Category: Article

On 11 March 2015, the Supreme Court handed down their judgment in the case of Akerman-Livingstone v Aster Communities Limited (formerly Flourish Homes Limited) [2015] UKSC 15.

“Disposing of Land” is a guidance document issued by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to help Private Registered Provider’s understand the HCA’s approach to their decision making in respect of disposals of social housing dwellings and other land under the general consent or specific consent regimes.

The Government announced significant changes to the National Planning Practice Guidance in November 2014 with the aim of reducing “disproportionate burdens on developer contributions.”

The Government has announced that the new Procurement Regulations will come into force in the UK on 26 February. The new Regulations will make some important to changes to public procurement in the UK. It will be important for all of our contracting authority clients (which include Registered Providers and Local Authorities) to understand how the current regime will change, and what these changes will mean for them in practice.

The impending government reforms to judicial review (JR) are a timely reminder of the importance of the procedure to regulators. A Special Report, produced by Devonshires Solicitors demonstrates that JR is not always welcome, and for smaller regulators in particular, it can prove a costly exercise. But equally JR can confer real benefits in endorsing a regulatory approach and bringing certainty to the regulator and regulated alike.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has now confirmed that there is no general principle of EU law which prohibits discrimination on grounds of obesity. Therefore obesity can be considered a disability under EU law in the case of Kaltoft v Municipality of Bilund. For our analysis of the Advocate General’s opinion click here.