Nicholas Dobson examines the fight against predetermination in local government
It seems that “they” (whoever they are) are a fount of great wisdom. For it is “they” who warn us that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. But “they” at the same time caution that “perception is reality”. However, what if something is perceived to be broke—perhaps because it once was—but is no longer?
Section 25 of the Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011) illustrates this point. For this (“prior indications of view on a matter not to amount to predetermination etc”) was enacted to deal with an issue which had much exercised local authority councillors. Many claimed their lawyers were stopping them speaking out on issues on which they felt passionately, lest subsequent decisions on these matters in which they took part were challenged for bias or predetermination.
Bias & predetermination
So what’s this all about? The law in this area is a branch of the public law duty to act fairly, which developed from the rules of natural justice. These require courts to hear both sides before determining an issue and require no-one
