This well-established and popular work provides a comprehensive survey of the legal liabilities of local authorities, written by a team of specialists in local authority liability claims.

It comprises an invaluable overview of the nature and extent of the liability of local authorities, together with specialist chapters on the core areas of activity including education, social services, occupier’s liability, employer’s liability, highways, environmental damage and trees.

This new edition has been extensively revised and updated to take account of the latest developments including:

• Latest cases on general duties owed by Local Authorities including Mitchell v Glasgow, X & Y v Hounslow, VL v Oxfordshire and Glaister v Appleby
• The development in the law relating to child abuse claims, particularly limitation
• Latest judicial attitude to the liability of teachers and local authorities when supervising children in cases such as Orchard v Lee, Webster v Ridgway and Palmer v Cornwall County Council
• The Human Rights Act 1998 in failure to educate claims, A v Essex County Council
• Claims under the Occupiers Liability Acts 1957 and 1984 and the impact of ‘socially desirable activities’ on the test for breach of duty, including Harvey v Plymouth County Council, The Scout Association v Barnes and Uren v Corporate Leisure (UK) Limited
• Court of Appeal cases dealing with the duty to maintain and statutory defence under sections 41 and 58 of the Highways Act 1980, including Russell v West Sussex County Council  and Esdale v Dover County Council and Wilkinson v York County Council
• Liability for trees including Micklewright v Surrey County Council and Bowen v National Trust

Local Authority Liability is essential reading for all lawyers dealing with general common law and public sector claims, local authority risk managers and insurance industry professionals dealing with the public sector.

General Editors
John Morrell Director, DWF LLP
His Honour Judge Richard Foster South Eastern Circuit

Contributors
Edward Faulks QC 1 Chancery Lane
Angus Piper Barrister, 1 Chancery Lane
Andrew Warnock Barrister, 1 Chancery Lane
Mark Whittaker Partner, DWF LLP

• Introduction to Duties Owed by Local Authorities
• The Human Rights Act 1998
• Social Services
• Education -The Liability of Teachers and Local Education Authorities
• Housing and Occupier's Liability
• Employer's Liability
• Highways
• Environmental Liabilities
• Advice and Information
• Emergency Services
• Trees

"accessible and well organised ... practical and relevant ... a useful addition to any law library"
New Law Journal - review of second edition

"an indispensable component of every local authority law library"
New Law Journal - review of third edition

"Each chapter gives practical insight and a wealth of first instance authority"
Infolio

Local authorities undertake a large number of functions. They are either required by statute to undertake tasks or are given the power to do so. Against this background they have always faced claims for damages, but in more recent times the nature of such claims has changed and expanded.

This is the fifth edition of Local Authority Liability, and the fact that it is being published only 14 years after the first edition, and that it deals with a considerable number of cases that have been decided since the previous edition, shows that the courts are still dealing with a large number of claims brought against local authorities. The appellate courts continue to be asked to consider the existence and extent of the duty of care owed by local authorities in novel situations thrown up by our ever more complex society.

Local authorities are faced with having to find ways of limiting their expenditure at a time when the Government is calling for public spending overall to be cut. At the same time there is said to be a compensation culture and furthermore the cost of litigation is of sufficient concern that the funding of litigation and costs faced by litigants is under legislative review. Advice on legal principles is available in general textbooks.

This book brings together case law dealing specifically with claims faced by local authorities for negligence, nuisance and breach of statutory duty. I welcome it as a valuable source of reference for judges, practitioners and students.

The Rt Hon Sir Robert Carnwath CVO
Lord Justice of Appeal/Senior President of Tribunals
March 2012

When compared with previous generations, we live in a society in which people are more aware of their rights and are more willing to use the courts to claim damages if these rights have been infringed. It is popularly believed that the introduction of ‘no win no fee’ funding of litigation has encouraged claims. How far, if at all, do the courts encourage litigation by a readiness to find the existence of a duty of care and breach of that duty? We are able to look at the cases that have been decided since the last edition of this book to see if any theme emerges.

It is perhaps surprising to see the number of cases in which the Court of Appeal has been asked to consider the duty owed by highway authorities, particularly as the duty was laid down by Parliament more than 50 years ago. There have also been a number of employers’ liability cases heard by the courts although this is perhaps more understandable as the duties under the Workplace Regulations are still relatively new. The appellate courts have considered a number of claims arising out of mesothelioma. This is probably due, at least in part, to the history of that illness and the continuing lack of complete medical knowledge. However, defendants have been more willing to challenge the previous approach to these claims and, as this book is published, we await the Supreme Court’s decision on the employers’ liability trigger litigation.

Taking everything into account, we are not sure that decisions by the courts since the last edition of our book can be said to be encouraging claims. It is true that some cases have gone in favour of claimants, particularly those dealing with limitation in child abuse claims, and cases involving employers’ liability, but a number of decisions have shown a restrictive approach such as A v Essex County Council (failure to educate – human rights), Smith v Northamptonshire County Council (Work Equipment Regulations), Harvey v Plymouth County Council (occupier’s liability) and Ali v Bradford MBC and Valentine v Transport for London (highways).

Shortly before the fourth edition of our book was published, the Law Commission published a consultation paper on claims brought against public bodies arising out of the performance of statutory powers and duties. There appears to have been no development and indeed the legal position of public bodies remains as explained by the House of Lords in Gorringe v Calderdale MBC.

As before, we present this book in an attempt to give guidance to those dealing with claims against local authorities, bringing together the various liability claims that they face.

We would like to thank those who have contributed to this book, namely Lord Faulks QC, Angus Piper, Andrew Warnock QC and Mark Whittaker. We must also thank all of those who have given assistance with research and typing, particularly Sam Holley. Finally, our families who, as always, have had to allow us time to review the developing case law to include in this fifth edition.

A line has to be drawn and accordingly this book reflects cases decided and effective before 9 March 2012.

John Morrell
Richard Foster
March 2012