A man who sold goods in the streets of Birmingham did not break the law as he was protected under an 1871 act by being a pedlar, the High Court has found.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee has called for a list of licensed pet breeders to be made public, noting that more than half of the puppies entering the market come from unlicensed breeders.
A Barking and Dagenham Council prosecution has seen a go kart company ordered to pay almost £120,000 over an accident that saw a driver strangled by her own clothing.
Professional bodies and lawyers have warned construction projects may be disrupted because too few building control inspectors will meet the 6 April deadline to re-register under a new Government approval scheme.
Westminster City Council is calling for the Government’s “long-promised” Transport Bill to be part of the legislative agenda, in order to regulate the impact of pedicabs and dockless bikes.
A Brentwood homeowner who suffered years of distress because the council did not properly investigate her concerns about the restaurant next door to her home, has had her complaint upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Possible failures to comply with environmental law by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency and Ofwat in relation to the regulation of combined sewer overflows have been identified by the Office for Environmental Protection.
A Westminster City Council investigation has led to coffee and sandwich giant Pret a Manger being fined £800,000 after a member of staff was left trapped and fearing for her life in a walk-in freezer for 2.5 hours.
The Local Government Association has called on the Government to amend the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 and linked regulations from 1987 which set out what councils can charge for.
A decision by Gloucester City Council not to fully investigate a noise complaint because it did not involve a private residence has been criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
A local authority recently defeated a judicial review challenge in the High Court in relation to discharging planning conditions. Piers Riley-Smith explains how.
The High Court has handed down judgment in a “significant” planning case considering the scope of a planning enforcement order where there is a mixed use, writes Leon Glenister.
Property guardianship companies and a director were recently held liable for failing to licence premises as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). Tara O’Leary explains the ruling.
Plymouth City Council has been fined £200,000 after its failures led to employees developing hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
A company contracted by Breckland District Council to carry out litter picking work has been fined £240,000 after a man was killed when the lorry he was a passenger in crashed into litter picking vans blocking a lane of a dual carriageway.
Local authorities have warned that councils will need more funding to enforce the ban on no-fault evictions in England effectively, despite welcoming the Renters Reform Bill which will help deliver a “fairer, higher quality” private rented sector.
A prosecution brought by the London Borough of Harrow has seen a newsagent ordered to pay more than £2000 for selling vapes to a fifteen-year-old girl even after she had told him her age.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has condemned a decision by Enfield Council to cut its Trading Standards team, warning that it risks the borough becoming the first local authority in the UK with no functioning Trading Standards service.
The Department of Health and Social Care is to launch a review on allowing Trading Standards to issue 'on-the-spot' fines and fixed penalty notices more easily to shops selling vapes to children.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has welcomed the Government's decision to abandon plans to automatically revoke almost all retained EU law (REUL) at the end of 2023 but added that the bill has "been a major distraction for government departments".
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is bringing a prosecution against Cambridgeshire County Council following the deaths of three people in separate incidents and the life-changing injuries sustained by a fourth person in a collision on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway.
McDonald’s Restaurant Limited have been fined £475,000 after a rodent infestation was discovered by Waltham Forest Council’s environmental health officers at their premises in Leytonstone.
Judgment has been reserved in an appeal over a London borough’s service of an improvement notice under the Food Information Regulations 2014, it has been reported.
The Court of Appeal has refused to grant a certificate of general public interest and leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in an authority to prosecute case involving two city councils, it has been reported.
Supermarket giant Morrisons has been fined £3.5m following a successful prosecution by Tewkesbury Borough Council for failing to ensure the health and safety of an epileptic employee who died after falling from a shop stairway.
Westminster City Council has called for stricter checks on those setting up companies in the UK after announcing it has confiscated £1m worth of counterfeit products in a 15-month-long crackdown on US candy stores on Oxford Street.
York City Council engaged in reserved legal activity by conducting consumer offences litigation in the Crown Court through its Head of Regional Investigations who was neither authorised nor exempt, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and a coalition of charities have launched a ‘Safeguarding Our Standards’ campaign due to “deep concerns” that the Government’s proposed Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill could harm consumers and businesses.
Westminster City Council’s latest crackdown on mixed sweet and souvenir retailers in London’s Oxford Street has netted 14,000 unsafe or illegal items, council leader Adam Hug has said.
The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities has unveiled a £20m fund that will allow councils “to crack down on landlords who profit through benefit claims but fail to support their vulnerable residents” in the supported housing sector.
The Court of Appeal has handed down a key ruling in conjoined appeals on the power of a local authority to prosecute consumer offences outside its area.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has urged the Government to delay the timetable for the proposed Retained EU Law Bill, describing the pace and scale of change as “daunting”.
The Public Accounts Committee has called on the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to work with local authorities to set a national framework for tackling fly-tipping.
The number of times councils in England use enforcement powers over dangerous or potentially deadly faults in privately rented homes is far lower than the number of reports made to them, a BBC News investigation has suggested.
The Local Government Association has raised concerns again over the underfunding of regulatory services and the challenge of absorbing new regulatory duties without the ability to recruit more staff in its recent recommendations to the government on air pollution.
A London landlord who repeatedly failed to comply with licensing regulations, including refusal to provide a kitchen for a tenant, has been ordered to pay £40,000 in fine and costs.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has started formal planning enforcement action against the developer behind a 227-home project after an investigation found "serious breaches" of the project's construction management plan (CMP).
A Cornwall creamery behind cheese brands such as Cathedral City has been fined £1.5m - the largest fine ever awarded for an Environment Agency (EA) conviction in the South West.
Local authorities face significant barriers to tackling poor conditions in the private rented sector, resulting in an uneven picture of enforcement, a study commissioned by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has found.
Stephen Tromans QC and Victoria Hutton consider a significant High Court ruling on the duties of the Environment Agency in relation to a landfill site.
Richard Furlong considers the Court of Appeal decision in Barnet v Kamyab, and the prospect of Edis LJ conducting a fact-finding confiscation hearing. An interesting issue arises as to the first-instance defendant’s right of appeal from that exercise.
The Competition and Markets Authority has this month published its Funeral Market Investigation Order 2021. V. Charles Ward looks at how bereavement-service managers can comply with new regulatory requirements.
The High Court has dismissed a claim brought over a Metropolitan Police press release, upholding defences of truth and no serious harm at trial, writes Gervase de Wilde.
Even before the tragedy of what happened at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017 there could be no doubt that no limit can be put on the personal costs of a fire. The Government has now stated that the same can be said for the financial costs, writes Natalie Puce.
Sarah Clover recently supported a city council in closing down a gym which opened persistently in contravention of Coronavirus Regulations and the lockdown restrictions. She explains what this involved.
Gary Grant analyses the new enforcement tools that allow local authorities in England to take action against premises that do not comply with COVID-secure rules.
Charles Holland looks at how a “tidying up” amendment in the new All Tiers Regulations has removed an important obligation on the operators of a significant class of premises in Tier 3.
In this webinar, David Comb examines the National Three Tier system of regulating business activity in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, including enforcement of the regulations.
A recent judgment of the Court of Appeal is likely to be welcome news for local authority prosecutors and their investigation teams, writes Matt Marsh.