with, the moment to be looked to is the moment when the reversion falls in and the charge takes effect in possession.’
Lopes LJ said that the right to receive what was secured by a charge arose concurrently with the charge: ‘When, then, does the right accrue to the person or persons in whose favour the charge is imposed to receive the amount secured by the charge? It appears to me that it accrues the moment the charge is imposed on the premises by the statute, that is when the expenses have been incurred and the works completed. It may be that certain things have to be done before the right can be enforced, but the right to receive what is secured by the charge arises concurrently with the charge. The words are ‘present right to receive’ not ‘present right to recover’. The right to receive may exist though the definite sum to be received has not yet been ascertained. There are cases where the legislature requires a notice to be given before an action can be maintained. The right of action however exists as soon as an actionable wrong has been committed, though it cannot be successfully enforced until the statutory requirements are complied with.’

Lord Esher MR, Lopes LJ, Lindley LJ
[1889] 24 QBD 1
Real Property Limitation Act 1874 8
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Farran v Beresford HL 30-Aug-1843
The House considered the nature of scire facias, and in particular whether scire facias created a new right, or whether it only operated as a continuation of the original judgment. ‘The present right to receive the same’ was understood by Tindal . .
Cited – Earle v Bellingham 24-Jul-1857
The right to receive legacies charged on a reversionary legacy payable under the will of another was not a present right to receive them until the reversionary legacy fell into possession on the death of the life tenant. . .

Cited by:
Cited – The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea v Amanullah Khan and The Wellcome Trust ChD 13-Jun-2001
The authority had served notices on the second defendant, requiring him to execute works to bring a property up to a habitable condition. Eventually the authority executed the works themselves, and sought repayment from him of the costs. He resisted . .
Cited – Wilkinson and Another v West Bromwich Building Society CA 30-Jul-2004
The Society had repossessed and sold the mortgagors’ house in 1990. It knew then that there was a shortfall, but took no further recovery proceedings until 2002. What was the date from which the relevant limitation period began to run? Though the . .
Distingusihed – Green and others v Gaul and Another; In re Loftus deceased ChD 18-Mar-2005
The claimants began an action in January 2003 to seek to set aside the appointment of an administrator from December 1991, and to have set aside transfers of property made within the estate.
Held: The limitation period against a personal . .
Cited – West Bromwich Building Society v Wilkinson HL 30-Jun-2005
The Society had taken possession of a property in 1989. It located the defendants many years later and sought payment of the excess after deduction of the proceeds of sale, and for interest. The borrowers claimed the debt was expired by limitation . .
Cited – Doodes v Gotham, Perry ChD 17-Nov-2005
The trustee in bankruptcy had taken a charge on the property in 1992 to support the bankruptcy in 1988. He sought to enforce it in 2005. The chargor appealed an order which denied he was protected by limitation.
Held: The appeal succeeded. . .
Cited – Gotham v Doodes CA 25-Jul-2006
The former bankrupt resisted sale of his property by the trustee, saying that enforcement was barred by limitation. He and his wife bought the property in early 1988, and he was made bankrupt in October 1988. He was dischaged from bankruptcy in . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Limitation, Local Government

Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.182787

The King v The Inhabitants Of Scarisbrick: 20 Apr 1837

[1837] EngR 644, (1837) 6 Ad and E 509, (1837) 112 ER 194
Commonlii
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.313761

Richards v Worcestershire County Council and Another: ChD 28 Jul 2016

Application for claim to be struck out.

Newey J
[2016] EWHC 1954 (Ch)
Bailii
Mental Health Act 1983 2 25A 117
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Mwanza, Regina (on The Application of) v London Borough of Greenwich and Another Admn 15-Jun-2010
The claimant had been discharged from inpatient treatment under the 1983 Act, and now sought to oblige the respondent local authorities to provide the assistance he needed. . .
Cited – Clunis (By his Next Friend Prince) v Camden and Islington Health Authority CA 5-Dec-1997
The plaintiff had killed someone and, as a result, been convicted of manslaughter and ordered to be detained in a secure hospital when subject to after-care under section 117 of the 1983 Act. He sought damages from the health authority on the basis . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Health, Local Government

Updated: 20 January 2022; Ref: scu.567847

London Borough of Tower Hamlets v London Borough of Bromley: CA 19 May 2016

Appeal against declaration as to ownership of a famous sculpture

McCombe LJ
[2016] EWCA Civ 616
Bailii
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 20 January 2022; Ref: scu.567669

Brown v Hyndburn Borough Council: CA 21 Feb 2018

Local housing authority designation of ‘selective licensing area’ for private sector properties

Underhill, King LJJ, Hildyard J
[2018] EWCA Civ 242, [2018] LLR 239, [2018] 1 WLR 4518, [2018] WLR(D) 115
Bailii, WLRD
Housing Act 2004 90(1)(5)(a)
England and Wales

Housing, Local Government

Updated: 20 January 2022; Ref: scu.605307

Dat and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v West Berkshire Council: Admn 22 Jul 2016

Challenge to cutting of funding by local authority for organisations supporting disabled children

Laing DBE J
[2016] EWHC 1876 (Admin)
Bailii

Local Government

Updated: 20 January 2022; Ref: scu.567394

C, T, M and U, Regina (on The Application of) v London Borough of Southwark: CA 12 Jul 2016

Appeal against the order dismissing the appellants’ claims for judicial review and damages. The claim challenged the lawfulness of the accommodation and the level of financial support provided to a family by a local authority.

Moore-Bick VP CA, Sir Ernest Ryder, Senior President of Tribunals, Vos LJ
[2016] EWCA Civ 707
Bailii
England and Wales

Housing, Benefits, Local Government

Updated: 19 January 2022; Ref: scu.566848

The King v The Inhabitants of Lampeter: 17 Nov 1824

[1824] EngR 866, (1824) 3 B and C 454, (1824) 107 ER 802
Commonlii
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 18 January 2022; Ref: scu.327857

West Sussex County Council v Amberley (UK) Ltd and Another: QBD 31 Mar 2010

[2010] EWHC 651 (QB)
Bailii
England and Wales

Health Professions, Local Government

Updated: 18 January 2022; Ref: scu.406650

Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council: QBD 1990

The issue before the courts was whether, in the absence of any express power authorising the Council to do so, the Council was within its power under s 111(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 to enter into certain swap transactions;
‘The fact that subsection (1) is expressly made subject to ‘the provisions of this Act’ make it clear that it is important to construe section 111(1) in its context. The reference to expenditure, borrowing or lending, etc., within the brackets in the subsection do not themselves confer any power to expend, borrow or lend money, etc., but only make it clear that the fact that those activities are involved does not prevent the activities being within the power of the authority which are authorised by this subsection.
The critical part of the subsection are the words ‘calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the discharge of any of their functions.’ Before the subsection can authorise an activity which is not otherwise authorised there must be some other underlying function which is authorised, to the discharge of which, the activity will facilitate or be conducive or incidental.
What is a function for the purposes of the subsection is not expressly defined but in our view there can be little doubt that in this context ‘functions’ refers to the multiplicity of specific statutory activities the council is expressly or impliedly under a duty to perform or has power to perform under the other provisions of the Act of 1972 or other relevant legislation. The subsection does not of itself, independently of any other provision, authorise the performance of any activity. It only confers, as the sidenote to the section indicates, a subsidiary power. A subsidiary power which authorises an activity where some other statutory provision has vested a specific function or functions in the council and the performance of the activity will assist in some way in the discharge of that function or those functions.’

Woolf LJ and French J
[1990] 2 QB 697, [1990] 2 WLR 1038, [1990] 3 All ER 33
Local Government Act 1972 111(1)
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council CA 2-Jan-1990
The authority entered into interest rate swap agreements, whose validity was challenged. The court considered what were the functions of a local authority within the Act. ‘We agree with the Divisional Court that in [section 111(1)] the word . .
Cited – Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Lincoln City Council etc HL 29-Jul-1998
Right of Recovery of Money Paid under Mistake
Kleinwort Benson had made payments to a local authority under swap agreements which were thought to be legally enforceable when made. Subsequently, a decision of the House of Lords, (Hazell v. Hammersmith and Fulham) established that such swap . .
At first instance – Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council HL 1991
Swap deals outwith Council powers
The authority entered into interest rate swap deals to protect itself against adverse money market movements. They began to lose substantial amounts when interest rates rose, and the district auditor sought a declaration that the contracts were . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Local Government

Updated: 18 January 2022; Ref: scu.236532

The Friends of Finsbury Park, Regina (on The Application of) v Festival Republic Ltd and Another: Admn 22 Jun 2016

Application for permission to bring review of decision to hire out Finsbury Park to Festival Republc for a festival.

Supperstone J
[2016] EWHC 1454 (Admin)
Bailii

Local Government, Planning

Updated: 18 January 2022; Ref: scu.565843

Hastings Borough Council v Manolete Partners Plc: SC 27 Jul 2016

The council appealed against the decision that it is liable to pay compensation under section 106 of the Building Act 1984, for loss to a business on Hastings Pier arising from its closure during 2006 under the council’s emergency powers. The Council said that the company had been in default under section 106.
Held: There was nothing in the factors relied on in the courts below which required the words ‘in default’ to be limited to default under the 1984 Act. They were right in my view to hold that the authority had no defence in principle to the claim for compensation, not because (as they held) there was no default under the 1984 Act, but because it was not default by Stylus which led to the emergency action under section 78.

Lady Hale, Deputy President, Lord Kerr, Lord Carnwath, Lord Toulson, Lord Hodge
[2016] UKSC 50, [2016] 1 WLR 3059, [2016] WLR(D) 426, [2016] RVR 301, [2016] BLR 503, UKSC 2014/0159
Bailii, Bailii Summary, SC, SC Summary
Building Act 1984 106
England and Wales
Citing:
At TCC – Manolete Partners Plc v Hastings Borough Council TCC 12-Apr-2013
Application for compensation under s.106 of the Building Act 1984 for compensation as a result of the Council exercising its powers to prevent access to Hastings Pier under s.78 of the 1984 Act.
Held: The court rejected the defence, holding . .
At CA – Manolete Partners Plc v Hastings Borough Council CA 7-May-2014
The claimants appealed from rejection of their claim to compensation under the 1984 Act as tenants of a pier closed by the Authority. The Authority said that it had failed to comply with its leasehold obligations of repair, and was in default under . .
Cited – Hobbs v Winchester Corporation CA 18-Jun-1910
Meat had been seized under section 116 of the 1875 Act as unfit for human consumption. Although the butcher was acquitted of any offence under section 117 of that Act, on the grounds that he was unaware that it was unfit for consumption, it was . .
Cited – Lingke v Christchurch Corporation CA 1912
The householder sought compensation under the Act, for the disturbance in the laying of a drain in the highway abutting the claimant’s house and furniture shop. Because of the constraints of the work site, excavated soil had been thrown up against . .
Cited – Neath Rural District Council v Williams QBD 1951
A watercourse became silted by natural causes and the local authority served an abatement notice on the landowner, who failed to respond, and when prosecuted relied on a proviso which excluded from liability ‘any person other than the person by . .
Cited – Granada Theatres Ltd v Freehold Investment (Leytonstone) Ltd CA 23-Mar-1959
The tenant claimed that the landlord had failed in its obligations of repair undertaken in the lease.
Held: Where the landlord was in default, a tenant may have a right to undertake the repairs itself, recovering the costs.
Jenkins LJ . .
Cited – Place v Rawtenstall Corporation 1916
The authority had served notice under the Act requiring the plaintiff to convert a pail closet on his premises into a water closet and to connect it to a sewer. He failed to comply, and the authority carried out the work themselves, but did so by . .
Cited – Clayton v Sale Urban District Council 1926
Action was brought by the Council in respect of an alleged statutory nuisance caused by flooding. Under section 94 of the 1875 Act they could serve an abatement notice on the person by whose ‘act default or sufferance’ the nuisance had arisen. The . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Local Government

Updated: 17 January 2022; Ref: scu.567605

Sky Blue Sports and Leisure Ltd and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Arena Coventry Ltd and Another: CA 13 May 2016

Appeal against rejection of judicial review of decision to provide loan for provision of sports facilities.

Tomlinson, Treacy, Floyd LJJ
[2016] EWCA Civ 453
Bailii
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 16 January 2022; Ref: scu.564194

Campbell Park Parish Council, Regina (on The Application of) v Milton Keynes Council: Admn 26 Apr 2012

Mr Justice Mitting
[2012] EWHC 1204 (Admin)
Bailii
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 79
England and Wales

Local Government

Updated: 16 January 2022; Ref: scu.460337

Regina v North and East Devon Health Authority ex parte Coughlan and Secretary of State for Health Intervenor and Royal College of Nursing Intervenor: CA 16 Jul 1999

Consultation to be Early and Real Listening

The claimant was severely disabled as a result of a road traffic accident. She and others were placed in an NHS home for long term disabled people and assured that this would be their home for life. Then the health authority decided that they were in need of only ‘general’ rather than ‘specialist’ nursing services and that these should be purchased by the local authority rather than provided by the NHS. So the health authority decided to close the home and transfer their long-term care to the local authority.
The need for nursing care for a chronically sick person might be primarily a health or a social services need, and either a health authority or a social service authority might be responsible for the care provision, and if the local authority is responsible, then a charge might be made. However where the need of a patient was primarily for health care as such, it was wrong for the health authority to seek to transfer responsibility to the local authority.
The court set out three categories of legitimate expectation, including substantive entitlement, and procedural unfairness.
Lord Woolf MR said: ‘To be proper, consultation must be undertaken at a time when proposals are still at a formative stage; it must include sufficient reasons for particular proposals to allow those consulted to give intelligent consideration and an intelligent response; adequate time must be given for this purpose; and the product of consultation must be conscientiously taken into account when the ultimate decision is taken . . It has to be remembered that consultation is not litigation: the consulting authority is not required to publicise every submission it receives or (absent some statutory obligation) to disclose all its advice. Its obligation is to let those who have a potential interest in the subject matter know in clear terms what the proposal is and exactly why it is under positive consideration, telling them enough (which may be a good deal) to enable them to make an intelligent response. The obligation, although it may be quite onerous, goes no further than this.’
Lord Woolf discussed the doctrine of legitimate expectation, saying: ‘the doctrine of legitimate expectation has emerged as a distinct application of the doctrine of abuse of power’, and ‘Legitimate expectation may play different parts in different aspects of public law. The limits to its role have yet to be finally determined by the courts . . And without injury to the Wednesbury doctrine it may furnish a proper basis for the application of the now established concept of abuse of power . . Once it is recognised that conduct which is an abuse of power is contrary to law its existence must be for the court to determine.’ and ‘it is for the court to say whether the consequent frustration of the individual’s expectation is so unfair as to be a misuse of the authority’s power.’
and ‘Where the court considers that a lawful promise or practice has induced a legitimate expectation of a benefit which is substantive, not simply procedural, authority now establishes that . . the court will in a proper case decide whether to frustrate the expectation is so unfair that to take a new and different course will amount to an abuse of power. Here, once the legitimacy of the expectation is established, the court will have the task of weighing the requirements of fairness against any overriding interest relied upon for the change of policy.’

Lord Woolf MR
Times 20-Jul-1999, Gazette 11-Aug-1999, [1999] EWCA Civ 1870, [1999] EWCA Civ 1871, [2001] 1 QB 213, [1999] Lloyds LR 305, (2000) 51 BMLR 1, (1999) 2 CCL Rep 285, [2000] 3 All ER 850, (2000) 2 LGLR 1, [1999] BLGR 703, [2000] 2 WLR 622, [1999] Lloyd’s Rep Med 306
Bailii, Bailii
National Health Service Act 1977
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Regina v North and East Devon Health Authority ex parte Coughlan Admn 11-Dec-1998
There had been no transfer to Social Service Authorities of the Health Services’ statutory duty to provide specialist nursing and related care to the elderly, and having made a promise to provide a home for life, the Health Authority would be held . .
Cited – Western Fish Products Ltd v Penwith District Council and Another CA 22-May-1978
Estoppel Cannot Oust Statutory Discretion
The plaintiff had been refused planning permission for a factory. The refusals were followed by the issue of Enforcement Notices and Stop Notices. The plaintiff said that they had been given re-assurances upon which they had relied.
Held: The . .
Cited – Regina v Brent London Borough Council ex parte Gunning 1985
The demands of fair consultation procedures will vary from case to case and will depend on the factors involved. The requirements are: ‘First, that consultation must be at a time when proposals are still at a formative stage. Second, that the . .

Cited by:
Cited – Bloggs 61, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department CA 18-Jun-2003
The applicant sought review of a decision to remove him from a witness protection scheme within the prison. He claimed that having been promised protection, he had a legitimate expectation of protection, having been told he would receive protection . .
Cited – Sporting Options Plc, Regina (on the Application Of) v Horserace Betting Levy Board Admn 31-Jul-2003
The claimant sought judicial review of the rate of levy set by the respondent, saying that they operated a new kind of system which was treated unfairly.
Held: The procedure followed in settling the levy was unsatisfactory. The claimant would . .
Cited – I-CD Publishing Ltd v The Secretary of State, The Information Commissioner (Interested Party) Admn 21-Jul-2003
The claimant sought judicial review challenging the restrictions on the sale of electoral registers to registered credit reference agencies. Following Robertson (1) the new regulations created two registers, and the claimant sought to be able to . .
Cited – Watts, Regina (on the Application of) v Bedford Primary Care Trust and others Admn 1-Oct-2003
The claimant sought hip-replacement treatment. She was first told that she would have to wait a year. As her lawyers pressed the respondent, she looked at obtaining treatment in France. As she decided to take the treatment, the respondent reduced . .
Cited – North West Lancashire Health Authority v A D and G CA 29-Jul-1999
A decision not to fund gender re-assignment surgery was operated as a blanket policy without proper regard for individual cases and so was unlawful as an effective fetter on the discretion which the Health Authority was obliged to exercise. A lawful . .
Cited – Regina v Department of Education and Employment ex parte Begbie CA 20-Aug-1999
A statement made by a politician as to his intentions on a particular matter if elected could not create a legitimate expectation as regards the delivery of the promise after elected, even where the promise would directly affect individuals, and the . .
Cited – Rowland v The Environment Agency CA 19-Dec-2003
The claimant owned a house by the river Thames at Hedsor Water. Public rights of navigation existed over the Thames from time immemorial, and its management lay with the respondent. Landowners at Hedsor had sought to assert that that stretch was now . .
Cited – Mullen, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 29-Apr-2004
The claimant had been imprisoned, but his conviction was later overturned. He had been a victim of a gross abuse of executive power. The British authorities had acted in breach of international law and had been guilty of ‘a blatant and extremely . .
Cited – Capenhurst and Others, Regina (on the Application Of) v Leicester City Council Admn 15-Sep-2004
The applicants, representatives of voluntary organisations, challenged decisions of the local authority to withdraw their funding, saying the decision making process had been unfair.
Held: Even if it was not bound to consult, if the authority . .
Cited – Rashid, Regina (on the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Home Department Admn 22-Oct-2004
The claimant sought asylum, being an Iraqi Kurd. He was not told by the defendant of its policy not to require internal relocation within the Kurdish autonomous zone. The policy had been applied for the benefit of others, as was revealed only in . .
Cited – Regina v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Ex Parte Hindley HL 30-Mar-2000
The prisoner, sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life tariff for the murders of children, now appealed against the imposition of the whole life tarriff.
Held: The appeal failed. It was possible for a Home Secretary to set a whole life . .
Cited – Rashid, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department CA 16-Jun-2005
The Home Secretary appealed against a grant of a judicial review to the respondent who had applied for asylum. The court had found that two other asylum applicants had been granted leave to remain on similar facts and on the appellants, and that it . .
Cited – Regina (Nadarajah) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; Abdi v Secretary of State for the Home Department CA 22-Nov-2005
The asylum applicant challenged a certificate given by the respondent that the claim for asylum was manifestly ill-founded. The respondent had made a mistake in applying the appropriate policy, but had sought to correct the error. The claimants . .
Cited – Grogan, Regina (on the Application of) v Bexley NHS Care Trust and others Admn 25-Jan-2006
The claimant was elderly and in need of care in a nursing home. She claimed that her care needs had been assessed by an unlawful protocol applied by the health authority. She said that she qualified under the criteria for Continuing Health Care.
Cited – Rogers, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Health Admn 15-Feb-2006
The claimant suffered breast cancer. She sought treatment from the defendant with a drug called Herceptin, and now sought judicial review of the refusal of such treatment. Various stages in the licensing of the drug were yet to be completed. It was . .
Cited – Lindley, Regina (on the Application of) v Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Admn 21-Sep-2006
The claimant, aged 69 suffered from cerebral palsy. The council had provided his care but he said they had represented to him that care would be provided in a new facility, and claimed a legitimate expectation. The defendant said that its changed . .
Cited – Eisai Ltd, Regina (on the Application of) v National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Shire Pharmaceuticals Limited and Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (Interveners) CA 1-May-2008
The applicant pharmaceutical companies challenged the decision of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to to list certain drugs saying that the procedure adopted was unfair. NICE had revealed that results of calculations it had made . .
Cited – Edwards, Regina (on the application of) v Environment Agency HL 16-Apr-2008
The applicants sought to challenge the grant of a permit by the defendant to a company to operate a cement works, saying that the environmental impact assessment was inadequate.
Held: The Agency had been justified in allowing the application . .
Cited – Green, Regina (on the Application of) v South West Strategic Health Authority Admn 28-Oct-2008
The claimant said that whilst resident in a care home, her care should have been paid for as health care under ‘Continuing Health Care.’ She said that the decision maker had failed to comply with the Health Authorities guidelines.
Held: In . .
Cited – Oxfam v Revenue and Customs ChD 27-Nov-2009
The charity appealed against refusal to allow it to reclaim input VAT. It also sought judicial review of the decision of the Tribunal not to allow it to raise an argument of legitimate expectation. The charity had various subsidiaries conducting . .
Cited – Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education, Regina (on The Application of) v Learning and Skills Council Admn 12-Aug-2010
The applicant had applied to the respondent for funding for new buildings. The application was approved, but the application was rejected when the respondent ran out of funds. The claimant said that a legitimate expectation had been created, and . .
Cited – Lumba (WL) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 23-Mar-2011
The claimants had been detained under the 1971 Act, after completing sentences of imprisonment pending their return to their home countries under deportations recommended by the judges at trial, or chosen by the respondent. They challenged as . .
Cited – London Borough of Lewisham and Others), Regina (on The Application of) v Assessment and Qualifications Alliance and Others Admn 13-Feb-2013
Judicial review was sought of the changes to the marking systems for GCSE English in 2012.
Held: The claim failed. Though properly brought, the failure was in the underlying structue of the qualification, and not in the respondent’s attempts . .
Cited – Save Our Surgery Ltd, Regina (on The Application of) v Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts Admn 7-Mar-2013
The claimants sought judicial review of the report prepared by the defendants under which departments providing childrens’ heart surgery at their regional hospital would close. They complained that the consultation had been inadequate and flawed. . .
Cited – Bancoult, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Admn 11-Jun-2013
The claimant, displaced from the Chagos Archipelago, challenged a decision by the respondent to create a no-take Marine Protected Area arround the island which would make life there impossible if he and others returned. The respondent renewed his . .
Cited – Badger Trust, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Admn 29-Aug-2014
The respondent had carried out the first round of a badger cull, subject to supervision and reporting by an independent expert panel. Promoises were made, the claimant said, that the panel’s role would be maintained for any subsequent round. The . .
Cited – Birks, Regina (On the Application of) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Admn 25-Sep-2014
The claimant police officer sought judicial review of a decision to continue his suspension. He had been investigated and cleared after a death in custody. He sought to join the Church of England Ministry and was offered a post. He was re-assured . .
Cited – Moseley, Regina (on The Application of) v London Borough of Haringey SC 29-Oct-2014
Consultation requirements
The claimant challenged a decision of the respondent reducing the benefits under the Council Tax Reduction Scheme reducing Council Tax for those in need, saying that the Council’s consultation had been inadequate.
Held: The consultation was . .
Cited – A and B, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Health SC 14-Jun-2017
The court was asked: ‘Was it unlawful for the Secretary of State for Health, the respondent, who had power to make provisions for the functioning of the National Health Service in England, to have failed to make a provision which would have enabled . .
Cited – Forge Care Homes Ltd and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Others SC 2-Aug-2017
The court was asked who is legally responsible for paying for the work done by registered nurses in social rather than health care settings. Is the National Health Service responsible for all the work they do or are the social care funders . .
Cited – Gallaher Group Ltd and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v The Competition and Markets Authority SC 16-May-2018
No Administrative Duty of Equal Treatment
Extent and consequences of duties of ‘equal treatment’ or ‘fairness’, said to have been owed by the Office of Fair Trading to those subject to investigation under the Competition Act 1998. The respondent had entered negotiations with several parties . .
Cited – Finucane, Re Application for Judicial Review SC 27-Feb-2019
(Northern Ireland) The deceased solicitor was murdered in his home in 1989, allegedly by loyalists. They had never been identified, though collusion between security forces and a loyalist paramilitary was established. The ECHR and a judge led . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Health, Local Government, Administrative

Leading Case

Updated: 16 January 2022; Ref: scu.146786

Perma-Soil UK Ltd v Williams and Another: QBD 10 May 2016

Claim for damages alleging misfeasance in public office

Keyser QC HHJ
[2016] EWHC 1087 (QB)
Bailii

Local Government, Torts – Other

Updated: 15 January 2022; Ref: scu.563424

Manolete Partners Plc v Hastings Borough Council: CA 7 May 2014

The claimants appealed from rejection of their claim to compensation under the 1984 Act as tenants of a pier closed by the Authority. The Authority said that it had failed to comply with its leasehold obligations of repair, and was in default under that Act.
Held: Default was limited to default under the 1984 Act. Earlier statutes had included defaults under related statutes, but: ‘The phrase ‘in default’ in section 106 of the 1984 Act means in breach of an obligation arising under the 1984 Act. The provision does not require the court or the arbitrator to conduct a wide-ranging review of other legislation and the common law in order to see whether the claimant is in breach of any duties arising outside the 1984 Act.’
. . And: ‘[Stylus] has acted responsibly at all stages. It did its utmost to compel the landlord to carry out remedial works. Ultimately it stepped into the breach and did the works itself. If the local authority had wished to avoid liability to pay compensation under section 106, it could have brought proceedings under section 77 of the 1984 Act sooner and thereby avoided the need to take emergency action under section 78.
Finally, on this point, [the council’s] general arguments will still be available at the quantum hearing before the arbitrator. The local authority will be entitled to argue that even if it had not fenced off the pier, [Stylus] could have made little use of its two units.’
The default proviso was the ‘control mechanism which eliminated claims that are unacceptable on grounds of public policy’. It left no room for the application of the ex turpi causa rule: ‘Having said that, I do accept that the structural condition of the pier will be relevant to the quantum of the claim. The local authority will be entitled to argue in the arbitration due to be held under section 106(2) that the loss of profit caused by the local authority’s conduct must be substantially reduced by reason of the structural condition of the pier. Indeed the local authority would be entitled to argue that the quantum is reduced to nil, although on the evidence which I have seen that outcome seems unlikely.’

Jackson LJ, Aikens LJ, PattenLJ
[2014] EWCA Civ 562, [2014] 1 WLR 4030, [2014] WLR(D) 193, [2014] BLR 389
Bailii, WLRD
Building Act 1984
England and Wales
Citing:
At TCC – Manolete Partners Plc v Hastings Borough Council TCC 12-Apr-2013
Application for compensation under s.106 of the Building Act 1984 for compensation as a result of the Council exercising its powers to prevent access to Hastings Pier under s.78 of the 1984 Act.
Held: The court rejected the defence, holding . .
Cited – Hobbs v Winchester Corporation CA 18-Jun-1910
Meat had been seized under section 116 of the 1875 Act as unfit for human consumption. Although the butcher was acquitted of any offence under section 117 of that Act, on the grounds that he was unaware that it was unfit for consumption, it was . .
Cited – Lingke v Christchurch Corporation CA 1912
The householder sought compensation under the Act, for the disturbance in the laying of a drain in the highway abutting the claimant’s house and furniture shop. Because of the constraints of the work site, excavated soil had been thrown up against . .
Cited – Leonidis v Thames Water Authority 1979
Access to the plaintiff’s motor repair business was interfered with by work to reconstruct a sewer. Whilst access was still possible it required a long detour and there was no physical interference with the entrance to the premises.
Held: If a . .

Cited by:
At CA – Hastings Borough Council v Manolete Partners Plc SC 27-Jul-2016
The council appealed against the decision that it is liable to pay compensation under section 106 of the Building Act 1984, for loss to a business on Hastings Pier arising from its closure during 2006 under the council’s emergency powers. The . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Local Government

Updated: 14 January 2022; Ref: scu.525117