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Bankruptcy petitions—process and procedure

Before the hearing of the creditors’ bankruptcy petition takes place, there are a number of steps that must be taken to comply with the procedural

Anti-social behaviour—powers to control behaviour under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been

Assignment and succession of tenancy

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been

Assured and assured shorthold tenancies—granting

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been

Practice notes

Judicial review—what it is and when it can be used

What is Judicial Review?Judicial review is a process by which the courts exercise a supervisory jurisdiction over the exercise of public functions by...

Produced in partnership with Mathew Purchase of Matrix Chambers and Dr Mirza Ahmad of St Philips Chambers 29th Sep

Practice notes

Possession—anti-social behaviour, nuisance and crime

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

28th Sep

Practice notes

Rights of secure tenants

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

28th Sep

Practice notes

Unlawful eviction and quiet enjoyment

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

Produced in partnership with Laura Tweedy of Hardwicke Chambers 28th Sep

Practice notes

Obtaining possession of a secure tenancy

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

Produced in partnership with Karl King of Harwicke Chambers 28th Sep

Practice notes

Key considerations in local authority decision making

Coronavirus (COVID-19): This Practice Note contains guidance on matters that have temporarily been altered to assist in the management of the...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Local authority social care duties

Coronavirus (COVID-19): This Practice Note contains guidance on subjects impacted by the Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020). CA 2020, among other...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Structure of local government

Coronavirus (COVID-19): This Practice Note contains guidance on matters that have temporarily been altered to assist in the management of the...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)—mandatory licensing

Mandatory licensingPart 2 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004) places a duty on a local housing authority (LHA) to effectively implement mandatory...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)

‘HMOs are, or are usually, domestic premises originally designed for occupation by one family, which have been converted for occupation by a number of...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Road traffic—order procedure and notices

Coronavirus (COVID-19): This Practice Note contains guidance on matters that have temporarily been altered to assist in the management of the...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Nuisance on highways

Coronavirus (COVID-19): This Practice Note contains guidance on matters that have temporarily been altered to assist in the management of the...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Highways, street works and statutory undertakers

Coronavirus (COVID-19): This Practice Note contains guidance on matters that have temporarily been altered to assist in the management of the...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Maintenance liability for highways

Highways not maintainableThere are some, but very few, highways for which nobody has any liability for maintenance. All other highways are...

Produced in partnership with Nicholas Hancox of Nicholas Hancox Solicitors and Alastair Frew of Lodders Solicitors 25th Sep

Practice notes

Licensing of alcohol and entertainment

This Practice Note summarises the application, purpose, content and structure of the Licensing Act 2003 (LA 2003) as it applies to England and...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Standards of highway maintenance

The quality of highway maintenance required of those responsible for it depends almost entirely on the expected ordinary traffic on the highway in...

25th Sep

Most recent Q&As content

Q&As

Can members speak at other committees that they are not members on?

Functions may be delegated to permitted authorities by way of schemes of delegation. See: Commentaries: Delegation of functions by Ministers to...

28th Sep

Q&As

If a local authority has undertaken works on a private street, does that street automatically become a highway maintainable at public expense? Alternatively, under section 228 of the Highways Act 1980, could the works be a one-off and the street remains private?

Under section 203 of the Highways Act 1980 (HiA 1980), ‘private street’ means a street that is not a highway maintainable at the public...

28th Sep

Q&As

Would the leasing of a property by a contracting authority to provide temporary accommodation for its residents fall within the scope of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015?

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102, reg 10 excludes a number of a specific categories of service contract from the scope of...

Produced in partnership with Alfred Artley of Monckton Chambers 28th Sep

Q&As

What does Brexit mean for UK students in courses that require periods of study in another EU country?

Until formal notice is given under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty (TEU), the UK remains part of the EU and therefore subject to all the regulations,...

Produced in partnership with Shazia Akhtar of Hardwicke 28th Sep

Brexit

Q&As

Do you have any guidance on whether Brexit is considered a force majeure event?

We refer you to the following which may be of assistance:•Q&A: Is Brexit considered a force majeure event?•Practice Note: Brexit—contract risk...

28th Sep

Brexit

Q&As

What guidance is available for contracting authorities on exclusion of bidders in public procurement?

Eligibility and selection in public procurementContracting authorities conducting a public procurement exercise under the Public Contracts Regulations...

28th Sep

Q&As

Do the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 provisions on ambulatory references apply to contracts?

What is retained EU law?EU law takes effect in the UK through the European Communities Act 1972 (ECA 1972). ECA 1972 will be repealed by section 1 of...

Produced in partnership with Kieran Laird, Director and Head of Constitutional Affairs of Gowling WLG 28th Sep

Q&As

Under what circumstances could a contracting authority negotiate or amend the terms of a contract tendered using the restricted procedure? What are the potential consequences of doing so?

In answering this Q&A we have considered whether, prior to concluding a public contract tendered under the restricted procedure, the contract terms...

Produced in partnership with Peter Ware of Browne Jacobson 28th Sep

Q&As

Can you limit the number of bids a tenderer can submit for a procurement exercise under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and can you prevent variant bids from being submitted?

Limiting the number of bids a tenderer can submitA contracting authority (CA) may wish to limit the number of bids a tenderer may submit in a public...

28th Sep

Q&As

In relation to copyright clauses within collateral warranties, what is meant by ‘Such licence shall entitle the Beneficiary to use and reproduce the Copyright Materials for an extension but such use shall not include a licence to reproduce the designs contained in them for any such extension’?

A collateral warranty is a contract which is collateral to (or sits alongside) an underlying or primary contract. In construction, a collateral...

28th Sep

Q&As

What information can the Food Standards Agency request from a manufacturer in a general investigation?

We assume you are referring to investigations for breaches of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (FSH(E)R 2013), SI 2013/2996. In...

28th Sep

Q&As

Do you have any Practice Notes or Precedents which deal with the sale of perishable goods, such as food?

AdvertisingIn relation to the sale of perishable goods to the end consumer, see Practice Notes:•Food advertising: this Practice Note considers the law...

28th Sep

Q&As

On what basis can a local authority issue a simple caution to an individual and does it include the power to seek the reasonable costs of conducting the investigation from the offender?

Simple cautions for adults are a non-statutory disposal and are available only in respect of persons who have attained the age of 18 years. Their use...

28th Sep

Q&As

What is the time period for bringing a prosecution for failing to comply with a hygiene improvement notice?

We have assumed that this question relates to an offence of failure to comply with a hygiene improvement notice issued under the Food Safety and...

28th Sep

Q&As

What powers do local authorities in England and Wales have to issue a fixed penalty notice for a breach of an abatement notice served under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990? Does a local authority need to adopt a statutory provision before being able to issue such a fixed penalty notice to a commercial organisation?

This Q&A relates solely to fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued in respect of breaches of abatement notices issued pursuant to section 80 of the...

Produced in partnership with James Hodivala of Matrix Chambers 28th Sep

Q&As

When determining the ‘date of discovery by the prosecutor’ of an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, SI 2008/1277, how is a prosecutor to determine what that date is? Is it the date when Council staff first became aware of the complaint, the date when a Trading Standards investigator considered an offence may have been committed or when the Council’s legal team concluded that the is evidence an offence has been committed?

For the purpose of this Q&A, we have assumed that this refers to an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR...

28th Sep

Q&As

What guidance is there on sentencing an offender following conviction for offence under section 1(2) of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013?

Pursuant to section 1(6) of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 (PSHFA 2013), a person convicted of an offence pursuant to PSHFA 2013, s...

28th Sep

Q&As

Can a prosecution be brought after a simple caution has been issued? How can a local authority start criminal proceedings for a criminal regulatory offence?

In this Q&A, we refer to the issue of a simple caution under section 17 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA 2015).Simple cautionsThe use...

28th Sep

Q&As

Can a local authority (district council) be appointed as a company director?

Company law perspectiveThe Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) distinguishes between two types of legal entity that might serve as a company director, namely...

28th Sep

Q&As