The Public Law Project Wales Conference 2015

PLEASE NOTE: We will take bookings up to 5pm Tuesday 14th April.

A conference for lawyers, advisers, advocates, campaigners, academics, policy advisers, senior voluntary sector personnel and legal services in public bodies.

Topics include:
Accessing the Law in Wales; Influencing Law and Policy in Wales, Community Care update;Challenges to NHS changes in Wales; Intro to Public law and Judicial Review;Legal Aid and Exceptional Funding; The Immigration Act 2014; Public Law Research;Public Law and The Regulators; Developments in the Welsh Planning System; Judicial Review Update

Contributions from:
The Welsh Government, The Law Commission, Legal Aid Practitioner’s Group, The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, United Kingdom Administrative Justice Institute (UKAJI), and private, public and NGO sector practitioners across Wales and England

Debate: ‘Should the responsibility for the civil and criminal justice system be devolved to Wales?’
We are opening the conference debate up for general attendance, though we may have limited capacity.
If you would like to attend the debate please e-mail a.lukes@publiclawproject.org.uk

Conference is worth 6 CPD /BSB points for lawyers

BOOK ONLINE You can book online to receive an invoice, or pay online for a 5% discount!

ARCHEBU AR-LEIN  Gallwch archebu a thalu ar-lein nawr, (disgownt o 5% ar gyfer taliadau ar-lein)

MORNING SESSION
CHAIR: CAROL STORER OBE, LEGAL AID PRACTITIONER’S GROUP (LAPG)

10.00 INTRODUCTION FROM THE PUBLIC LAW PROJECT
Including an update on recent casework

UPDATE ON JUDICIAL REVIEW RELATING TO WALES
David Hughes, 30 Park Place

10.30 SPECIALIST BREAKOUT SEMINARS
Choose one of the four below:

1. A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO PUBLIC LAW AND JUDICIAL REVIEW
This session provides a basic introduction to public law, and will look at complaints, The Ombudsman  and judicial review. The main aim will be to demystify what can often seem a difficult area of legal practice, and enable participants to feel more confident in spotting – and progressing – suitable challenges. PLP’s own short guides will be used as a reference.
Natalie Wilkins, Garden Court North Chambers

2. LEGAL AID UPDATE AND EXCEPTIONAL FUNDING APPLICATIONS
An update on changes to legal aid rules and funding, including the outcome of Judicial Reviews and current challenges in the Courts – how these work out for practitioners on the ground and what
changes are coming down the line. The remainder of the session will be on Exceptional Case Funding – when it may be worth applying and how to do it, what the pitfalls are, as well as giving some ideas about where the system is heading.
Carol Storer OBE, Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) and Joe Vester, The Public Law Project

3. PUBLIC LAW AND THE REGULATORS
This talk will cover recent developments, such as the Regulator’s Code, and provide a review of recent case law involving a range of economic and professional regulators and public law issues such as the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Human Rights Act 1998.
Claire Whittle, Bates Wells Braithwaite

4. The PLANNING (WALES) BILL: DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WELSH PLANNING SYSTEM
The Welsh planning system is being changed by the introduction of the new Planning Bill. The seminar will provide a barrister’s perspective on the changes and what they might mean. The event is likely to be of interest to a wide range of professionals, including lawyers, developers, planners and environmental consultants.
Emyr Jones, 9 Park Place Chambers

12.00     ACCESSING THE LAW IN WALES
It is becoming increasingly difficult to know what the law applicable in Wales is. The staged devolution process has contributed to a situation where both professionals and the public find it hard to access the law as it applies in Wales. The    Law Commission is looking at these issues and at  law-making for the future. We will be consulting throughout Wales over the summer months of 2015 before advising the Welsh Government. This talk will explain our thinking so far and invite you to contribute.
David Connolly, Lawyer, Leader, Public Law Team, The Law Commission

12.30     PUBLIC LAW CHALLENGES TO NHS CHANGES IN WALES
This presentation will look at the use of judicial review by communities challenging hospital closures and service downgrades in Wales.
Michael Imperato, Watkins and Gunn
Nick Bowen QC & David Lemer Doughty Street Chambers
13.00     LUNCH

AFTERNOON SESSION
CHAIR Mona Bayoumi, Civitas Chambers

14.00 AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS
choose one of four below

5. UNDERSTANDING, UNDERTAKING AND USING PUBLIC LAW RESEARCH
Do you want to gather data for empirical research in a legal advice setting? Do you want to acquire tools to question the effectiveness of redress mechanisms such as complaints processes? Do you want to gather evidence on the behaviour and/or policies of a public body, maybe to see how this affects a particular client group, such as service users? This session will show how you or your organisation can become involved in a research agenda that meets your needs. The session will introduce and examine several research projects undertaken by David and Varda in the fields of internal review, homelessness, judicial review, mediation and ombudsman.
David Cowan, Professor of Law and Policy at Bristol University and Barrister Arden Chambers & Varda Bondy, Senior Research Fellow University of Essex and United Kingdom Administrative Justice Institute (UKAJI)

6. COMMUNITY CARE LAW UPDATE
Community care law is devolved in Wales. The next few years will see significant, but different, changes to community care law in England and Wales, through the Care Act 2014 (England) and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. This session will look at differences in community care law between England and Wales, the implications for challenging decisions of local authorities and also the wider, jurisdictional consequences of the diverging law.
Joanne Clement, 11KBW & Carolyn Goodall, Vale of Glamorgan County Council

7. IMMIGRATION ACT 2014: OVERVIEW AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHALLENGE
This session will outline the main changes introduced by the Immigration Act 2014, and discuss the potential for legal challenges to the new regime.
Oliver Manley, 30Park Place Chambers & Kamla Adiseshiah, The Public Law Project

8. INFLUENCING LAW AND POLICY IN WALES: KEEPING YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE!
This session will be a brief introduction to the basics of the Assembly’s legislative process, how to approach the issue of legislative competence, and how to go about creating strong legal duties with accountability in mind. It will use the Well-Being of Future Generations Bill as a case study, looking at the changes made to strengthen it, why, what they mean and how they may have been improved.
Gareth Camilo Sims & Adam Hundt, Deighto Pierce Glynn

15.10 TWO X 15 MINUTE SHORT PRESENTATIONS AND UPDATES
Introduction to the United KingdomAdministrative Justice Institute (UKAJI)
and to current research into administrative justice in Wales undertaken by Bangor University supporting the Committee on Administrative
Justice and Tribunals, Wales (CAJTW)
Varda Bondy, Senior Research Fellow University of Essex & Sarah Nason, Bangor University

Update from the Administrative Court in Wales
David will discuss the latest statistics on the cases that are being considered in the Administrative Court in Wales, including the
numbers, types, topics and turnaround times. This will be followed by an update outlining recent procedural changes to Administrative Court procedure.
David Gardner, ACO for Wales

15.45 Refreshment break

16.00 CLOSING ADDRESS:
Potential Review of the PSOW Act 2015
Nick Bennett, Public Services Ombudsman for Wales

PANEL:
Leighton Andrews AM, Minister for Public Services, Welsh Government
Chair: David Dixon, Senior lecturer, Centre for Professional Legal Studies, Cardiff Law School & Law Society Council Member for South Wales
Sir Roderick Evans, Retired High Court Judge and Pro-Chancellor of Swansea University
Jackie Jones, Professor of Feminist Legal Studies, Bristol Law School, UWE, & President, European Women Lawyers Association
Jonathan Rees, Apex Chambers
Prof Thomas Glyn Watkin
Rhodri Williams QC, 30 Park Place Chambers

This conference is worth 6 CPD / BSB points