Section 33 of the Family Law Act 1986 (FLA 1986) gives the court the power, where there is inadequate information as to where the child is, to order any person who it has reason to believe may have relevant information to disclose it to the court. An order under this section may be made against a person who is not a party to the proceedings, and a person is not excused from complying by reason that to do so may incriminate themselves or their spouse of an offence. An application under FLA 1986, s 33 can be made in proceedings for, or relating to, an order under the FLA

The right to buy scheme allows most secure council home tenants to buy their home at a discount from the local authority. The scheme also applies in respect of some housing association tenancies, although for the purposes of this Q&A the references will be to local authority tenancies. The extent of the discount under the scheme will depend upon the duration of the tenancy. Section 156A of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985), inserted by section 188 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004), places a legal obligation

Section 115 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (WIA 1991) allows a highway authority to enter into an agreement with a sewerage undertaker for the purposes of permitting the highway authority to discharge surface water from the highway into the sewers and public drains. In turn, under WIA 1991, s.115(1)(b) any such agreement may extend to permitting the highway authority to discharge water

A non-publicly maintainable highway is rare. A ‘highway’ is a road or path which is open to the public. In almost every case, such a highway will be maintainable by the highway authority, at the cost of the taxpayer. However, there are instances of a road becoming a highway without it also becoming adopted, and it therefore remains maintainable by a private person or company. For further information, see Practice Notes: Highways—adoption agreements and Definition and classification of highways. Sometimes, as in the case of roads within housing estates built before 1959, due to an anomaly in the legislation, they are maintainable by no one. Therefore, members of the public may find themselves passing along highways which are in a poor state of repair, but that the local council is not responsible. If the local council is not required to maintain the road, can that same council also avoid responsibility for managing the use of the

Local Government analysis: The Court of Appeal in Norton v London Borough of Haringey upheld the local authority’s decision regarding its discharge of homelessness duties under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996). The court held that Haringey had lawfully determined that it had discharged its duty to Mr. Norton by offering suitable accommodation and that its decision-making process was procedurally fair and rational. This case is significant for housing law practitioners, particularly those advising on homelessness applications and judicial reviews of local authority decisions. It reinforces the principle that courts will not interfere with local authority decisions unless there is a clear error of law or procedural unfairness. The Court of Appeal agreed with Haringey’s case that a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) and Personal Housing Plan is not a condition precedent to a finding that the accommodation provided was suitable. Written by Clive Adams, partner at Birketts LLP.

Applications for reserved matters approval and applications for discharge of conditions are not the same, in law, as applications for planning permission. They are treated separately throughout the statutory planning regime (see for example sections 73, 78, 93 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990)). This distinction flows into the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (DMPO), SI 2015/595 (the DMPO), which governs the processing of applications. As a result, amending the description of a reserved matters or condition application is not the same as amending the description of development for a planning application. The government’s Planning Practice Guidance indicates that authorities should adopt a flexible

Section 106A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) provides that a planning obligation may not be modified except by agreement executed as a deed between the local planning authority (LPA) and the person against whom the obligation is enforceable. Whether an LPA can enter into a deed of variation under TCPA 1990, s 106A with itself as landowner depends on what the original planning obligation, and the deed of variation, provides for. The considerations on a deed of variation under TCPA 1990, s 106A are the same as the considerations on a planning obligation under TCPA 1990, s 106

Failing to obtain planning permission (or to comply with the requirements of permission that has been granted) is known as a planning breach. Section 73A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) provides that planning permission can be granted by a local planning authority for development carried out before the date of the application. This applies to development carried out without planning permission; in accordance with planning permission granted for a limited period; or without complying with some condition subject to which

Following the non-determination by a local planning authority (LPA) of an application for planning permission, the applicant can appeal the non-determination to the Secretary of State (SoS) under section 78(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990). However, TCPA 1990, s 78A applies where a person has appealed to the SoS under TCPA 1990, s 78(2) in respect of non-determination of an application

Section 172 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) enables a local planning authority to issue an enforcement notice where it appears to them that there has been a breach of planning control and it is expedient to issue a notice, taking into account the provisions of the development plan and any other material considerations. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is an offence

An enforcement notice must tell the recipient what they have done wrong and what they must do to remedy it—see Miller-Mead v Minister for Housing and Local Government and another. Section 173 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) governs the contents of an enforcement notice. If a notice catches or might catch pre-existing rights, the principle derived from Mansi v Elstree Rural District Council (1964) 16 P & CR 153 (not reported by Lexis+® UK) means a notice will

We are not aware of any circumstances where liability to pay the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) has passed to another person following a valid assumption of liability, without a formal withdrawal of assumed liability or transfer of liability. Withdrawing an assumption of liability The Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948, reg 31(6) states that: ‘A person may withdraw an assumption of liability at any time before commencement of the chargeable development by giving notice of the withdrawal in writing to the collecting authority’. (7) Other than by way of a transfer of assumed liability, a person may not assume liability to