header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
01 April 2010
Issue: 7411 & 7412 / Categories: Case law , Law reports
printer mail-detail

Local authority—Statutory powers—Implied power

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

One Search Direct Holdings Ltd (formerly SPH Holdings Ltd) (trading as OneSearch Direct) v York City Council [2010] EWHC 590 (Admin), [2010] All ER (D) 198 (Mar)

Queen’s Bench Division, Administrative Court (London) Hickinbottom J 19 Mar 2010

The policy of York City Council not to allow private search companies (PSCs) access to raw data necessary for compiling information for home information packs (HIPS), but rather to purchase that information from the authority itself, is not unlawful.

Michael Fordham QC and Iain Steele (instructed by Walker Morris) for the claimant. Jason Coppel (instructed by Dickinson Dees LLP) for the authority.
The claimant was a private search company (PSC) which carried on business in the jurisdiction of the defendant local authority. It compiled search reports from data held by the authority which it then sold for inclusion in HIPs. PSCs acted in competition with authorities in that respect. In April 2009, the authority published a policy purportedly in accordance with the Local Authority Property Search Services—Costing and Charging Guidance and the Local Authorities (England) (Charges

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

Read All
Sponsored by
Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

Muckle LLP—Roland Fairlamb

Muckle LLP—Roland Fairlamb

Specialist associate solicitor rejoins Muckle’s leading employment team

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Property cases reshape established principles
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
NLJ this week: Stress ruling raises the bar for employers
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
NLJ this week: Can Manchesterism revive access to justice?
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
NLJ this week: Constitutional conventions tested as power changes hands
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
NLJ this week: Lawyers must become product designers
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll