A claim was made against a local education authority for the negligence of a taxi firm employed by the authority to drive children to and from school.
Held: The claim failed. The authority had no statutory duty to transport children, but only to arrange and pay for it.
Lord Denning MR said that the authority was not liable for an independent contractor ‘except he delegates to the contractor the very duty which he himself has to fulfil’.
Judges:
Lord Denning MR
Citations:
(1980) 79 LGR 28
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Woodland v Essex County Council SC 23-Oct-2013
The claimant had been seriously injured in an accident during a swimming lesson. She sought to claim against the local authority, and now appealed against a finding that it was not responsible, having contracted out the provision of swimming . .
Cited – Armes v Nottinghamshire County Council SC 18-Oct-2017
The claimant had been abused as a child by foster parents with whom she had been placed by the respondent authority. The court was now asked, the Council not having been negligent, were they in any event liable having a non-delegable duty of care . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Local Government, Vicarious Liability
Updated: 16 September 2022; Ref: scu.645790