Monthly Archive for July, 2007

Legal Aid, one Judicial Review down…

By NL on 23/07/2007. 0 Comments

The Society of Asian Lawyers and the Black Solicitors Network judicial review of the LSC proposals has been settled after an adjournment on the basis that the LSC carry out a full retrospective and prospective cumulative Race Equality Impact Assessment. (See the Law Society press release here). What Price Justice

Top work all round. The assessment should have some interesting results, unlikely to be good news for the LSC.

Also, there is an early day motion set up. EDM 1961 calls on the government to postpone the regulations and meet with all stakeholders to find an alternative future for legal aid. Get your MP to sign it.… Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: Legal Aid.

Waiting for Counsel

By NL on 17/07/2007. 0 Comments

(With apologies to Samuel Beckett, Literature, and everyone else)

Act 1
Darkness. Lights up. Trainee sitting on a worn vinyl bench, to the right a board on the wall, with sheets of tattered A4 paper pinned to it. To the left a swing door. Trainee wrestles with zip on case with wheels next to bench. Sits back exhausted. Looks over at the board.

Trainee: Listed for 10.30 [pause, eyes to the front] In the 10.30 list. [slumps further down on bench] Fifth on the 10.30 list. [reaches towards case] Can’t be helped and the usher [looks longingly to the left] said … Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: whatever.

Double-take Corner

By NL on 15/07/2007. 0 Comments

We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area.

And

“MR JUSTICE PETER SMITH: No, if you are going to say my conduct in court is quite remarkable, you have to say why. In which way do you think my conduct has been remarkable?
“MR CRAMPIN: It is a remarkable proposition that a judge should cross-examine a witness in the basis of what is in the judge’s head, which no-one else has seen.
… Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: whatever.

Brownfields to Brown homes?

By NL on 15/07/2007. 0 Comments

I’ve been adopting a wait and see approach to the Brown government, but if this report in the Observer is true, it is most certainly a good thing. Councils are apparently to be permitted to build more housing stock and possibly have rent income released back to them to do so.

I’ve called for this before. The reasoning is simple. Housing Associations can’t and/or won’t invest the capital on anything like the scale required. The private sector was always going to be hopeless in providing housing for the low income (and only the most utterly deluded of Thatcherites ever thought otherwise). Historically and for the foreseeable future, it takes state … Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, Housing law - All and secure-tenancy. Tags: Housing law - All, law, secure-tenancy, social housing, whatever.

Publawyer on public function

By NL on 13/07/2007. 0 Comments

Just a quick note that Publawyer has posted an excellent discussion of YL v Birmingham and the broader impact on thinking about functional public authorities for the purposes of the Human Rights Act. Sure, it’s a bit late, but he’s been away. It makes a good counterpoint to Head of Legal’s view.

Personally, I side with Publawyer. As the duties and activities of public authorities are increasingly contracted out to private sector and not for profit organisations, and often at arm’s length to boot, an open view of ‘public function’ strikes me as increasingly required. Head of Legal’s worries that something as simple as being a regulated industry, or … Read the full post

Posted in Community care and Housing law - All. Tags: Community care, Housing law - All, human-rights, law, public function.

The horse's mouth

By NL on 12/07/2007. 0 Comments

I was delighted to see some comments from members of the Community Law Partnership on this blog today, adding to my notes on some of their Court of Appeal cases.

The comments are detailed and very helpful, adding a lot to my scanty commentary, so, for the housing lawyers amongst us, it is well worth reading their comments on my posts on

Shala v Birmingham

Aweys v Birmingham

Omar v Birmingham

and now

Doherty v Birmingham (House of Lords bound, apparently)

And to the CLP people, lovely to see you here, what took you so long? And where is your website?… Read the full post