59+ min ago   (545+ words) The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has reported a 48% surge in complaints about public services alongside an 18% increase in complaints about the Code of Conduct, in its first quarterly report of 2026. In its Q1 report for 2026, the watchdog said it had…...

5+ hour, 46+ min ago   (252+ words) A new initiative by the Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) will examine existing Codes of Ethical Conduct to formulate “practical, non-statutory guidance”. The standards watchdog last week (24 July) published its official Terms of Reference for a new project in response…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago   (349+ words) The High Court has dismissed a town council’s challenge to permission for a 250-home development after finding, among other things, that “policy (even the NPPF) is not law and can be departed from so long as the decision maker given…...

1+ day, 19+ min ago   (330+ words) The High Court has quashed a planning permission for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's plans to develop part of a park into a private training ground, following Enfield Council’s decision to withdraw from the litigation. The London borough’s planning committee resolved…...

3+ day, 20+ hour ago   (257+ words) A group of city business leaders have announced preparations for legal action against Liverpool City Council over a recent increase in parking charges and extension of charging hours across the city. In July last year, it was confirmed that parking…...

3+ day, 23+ hour ago   (452+ words) The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has revealed that Freedom of Information (FOI) complaints increased by more than 40% in 2025/26, while a rise in data protection complaints also put pressure on its services. Publishing its Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2025/26, the…...

4+ day, 2+ hour ago   (160+ words) The Ministry of Justice has this month published a consultation on reforming weddings law in England and Wales. It follows a report by the Law Commission in 2022, ‘Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law’, which concluded that the current law, dating…...

4+ day, 3+ hour ago   (290+ words) The comments came in a new report from the professional membership body, Sustainability Reporting in the Public Sector: A Leap Forward, which reviewed developments in public sector sustainability reporting between 2023 and 2026. It also examined the opportunities and challenges facing public…...

4+ day, 14+ hour ago   (531+ words) Warwickshire County Council’s leader has been cleared of a Code of Conduct breach regarding a public row he had with the local authority’s chief executive over the flying of the Pride Flag from the council’s offices. Warwickshire’s leader, Cllr George…...

4+ day, 6+ hour ago   (852+ words) Kaileigh Moreton and Chay Clark consider the key issues and the practical points for local authorities arising from the litigation over the use of Brockwell Park in London. What is particularly instructive is the contrast between the successful challenge to…...