The County, Unitary or London Borough Council for a defined area.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Note that pursuant to the Taking Control of Goods and Certification of Enforcement Agents (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/451, in force from 25 April 2020, restrictions have been imposed on a landlord's right to exercise Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) and to prevent enforcement agents taking control of goods. For further information, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—implications for property [Archived] — Restrictions on taking control of goods (including the exercise of CRAR). What steps should be taken before instructing an enforcement agent? • Ensure that a demand is made for the sums outstanding • If no payment is made on or before the due date then send a reminder letter • If again no payment is made send a second reminder letter • A final reminder should then follow • Application to magistrates' court for authorisation to issue a summons • Liability order hearing • Costs can be added by the local authority for issuing a summons and for obtaining a liability order (see R v Tottenham Magistrates) • The debtor

This Practice Note provides practical guidance on the establishment and use of companies by local authorities (LAs). It sets out details of the governance structure of companies and types of company directors. Governance structure of companies The vast majority of companies are formed by registration under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) or predecessor Acts. Some companies and corporations are formed by private Acts of Parliament (such as certain port authorities and older railway and canal companies), under Royal Charters (such as older universities) or under other legislation, and those entities will have their own particular governance structures which are outside the scope of this Practice Note. See Practice Note: Royal Charters. In broad terms, the governance of companies registered under CA 2006 is divided as follows: • day-to-day management of the company is vested in the board of directors (acting collectively), which may in turn delegate the lawful powers of the company, as well as duties to individual directors or employees • the shareholders of the company have several important residual powers. For example, they

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the related statutory instruments. For further reading, see Practice Note: Local authority duties to looked after children in Wales. This Practice Note has been produced to assist practitioners in navigating local authority duties to children and young people who may be entitled to advice and assistance, namely relevant children. These sections are likely to be relevant to practitioners who: • act for local authorities • represent parents or guardians in care proceedings where the child is 16 or 17 • advise young people who are being looked after about the duties of the local authority to them • advise upon or in preparation for judicial review of the local authority for failing to meet their duties under the different

This is a Practice Note for lawyers working in, or for, Children’s Services departments within local authorities in Wales. It deals exclusively with the law that relates to Wales. For the law as it stands in England, regard should be had generally to: Local authority duties to children—overview It is the first of a series of three notes relating to children’s social care in Wales. For coverage of a Welsh local authority’s duty to provide accommodation, see Practice Note: Local authority powers and duties to provide accommodation for children in Wales. For coverage of a Welsh Local authority’s duties in relation to looked after children, see Practice Note: Local authority duties to looked after children in Wales. Legislative background The Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) came into force on 25 July 2006. GWA 2006, s 108A provided for a reserved powers model of devolution, with the Welsh Government able to legislate on any matters not reserved to the UK Parliament by GWA 2006, Schs 7A and 7B (brought

This is a Practice Note for lawyers working in, or for, Children’s Services departments within local authorities in Wales. It deals exclusively with the law that relates to Wales. For the law as it stands in England, regard should be had generally to: Local authority duties to children—overview and the Practice Notes referred to below. It is the third of a series of three Practice Notes covering children’s social care in Wales. For guidance on child protection in Wales, see Practice Note: Local authority duties to children in Wales—child protection [Archived] and for information in relation to providing accommodation for children, see Practice Note: Local authority powers and duties to provide accommodation for children in Wales. Duties towards looked after children Looked after children (LAC) in Wales are those subject to a care order, or those provided with accommodation pursuant to any of a local authority’s social services functions. For information relating to local authority duties to LAC in England, see Practice Note: Local authority duties towards

This Practice Note looks at the duties a local authority has in relation to children looked after by them, which includes children who are subject to care orders, interim care orders and those who are voluntarily accommodated by the local authority pursuant to section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It covers a local authority’s duty to safeguard and promote a child’s welfare and make such services available for children as are reasonable, specifically in relation to placing the child in suitable accommodation and preparing a care plan. Note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the related statutory instruments. For further reading on Wales, see Practice Notes: Local authority powers and duties to provide accommodation for children in Wales, Local authority duties to looked after children in Wales and Local authority duties

While this Practice Note is not limited to unaccompanied asylum-seeking (UAS) children, this is the most likely individual/group a practitioner will come across. Other examples might include where a child is abandoned but makes no claim for asylum, or where the age of a dependent child of any asylum seeker is in question. The information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the related statutory instruments. This Practice Note does not cover every duty the local authority (LA) has to a child by virtue of them being a child looked after by the LA. See Practice Note: Local authority duties towards children looked after by them for those duties. The most important duties will, however, be covered. A claim for asylum includes a claim under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

Local Government analysis: The claimant applied for judicial review of the defendant, the London Borough of Enfield’s decision to enter into an agreement with Tottenham Hotspur Ltd, a company which owned the professional football club, to grant the company a 25-year lease of part of a park in the London Borough of Enfield's area. The High Court held that the London Borough of Enfield had been entitled to agree to grant, under section 123(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 (LGA 1972), Tottenham Hotspur Ltd as a professional football club club a 25-year lease of part of a park in Enfield's area. Under LGA 1972, s 123(2B), Enfield could dispose of such open space freed from a trust arising from the land being held under section 164 of the Public Health Act 1875 (PHA 1875) on trust for enjoyment by the public. Written by Tim Baldwin, barrister at Garden Court Chambers.

Local Government analysis: The local authority in this case had failed to retain a copy of a key letter which statute requires must be sent to an applicant for housing who is being offered a tenancy in the private sector. That letter must contain warnings required by statute and if the local authority cannot prove it was sent, the housing duty will not have been fulfilled, even if the applicant has been living in the offered accommodation for many years. This is what happened in this case, and that error was compounded by the second offer of accommodation, being effectively one to live in an open brothel, when the applicant had been given refugee status in this country, due to her past sexual exploitation and trafficking. Again, that offer was held to be of no effect—such that, despite living in two properties since 2015, the local authority was held never to have discharged its homelessness duty to the claimant. Written by Adam Heppinstall, barrister, Henderson Chambers.

This Practice Note covers the powers given to local authorities to investigate and prosecute criminal offences under Local Government Act 1972 (LGA 1972). Any local authority is a creature of statute. Where a local authority acts beyond its powers, it will be acting ultra vires. LGA 1972, s 222 gives local authorities the power to prosecute criminal offences investigated by their own departments. These departments include: • trading standards • health and safety • environmental health/food safety and hygiene • education • housing and council tax benefit LGA 1972, s 222 provides that a local authority can prosecute or defend criminal proceedings where it considers it 'expedient for the promotion or protection of the interests of the inhabitants of their area' (the expediency test). It is for the local authority to determine what is in the interests of its residents and not the courts. In practice this means that in, general terms, local authorities can only enforce offences within their own jurisdiction. Every case will depend upon its own facts and that a

This Archived Practice Note considers the impact of the provisions of section 78 of Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020) which came into force on 25 March 2020 and expired on 7 May 2021. These temporary provisions were designed to facilitate effective and efficient local authority meetings during the coronavirus pandemic and were generally considered to be an effective method of ensuring that local authorities could continue to have formal council and committee meetings, facilitating remote access to members of the public when appropriate. This Practice Note is for information only and is not maintained. As part of the national response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, local authorities undertook a wide range of essential and additional functions, while also contributing to local resilience planning and continued delivery of local services. Along with provisions introduced to allow the postponement of elections and by-elections, CA 2020, s 78 created powers to relax certain requirements in relation to local authority meetings for a limited period. An attempt was made to argue in the case of Hertfordshire