Claimant wins appeal over lawfulness of housing needs assessment while care proceedings ongoing – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 8th, 2024 in children, disabled persons, housing, judicial review, local government, news by sally

‘The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has lost a High Court judicial review case over whether it correctly assessed the housing needs of a family with two children who have severe disabilities.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th February 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government in court over chicken poo in River Wye – BBC News

Posted February 8th, 2024 in agriculture, government departments, judicial review, news, pollution, water by sally

‘Campaigners are taking the Environment Agency to court, accusing it of not stopping chicken manure polluting the River Wye.’

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BBC News, 8th February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘I feel rejected’: Windrush Scandal victim granted judicial review after Home Office refused compensation – The Independent

‘A member of the Windrush generation who was wrongly denied entry to the UK and sent to Jamaica has been granted a judicial review of his case.’

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The Independent, 4th February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

MoJ to press ahead with fixed costs changes amid JR threat – Legal Futures

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is pressing ahead with reforms to the fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime that came into force in October, opening the door to a possible court challenge.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd February 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

DPP appeals to supreme court in case of protesters who called MP ‘Tory scum’ – The Guardian

‘The director of public prosecutions is appealing to the supreme court in an ongoing and expensive battle to overturn the acquittal of two protesters found to have acted reasonably in calling Iain Duncan Smith “Tory scum”.’

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The Guardian, 31st January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Criminal legal aid “coming apart at the seams”, High Court says – Legal Futures

‘Two High Court judges have described the system of criminal legal aid as “slowly coming apart at the seams” and reliant on solicitors’ goodwill and sense of public duty.’

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Legal Futures, 1st February 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The legality of the new minimum income requirement – EIN Blog

‘The recently announced plan to increase the minimum income requirement (MIR) to £38,700 led to widespread criticism, with the government appearing to exclude all but the affluent from establishing family life in the UK. This has led to a partial policy shift, with it now announced that the threshold to sponsor a spouse will not rise to this amount until 2025, with an interim rise to £29,000 taking place in the Spring. Nonetheless, even this lower amount will be unaffordable to many families, raising questions about the compatibility of the rise with Convention rights. In R (MM) Lebanon v SSHD [2017] UKSC 10 the Supreme Court found that the initial MIR, set at £18,600, was lawful. In this post, I will highlight two key problems with the judgment, along with the failure of the MIR to restrict the social security entitlement of many affected families: the MIR’s primary justification.’

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EIN Blog, 31st January 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Onshore wind policy in England subject to legal challenge – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 29th, 2024 in climate change, energy, government departments, judicial review, news, planning by sally

‘The UK government’s decision to omit onshore wind projects from the types of energy infrastructure projects that can generally be considered as ‘nationally significant infrastructure projects’ (NSIPs) under planning policy applicable in England is subject to a new legal challenge.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th January 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Case Comment: Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v Central Arbitration Committee and Anor [2023] UKSC 43 – UKSC Blog

‘In this post, Liz Jackson, Trainee Solicitor, and Max Wiktorsson, Associate, in the Employment Team at CMS, comment on the decision from the Supreme Court in Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v Central Arbitration Committee and Anor. [2023] UKSC 43. The case was heard by the Supreme Court on 25 and 26 April 2023 and judgment was handed down on 21 November 2023.’

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UKSC Blog, 23rd January 2024

Source: ukscblog.com

Judge dismisses challenge to planning permission for school redevelopment amid noise concerns – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 19th, 2024 in judicial review, local government, news, noise, planning, school children by sally

‘Residents who claimed councillors at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea were given “significantly misleading” advice from a planning officer before approving planning permission for the redevelopment of a site for a school have failed in a judicial review bid of the decision.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th January 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

London council estate resident wins battle over misuse of planning law – The Guardian

Posted January 18th, 2024 in housing, judicial review, local government, news, planning by sally

‘A woman who fought the gentrification of the south London council estate that has been her home for 30 years has won a high court battle against the local authority for its misuse of planning law.’

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The Guardian, 17th January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Top London school taken to high court over prayer ban – The Guardian

Posted January 17th, 2024 in equality, human rights, judicial review, news, school children, teachers by sally

‘One of England’s highest performing state schools, famed for its top results, strict discipline code and charismatic headteacher, has been challenged in the high court for its policy of banning prayer rituals on school premises.’

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The Guardian, 16th January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sanjit Nagi: The Stranglehold of New Labour and Lord Irvine’s Rights-based Constitution – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘Last year’s Supreme Court decision in R (AAA) v Home Secretary – which found the British government’s Rwanda policy to be unlawful – has reignited broader debates about the position of a government which commands a majority in Parliament vis a vis the judiciary, the separation of powers, the extent to which legislating against judicial decisions is constitutionally proper or compatible with the rule of law, and the appropriateness of disapplying sections of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998). This post does not restate or reengage with such topics; substantive attention has already been given by Tom Hickman KC, Professor Mark Elliott, Adam Tucker, Professor Sarah Singer, and Richard Ekins KC et al. Neither does it take a position on the feasibility or desirability of any specific government policy, the continued operation of HRA 1998, or membership of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Instead, this post will argue that the backlash to and disapproval of the British government’s response to R (AAA) – the introduction of the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which, amongst other measures, allows Parliament to diverge from the Supreme Court’s judgment – neatly evidences the intended effect of New Labour and Lord Derry Irvine’s HRA 1998 system and judicial reforms.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 15th January 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

A blow – possibly fatal – to the IWGB’s quest for union recognition with Deliveroo – Cloisters

‘On 21 November 2023, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited judgment in the Deliveroo case, dismissing the appeal of the IWGB trade union. The Court confirmed that the union is not entitled to apply for statutory recognition under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“TULRCA”) because its members, Deliveroo’s delivery riders (“the Riders”), are not workers within the autonomous concept under article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”).’

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Cloisters, 27th November 2024

Source: www.cloisters.com

Gas drilling at site in Jeremy Hunt’s Surrey constituency given green light – The Guardian

‘Gas drilling at a site in the Surrey Hills can go ahead after the court of appeal ruled that no further attempts to stop the project could be brought to court.’

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The Guardian, 9th January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Some recent cases on witness statements – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 8th, 2024 in judicial review, local government, news, witnesses by tracey

‘There have been three recent cases that each provide some developments on the law relating to witness evidence that will be useful for practitioners in judicial review proceedings, writes Charles Bishop.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th January 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The mirror crack’d from side to side: Dalton’s application for judicial review [2023] UKSC 36 – UK Human Rights Blog

‘In Lord Tennyson’s Arthurian ballad ‘The Lady of Shalott’, the eponymous heroine is stranded in her island castle. Continually weaving a web in her loom of the reflections of the outside world she sees in her mirror, she knows she will be cursed if she stops and looks out to nearby Camelot. But one day, Sir Lancelot rides by her castle and she abandons her loom and looks outside. Her mirror cracks “from side to side” and she is cursed. She leaves her castle and floats down to Camelot in a boat, dying before she reaches it.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 5th January 2024

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Judicial review launched over planning inspector decision to allow oil drilling operation in Lincolnshire – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 4th, 2024 in judicial review, local government, news, oil wells, planning by sally

‘A planning inspector’s decision to overturn Lincolnshire County Council’s refusal of permission for further oil drilling in a village has been subject to a judicial review application.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd January 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

How to lift the No Recourse to Public Funds condition – EIN Blog

‘The “No Recourse to Public Funds” Condition is imposed on grant of limited leave to remain which in effect means that the person holding that leave cannot obtain public funds. However, it is possible to ask the Home Office to lift the condition and there are special criteria to be met.’

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EIN Blog, 2nd January 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

High Court allows judicial review against council over failure to support child trafficking victim – Local Government Lawyer

‘The High Court has ruled that the London Borough of Barnet failed to meet its duties towards a victim of child trafficking after he received no specialist support from either the council or the Home Office for several years.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st December 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk