This is entry No.38, first published on 10 May 2011, of a blog on public bodies reform.

Day 2 of the debate saw clause 1 agreed to and a start made on debating amendments tabled to Schedule 1 (bodies subject to abolition).

It will be recalled that in the March 2011 Budget, the Government announced the creation of a number of Enterprise Zones (EZs) across the country to stimulate business growth by providing financial incentives directly to businesses and to local authorities to promote business growth in their area.

There has been some negative press recently in relation to the changes brought in last year to the requirements for family settlement visas.

The High Court has allowed M&S to claim approximately £1.1 million of rent overpaid after it exercised a break clause against its landlord, BNP Paribas, at the former M&S head office premises.

Property lawyer Jason Richardson believes that the increase in residential landlords selling their homes even though rental income is increasing is due in part to the threat of losing Capital Gains Tax (CGT) allowance on their ‘principal private residence'.

On the 8th of May the Queen will read out the list of Government bills to be introduced in the next Parliament.

This is the first entry of our new blog on the Government's HS2 proposals.

Allowing a tenant to pay their rents monthly in advance rather than the more usual quarterly pattern has always been considered a tenant concession.

Today's entry reports on the launch of another infrastructure body, this time at the Labour Party conference.

On 12 December 2011 the Department for Transport, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Suffolk Councils launched the A14 Challenge as flagged in November's National Infrastructure Plan 2011 (NIP11). The challenge seeks to find solutions to congestion on the A14. Nick Maltby explores how these might be funded.

Senior commercial lawyer Nick Maltby, Head of Major Projects (Commercial) at Bircham Dyson Bell believes that sharing services across councils, although undoubtedly useful in some instances.

Nick Maltby, senior commercial lawyer at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP believes that the Government's latest ideas on how to cut the construction cost of infrastructure projects by up to £3bn focuses too heavily on process rather on the skills for the job at hand.

Late April saw a group of solar developers taking the government to court to block the move to reduce the subsidies faster than originally predicted, alleging that the government has gone back on its promises.

Senior commercial lawyer Nick Maltby, Head of Major Projects (Commercial) at Bircham Dyson Bell is calling for the European Commission in Brussels, as part of its ongoing review of the procurement rules, to clarify rules for public sector organisations after the UK Supreme Court ruled last week that the rules do not apply to local authorities collaborating to buy and provide insurance together in a mutual.

There is no specific EU or UK legislation for workers who become parents via surrogacy arrangements, although this will be addressed in 2015 when the Government’s proposals for shared parental leave are due to come into force.

A recent case before the Information Commissioner has important implications for NHS Trusts.

In Efobi v Royal Mail Group Limited, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that the Equality Act 2010 does not impose an initial burden of proof on a claimant in a discrimination claim ...

A legal services order may be worded so as to provide that it will be for a specified period of time or for the purposes of a specified part of the proceedings.

When a couple divorce in England and the court has to decide on how the finances are to be dealt with the judge exercises a wide discretion having regard to a number of particular factors.