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Thursday, 25 February 2016 - 5.30pm

Speakers: Dominic de Cogan, University of Cambridge & Penelope Tuck, University of Birmingham: 'Non-domestic rates as a test-bed for devolution'
Location: Moot Court Room

Non domestic rates (‘NDR’, colloquially known as Business Rates) may not be the most glamorous aspect of the UK devolution process. Yet NDR are invariably part of the process and are surprisingly dynamic, their rules and administration developing rapidly but also varying widely across the UK. This paper examines the significance of NDR and argues that they deserve closer attention, alongside grander constitutional questions such as the evolving nature of parliamentary sovereignty. Our thesis consists of two parts. First, we argue that the devolution of NDR is interdependent with the capacity of different tiers of government to ‘do things’. Second, NDR have been at the vanguard of the devolution process because they comprise one of the most resilient sources of public income and are therefore peculiarly suited to constitutional experimentation. We conclude by casting doubt on appeals by academics to introduce a fairer and more theoretically more satisfying Land Value Tax, on the basis that NDR are simply too useful to the devolution process at least in the short term.

Speakers: Brian Sloan, University of Cambridge: 'Charges for charges: Home sales under the Care Act 2014'

Unlike healthcare, broadly provided free at the point of delivery in England, social care is subject to a means test that can include the care recipient’s home. One principle embodied in the Care Act 2014 is nevertheless the frequent undesirability of a recipient being forced to sell her own home during her lifetime to fund her care. It therefore seeks to increase the availability of Deferred Payment Agreements (‘DPAs’), enabling a local authority to make a secured loan to the care recipient. Even if this system is beneficial to such recipients themselves, it can have profound implications for people (to be termed ‘former co-residents’) who wish to remain in the home of a now-deceased recipient. The paper aims to evaluate the relationship between former co-residents and home sales forced by local authorities, comparing a former co-resident’s position with that of others whose homes are the subject of attempted forced sale by creditors in other contexts.

Faculty Members and Visitors, PhD students and LLM Public Law students are welcome.

For more information contact Mark Elliott (mce1000@cam.ac.uk)

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