header-logo header-logo

Discretion is not endorsement

23 March 2018 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 7786 / Categories: Features , Local government , Public
printer mail-detail

Nicholas Dobson explains why public authority officials exercising discretion must do more than simply endorse recommendations

  • A planning decision made by a local authority chief executive was unlawful because: (i) it failed to have regard to material considerations and; (ii) requisite decision reasons were not provided.

Anyone taking a decision on behalf of a public authority needs to do so with care. For this is not simply a matter of personal whim or whether the decision feels okay. Those exercising statutory discretion must do so strictly within the ambit of that discretion, having regard only to material considerations and disregarding those which are irrelevant.

Which is where Maldon Council’s chief executive and her authority came unstuck. For she had made a decision to approve matters previously reserved in outline planning consent simply by endorsing the recommendation in the report before her for reasons not explained in that report and subject to conditions within the original committee report and subsequent update which she apparently did not have. The case in question was R (Pearl)

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Rylatt and Robyn Laye of Anthony Gold Solicitors examine recent international relocation cases where allegations of domestic abuse shaped outcomes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
back-to-top-scroll