Coronavirus (COVID-19)

This subtopic contains materials, commentary and analysis on the implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for local government, together with links to related guidance and policy documents.

COVID-19 toolkit and tracker

Organisations, irrespective of their business type, sector or size, have found themselves in uncharted territory with the onset of the coronavirus. There are many common areas of concern.

Although legal restrictions introduced by the Coronavirus Act 2020 and by statutory instrument have largely expired, some restrictions remain and guidance is available to manage this stage of the pandemic. Coronavirus (COVID-19)—local government tracker—post July 2021—our COVID-19 tracker is designed to assist lawyers in local government to understand and stay ahead of changes in relevant legislation, powers and duties in response to the coronavirus pandemic. For details of the regulations and restrictions before 19 July 2021 so called ‘freedom day’, see: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—local government tracker up to 18 July 2021 [Archived].

We have also produced a Coronavirus (COVID-19)—legislation tracker [Archived] to track primary legislation such as the Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020) together with a database of statutory instruments collating details

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Latest Local Government News

The necessity of a DOLs order where all parties with parental responsibility consent (J (through his Children's Guardian) v Bath and North East Somerset Council and others)

Family analysis: The Court of Appeal held that even in cases where the local authority and the parents of a profoundly disabled 14-year-old agreed to a restrictive regime for him, contrary to the decision of Mr Justice Lieven in the court below, a deprivation of liberty (DOLs) order was necessary, as Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was engaged. Had the decision of Lieven J been allowed to stand, the logical consequence would have been that there would have been no need for any local authority to apply for a DOLs order where it holds a care order for the child. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and gave clear guidance that a local authority cannot 'mark its own homework'. Teertha Gupta KC at 4PB considers the issues.

Welsh Government publishes children's rights assessment for homelessness bill

The Welsh Government has published a children's rights impact assessment concerning the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill, which analyses the implications of the proposed legislation on children's rights in Wales. Additionally, the Welsh Government has issued an integrated impact assessment (IIA) to assess the effects of the bill. This assessment is a component of the legislative process for new housing laws designed to tackle homelessness and social housing allocation in Wales. The IIA reviews the potential impacts of the proposed measures on different stakeholders and policy areas within the Welsh housing sector.

The High Court’s approach for appeals against teaching prohibition orders (Vanhove v Secretary of State for Education and TRA)

Local Government analysis: This case involved an appeal against a prohibition order imposed by the Secretary of State for Education following a recommendation by the Professional Conduct Panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency. The appeal was dismissed. The court outlined the correct approach to be taken when considering an appeal against a determination by the Professional Conduct Panel and affirmed that appeals should be conducted by way of review, not a full re-hearing. Written by Vida Simpeh, barrister, at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square.

Cabinet Office updates Procurement Act 2023 guidance on utilities and exempted contracts

The Cabinet Office has updated its guidance on utilities contracts and exempted contracts under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023). The main substantive changes incorporate guidance on calculation provisions included in the Procurement Act 2023 (Consequential and Other Amendments) Regulations 2025. The utilities contracts guidance includes new material at paragraphs 31–43, about calculations relating to the ‘turnover test’ under regulation 42C of the Procurement Regulations 2024 (PR 2024), SI 2024/692. The turnover test is used to determine whether a supplier is affiliated to a utility for the purposes of the exemption in PA 2023, paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 2. The exempted contracts guidance includes new material at Annex B, on the tests for calculation of activities for vertical and horizontal arrangements, including guidance on the ‘attributable turnover’ and ‘non-attributable turnover’ calculations set out in PR 2024, SI 2024/692, regs 42A and 42B.

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