Peter Oldham KC

Peter has decades of experience advising and litigating in the field of local authority law.

Peter has recently advised on matters including:

• Numerous challenges to cuts and closures
• Powers, including the general power of competence
• Budgets
• Budget crises and s 114 of the LGFA 1988
• Local government reorganisation and the LGPIHA 2007
• Vires and general power of competence
• Best value
• Prudential borrowing, accounts and the CIPFA code
• Education issues (please see separate Education webpage for full details)
• Rating
• Social services and community care
• Museums
• Local government ombudsman
• Staffing, including Chief Officers’ statutory rights and JNC terms of employment
• LGPS issues (complaints, shortfalls, Pensions Ombudsman, termination rights, admission bodies etc)
• Bias and conduct of meetings
• Data protection and freedom of information
• Health powers
• Audit and accounts
• Investment and borrowing powers
• Highways
• Harbours
• Waste collection, disposal and recycling
• Assets of community value
• Elections
• Trading and commercial initiatives
• Inter-authority care/health disputes and ordinary residence
• Bus services and transport
• Regeneration projects, including state aid and procurement (please see separate Procurement & State Aid page)
• Section 123 of the LGA 1972 and sales at an undervalue
• Assets of community value
• Members’ standards and the Localism Act 2011
• Indemnities for officers and members
• Political balance
• Termination of employment of chief officers
• Parking regulation
• Operation of joint authorities
• Operation of combined authorities

Peter has a particular specialism in education law and he has continuously been in the very highest rank in the education directories for over twenty years. His work covers all aspects of education, whether in schools, academies, universities, colleges, professional and vocational settings, specialist settings, the independent sector, etc.

Peter has recently advised on the following amongst other issues:

• Various academy issues, including transfer of property on academisation
• The impact of increased energy costs on school budgets
• Numerous OFSTED challenges in different educational settings
• School closures
• School transport cuts
• Welsh language rights and duties in education, and the Welsh Language Tribunal
• Special educational needs and disability
• Teachers’ pensions
• Disputes over maintained school borrowing
• School photocopier lease disputes
• School and university staffing disputes
• Religious, disability and sex discrimination in schools
• Consumer Rights Act 2015, universities and independent schools
• The operation of statutory and private law trusts for voluntary schools
• Independent schools, discipline and contracts of education
• School transport
• University staffing disputes
• University governance and statutes
• Universities, sexual harassment and discipline
• Students’ claims against universities (private and public law)
• Students unions
• FE colleges
• Foundation trustees’ powers and duties
• Charity Commission issues
• DfE and withdrawal of funding
• Regulation of examination and awarding bodies
• Admissions
• Exclusions
• Boarding and fee charging
• Constitution of governing bodies

Peter advises and litigates across the range of public law. Apart from his very extensive work with local authorities (details on Peter’s separate local authority webpage), his cases include disputes involving central government departments and agencies, police authorities, fire authorities, combined authorities, health bodies, CQC, medical bodies, ombudsmen (local government, pensions), election matters, trade regulators, and education and examination regulators (e.g. OFSTED, ISI, OfS, OIAHE, QAA , and JCQ)– details on Peter’s separate education webpage).

Peter has recently advised on matters including:

• Fire authorities
• Election issues
• Numerous JR challenges to medical bodies
• The conduct of business by a statutory trade regulator
• Numerous challenges to education regulator decisions about provider quality

For local authorities, Peter has recently advised on matters including:

• Numerous challenges to cuts and closures
• Powers, including the general power of competence
• Budgets
• Budget crises and s 114 of the LGFA 1988
• Local government reorganisation and the LGPIHA 2007
• Vires and general power of competence
• Best value
• Prudential borrowing, accounts and the CIPFA code
• Education issues (please see separate Education webpage for full details)
• Rating
• Social services and community care
• Museums
• Local government ombudsman
• Staffing, including Chief Officers’ statutory rights and JNC terms of employment
• LGPS issues (complaints, shortfalls, Pensions Ombudsman, termination rights, admission bodies etc)
• Bias and conduct of meetings
• Data protection and freedom of information
• Health powers
• Audit and accounts
• Investment and borrowing powers
• Highways
• Harbour
• Waste collection, disposal and recycling
• Assets of community value
• Elections
• Trading and commercial initiatives
• Inter-authority care/health disputes and ordinary residence
• Bus services and transport
• Regeneration projects, including state aid and procurement (please see separate Procurement & State Aid page)
• Section 123 of the LGA 1972 and sales at an undervalue
• Assets of community value
• Members’ standards and the Localism Act 2011
• Indemnities for officers and members
• Political balance
• Termination of employment of chief officers
• Parking regulation
• Operation of joint authorities
• Operation of combined authorities

Peter advises and litigates across the employment field, with a particular strength in public sector employment.

Peter advises on all employment issues, including:

• Unfair dismissal including mass dismissals
• Discrimination
• Redundancy and protective awards
• Pension rights, including Pension Ombudsman issues and appeals
• TUPE
• Whistleblowing
• Rights of local authority chief officers under the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) Regulations 2001, and JNC Chief Executive and Chief Officer terms
• Gig economy rights
• Flexible working rights
• Industrial action and injunctions
• Union rights, certification etc
• Trafficked workers’ rights
• Whistleblowing
• Crown employment

Peter has a particular expertise in conducting often highly sensitive and sometimes high profile investigations and determinations:

• Investigation into the working of Welsh legislation for discipline of senior local government officers
• An investigation into a local authority’s failed investment worth tens of millions of pounds
• Expert determination under NHS standard terms of a dispute between CCG and provider
• Investigation into whistleblowing complaint against a local authority Chief Officer
• Investigation into possible financial fraud at FE college
• Investigation into the suicide of a school teacher
• Investigation of bullying of staff at a school