You may know from the news that the Administrative Court has ruled unlawful Eric Pickles’s revocation of regional strategies in England. He’ll have to wait until his Localism Bill comes into force in order to abolish them.

Sales J’s judgment is interesting as an application of the Padfield principle, that ministers’ statutory powers must be exercised in a way which promotes and does not undermine the policy and objects of the enabling statute. Eric Pickles’s use of his power under section 79(6) of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 for the purpose of getting rid of the entire regional strategy system, in Sales J’s view, frustrated the underlying policy of the 2009 Act that there should normally be a regional strategy in place for each region.

2010-11-10T15:47:23+00:00Tags: , |