Powers and duties

Legal status of local authorities

Local authorities (LA) are statutory corporations, created by Parliament as single legal entities, as described in Hazel v Hammersmith and Fulham:

local authority, although democratically elected and representative of the area, is not a sovereign body and can only do such things as are expressly or impliedly authorised by Parliament’.

There are many such statutory provisions, some providing an overall framework but most charge the authority with carrying out one among many, sometimes competing, functions of a council or local authority for a particular purpose.

Specific statutory powers are granted relating to the LA’s duties in service provision and commissioning which are covered in the adult and children’s social care, education, environmental law, highways, licensing, public procurement and social housing specialist topics. The governance topic generally and this subtopic particularly is concerned with the wider powers and duties that overlay specific statutory duties and form the cornerstone of good governance for a LA.

Central to exercise of good decision making is analysis of the following fundamental questions:

  1. is there statutory authority to make this decision?

  2. is the decision

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Latest Local Government News

Local Government weekly highlights—3 July 2025

This week's edition of Local Government weekly highlights includes: case analysis of Norton v London Borough of Haringey, in which the court considers whether an LHA can determine the suitability of offered accommodation if it has not prepared a lawful assessment under HA 1996, s 189A(1) and Surrey CC v R (BC), in which the Court of Appeal provides an overview of the time frames involved for bringing a claim for judicial review, confirmation of when an LA is duty-bound to accommodate a child under ChA 1989, s 20 and clarity on the alternative methods that can be employed to children not deemed a ‘child in need’ and not requiring accommodation. Case reports include Mother v LA (ALC and CoramBAAF intervening), in which the court ruled that it was not in the child’s best interest for the court to make sibling contact order while granting a placement for adoption order for the younger child as it might deter potential adopters; X and Y v BBC, in which the court found BBC’s application for access to documents from care proceedings to be aimed at issues outside scope of court’s functioning and should be pursued through other mechanisms; Anwar v Ealing LBC, in which the court affirmed that construction of a crossover outside the appellant property under HiA 1980, s 184(11) was lawful as statutory provisions do not require consent of adjacent affected property owners; and Smith v Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court, in which the court dismissed an appeal against obstruction of a highway under HiA 1980, s 137 with the central issue being whether land adjacent to Vauxhall Bridge constituted a public highway under HiA 1980, s 31. It also includes latest coverage on the implementation of Awaab’s Law including the government’s consultation response and draft guidance. It includes further updates on Social housing, Public procurement, Education, Local government finance, Social care, Licensing and Planning.

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