Generally speaking, a local authority cannot be compelled to either (i) transfer a secure joint tenancy to one of the joint tenants or (ii) grant a new secure tenancy to one of the joint tenants. Joint tenants of a secure tenancy can however, if the relevant criteria are met, (i) seek a court order to this effect as part of matrimonial or family law proceedings, or (ii) agree to an assignment of the joint tenancy to a sole tenancy by way of succession. How to transfer a secure tenancy Section 91(3) of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985) provides that a secure tenancy can only be assigned in four

Can the local authority be compelled to take action on the basis of public health or on any other basis? The local authority has a duty to inspect a premises if a member of the public complains about a statutory nuisance. The Environmental Protection Act 1990, s 79 (EPA 1990), says; and it shall be the duty of every local authority to cause its area to be inspected from time to time to detect any statutory nuisances which ought to be dealt with under section 80 below or sections 80 and 80A below and, where a complaint of a statutory nuisance is made to it by a person living within its area, to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to investigate the complaint The neighbour can make a complaint to the Environmental Health department of his local

Thank you for your query: Under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (FWMA 2010), lead local flood authorities (LLFAs) have the lead responsibility for managing the risks of flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses (which excludes main rivers managed by the Environment Agency or Welsh ministers) within their area. FWMA 2010, s 9(1) requires an LLFA to develop, maintain, apply and monitor a strategy for local flood risk management in its area. For the purposes of this response,

Smell emanating from a property may amount to the tort of nuisance. In Barr v Biffa Waste Services the Court of Appeal considered a case in which bad smells were emanating from a waste processing plant. The court noted that one of the categories of nuisance was that caused by a person unduly interfering with their neighbour in the comfortable and convenient enjoyment of land, a typical example being the causing of smells by the carrying on of an offensive manufacture or otherwise. It is a question of degree whether the interference is sufficiently serious to cause a nuisance, decided by reference to all the circumstances of the case, and there must be a real

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990) provides a self-contained code, giving local authorities and aggrieved individuals separate avenues of redress. It defines 11 categories of 'statutory nuisance'. Common to each definition is the requirement that the activity or state of affairs be either a nuisance or prejudicial to public health. Although it is not specifically defined in EPA 1990, 'nuisance' may be described as an unacceptable interference with the personal comfort or amenity of neighbours or the nearby community (Godfrey v Conwy County Borough Council). Nuisance is assessed objectively, and standards of ordinary decent people are applied in order to establish it. Factors such as duration, frequency and location of an activity will be important as well as local convention and value to the community. Under EPA 1990 the following matters constitute statutory nuisances: • any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance

It is not an uncommon scenario in local authority care proceedings, for a care recipient to have a friend or family member act as their appointee and receive their pension and/or benefits on their behalf. Only for that appointee to keep the money received, refusing to pay it towards the assessed contribution and choosing to do something else with the money. It does not matter what they did with the money, or crucially whether they did so with the permission, or at the behest, of the care recipient. The law allows for the local authority to proceed against the appointee (former or not) where this has happened. Although, the pre-proceedings steps required to be taken before issuing a claim as set out in Annex D of the Care and support statutory guidance should be heeded. There are three primary sections of law, the local authority should consider. These can all be pleaded in

The power to charge The Local Government Act 2003 (LGA 2003) introduced new provisions in relation to trading and charging. See Practice Note: Local authority powers to charge and trade. The characteristics of the power to charge are: • it relates to services that the authority has a power to provide • it does not relate to the provision of supplies or works • the service must be discretionary, ie those services that the authority is authorised but not required to provide • it is available to all authorities irrespective of CPA rating • the recipient must agree to the charge • the charge may only be made to the recipient, and • the authority can charge different persons different amounts for the provision of the service The Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers may make regulations providing that a charge may be imposed in respect of anything: (1) which is done by any relevant authority or by any relevant authority

Where the owner, lessee or occupier of land, or the operator of a railway, requests that any authority makes a public path order under the Highways Act 1980 or the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the authority may impose charges on the person making the request where the authority

When an acquiring authority proposes, as part of a compulsory purchase order (CPO) to which the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (ALA 1981) applies, to acquire any land or interests or create new rights over land which is afforded special protection, additional procedures and/or protections apply. The special categories of land which are afforded

An interview under caution is the formal questioning of a suspect regarding their involvement or suspected involvement in an offence which must be carried out in accordance with, and under the caution specified in, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Code C (PACE Code C). Failure to comply with the requirements of PACE Code C may result in the evidence obtained being excluded as unfair evidence under PACE 1984, s 78. For further information, please see our Practice Notes: Interview under caution and Exclusion of unfair evidence in criminal proceedings. It is possible in certain circumstances for local authorities to interview a suspect under caution. This will be the case where the local authority is the enforcement authority responsible for enforcing the specific legislation

The School Admissions Code is clear that the only lawful consultation arrangements concerning school admissions must occur as part of the annual consultation. This answer is limited to the law in England and Wales. Different guidance applies in England and in Wales. In England, the School Admissions Code (published in December 2014) applies. In Wales, it is the School Admission Code, SI 005/2013 (the Welsh Code) given force by the School Admissions Code (Appointed Day) (Wales) Order 2013, SI 2013/1659. The law governing school admissions in England is governed by section 88E of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (SSFA 1998), as elaborated by the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2012 (the Regulations), SI 2012/8. The applicable guidance in England is contained in the School Admissions Code published

Under section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006 (NHSA 2006), local authorities and NHS bodies may enter into a written agreement in relation to the exercise of any NHS functions and Local Authority—health related functions—if the partnerships are likely to lead to an improvement in the way in which those functions are exercised. They must consult jointly with persons that may be affected by the arrangements and fulfil the objectives set out in the local health improvement plan. Though it is often the case that those affected are the staff and organisations and other mechanisms already exist for consulting on changes to services. The NHS Bodies