Vehicles for justice: buses and advancement

This article draws on the findings from The Bus Project (2018–2021) in Bristol, which found that children living in some of the most deprived streets in England cannot afford to visit the centre of their city. The article explains that the problem of children ‘not being on the buses’ is the consequence of a series of policy choices in bus governance. Empirically, the article demonstrates that the causes of bus immobility – cost, fear of the unknown, unfamiliarity, and unreliability – have clear detrimental effects on children's ability to access leisure and civic opportunities, independent travel, and education of choice. Theoretically, it argues that discrimination and equality law – the dominant legal paradigms for addressing inequality – have limitations in this setting when they do not explicitly provide for socio-economic inequality. This article suggests that we could develop a concept of ‘advancement’, drawing on aspects of Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 (still unimplemented in England, though in force in Scotland and Wales), moving beyond protected characteristics. As a policy, advancement could be implemented using administrative means, including existing data sets on free school meals or indices of deprivation. A concept of advancement could become a mechanism to enable us to address socio-economic inequality as a ‘vehicle for justice’, just as buses are vehicles capable of facilitating spatial justice in practical terms

Public (Trust) Rights in Open Space: Day v Shropshire Council

In Day v Shropshire Council (Day), the Supreme Court considered the effect of a statutory trust under section 10 of the Open Spaces Act 1906 on a subsequent purchaser. Finding for the claimant, a local resident resisting development, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the local authority's failure to give notice and consider objections under the Local Government Act 1972 meant that the site's transfer into private ownership did not extinguish public trust rights to open space, binding the disponee. This note suggests that the decision in Day is to be welcomed, providing clarity on long‐established legislative provisions that protect open spaces, even when sites are not identified as such in planning processes. The note applauds the clarity of the Supreme Court's resistance to drawing on the law of trusts when interpreting statutory provisions and commends the ease with which the Supreme Court confirmed the co‐existence of public and private rights in land. The note also considers how Day illustrates the nature of local authority land ownership, a live issue at the boundary between land and administrative law, of particular interest at a time when local authorities are disposing of surplus open spaces for development

Law, sex and the city: Regulating sexual entertainment venues in England and Wales

Purpose – This paper aims to explore how municipal law, in its various guises, serves to police the boundaries of acceptable sexual conduct by considering how Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) in British cities are controlled through diverse techniques of licensing and planning control. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the emergence of permissive new licensing controls that provide local authorities considerable control over SEVs. Licensing decisions, judicial review cases and planning inspectorate adjudications since the inception of the new powers are examined to explore the logic of judgements preventing SEVs operating in specific localities. Findings – Through analysis of case studies, it is shown that local authorities have almost total discretion to prevent SEVs operating in specific localities, particularly those undergoing, or anticipated to be undergoing, redevelopment and regeneration. Originality/value – This paper offers unique insights on the “scope” of municipal law by highlighting how land uses associated with “sexual minority” interests are regulated in the interests of urban regeneration, redevelopment and restructuring

Ownership beneath: transparency of land ownership in times of economic crime

This article considers ‘ownership beneath’ in light of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, which has introduced a new Schedule 4A into the Land Registration Act 2002. The legislation, with notable exceptions, requires overseas entities to publicly reveal their beneficial owners, with criminal and land law consequences if transparency requirements are not met. The article explores how ownership beneath operates and can be made more transparent, noting the three different forms of beneficial ownership employed—as control, behind a trust and as a consequence—and the consequences this has for land law. The analysis recommends amending ECTEA 2022 to facilitate greater transparency by expanding the definition of registrable beneficial owners, closing the loophole where information is not available and requiring public disclosure of most trust information

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination: Perspectives on the Proposed Changes to Legal Qualification

Executive summary Legal education and training are fields characterised by uncertainty, containing major data gaps and research unknowns. This report suggests that the Solicitor Regulation Authority’s July 2020 application to the Legal Services Board for approval is premature, particularly in its lack of completed guidance on SQE2 and qualifying work experience (QWE) as well as its lack of evidence on the acknowledged attainment gaps use of informal networks in legal recruitment. The SQE proposals lack an evidence base demonstrating how the changes will improve longstanding problems with diversity in the legal profession. This research project underpinning this report, The Solicitors Qualifying Examination: Perspectives on the Proposed Changes to Legal Qualification, drew on desk-based studies of legal and policy materials, supplemented with responses to a survey. The report is designed to demonstrate how socio-legal studies, which are completely omitted from the SQE proposals, provide valuable contextual analysis in legal research and study, developing key skills for students and aspiring solicitors. Respondents who took part in our survey, who told us they had a good understanding of SQE plans, highlighted a range of detailed questions about the implications of the proposals as currently formulated. These comments have underscored our view that despite the SQE’s undoubted progressive potential, it is an education and training experiment with possibly serious implications for quality, cost and diversity. However, if SQE plans are to be approved, it is vital that a gentler introduction is implemented, with slower phasing out of the current route to enable time for clarification of some of the key aspects of the proposals. We suggest the following next steps: - Wait for more details on SQE2 sample questions, marking and moderation; - Wait for more details on QWE including how many weekly hours are required (particularly when undertaken voluntarily and/or on a part-time basis); - Require an analysis of the social security (universal credit) rules and employment law framework for internships to assist both aspiring solicitors and organisations; - Require evidence on how informal recruitment networks operate in the legal profession and how these might be ameliorated with the introduction of the QWE, perhaps in collaboration with the Sutton Trust; - Require a detailed pilot study of SQE1 and SQE2 with those solicitors’ apprentices finishing in 2021-22, allowing a more extensive analysis of SQE assessment processes; - Require the release of the raw data for the SQE1 and SQE2 pilots. The SRA have acknowledged an attainment gap in SQE assessments and the LSB should require more evidence that the SQE will not exacerbate existing inequalities; - Require analysis of the SRA’s experience with the equivalent means route of qualification, including data on protected characteristics for applicants; - Confirm data gaps for the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/Common Professional Exam (CPE), Legal Practice Course (LPC) and training contracts as well as for the SQE and QWE. Data on aspiring solicitors should include markers of both protected characteristics and other aspects of concern, including first in family to attend university, history of free school meals, type of school attended for GCSE & ‘A’ levels, ethnicity, gender and disability. Without further refinement the SQE risks making signifiers of ability (educational establishments, social networks, identity, location and nature of work experience) even more influential in the solicitors’ profession than they are today