Local authority

The current ‘postcode lottery’ of support for more than half a million disabled children in England could be replaced with clearer rights and national eligibility criteria, under Law Commission proposals

Sam Karim KC & Sophie Hurst on why the Court of Protection has reaffirmed that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted

The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination

Judges have lifted an interim injunction on asylum seekers being housed at the Bell Hotel, Epping, and held the Home Office and hotel owners can intervene in the case

Jasveer Randhawa explores some of the recent themes to emerge in English public law

If an expert charges more than the Legal Aid Agency’s fee cap, who covers the shortfall? Dr Chris Pamplin reports

Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin, editor of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses, examines the thorny issue of expert witness fees in legally aided cases. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) enforces strict caps, only exceeded in ‘exceptional circumstances’. This often leaves local authorities footing the bill when experts charge more than the cap

Families and children are waiting two years to have their cases resolved, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found

Neil Parpworth shares his reaction to the Charter for Londoners

Local authorities are increasingly using ‘deprivation of liberty’ orders to house troubled children in unregistered accommodation often many miles from home, the Law Society has warned.