‘Unions, women’s groups and charities have asked the UK’s equalities watchdog to investigate whether the government broke the law in its pandemic response.’
BBC News, 15th February 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The government is still “dragging its heels” on racism, according to MPs and race equality campaigners critical of its response to a damning parliamentary report on Black people and human rights.’
The Guardian, 11th February 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Old Square Chambers’ Robin White and Sioban Calcott from Brethertons LLP have written an article on “Gender reassignment: expanding the protected characteristic” in the ELA Briefing 2021.’
Old Square Chambers, 9th February 2021
Source: oldsquare.co.uk
‘As legal advisers our job starts long before the court room and it is where we do our most valuable work. A world in which people don’t experience discrimination is a world in which no discrimination claims are brought and a world in which considerable time, stress, cost etc. is saved. Ok, it is also a world in which our litigation practice suffers but let’s be honest, we are a long way from that world and we could get considerably closer to it without worrying too much about having to rethink our career choices.’
Littleton Chambers, 8th February 2021
Source: littletonchambers.com
‘S.109(4) EA 2010 provides a statutory defence for an employer when discrimination has been found if they took “all reasonable steps” to prevent that or similar discrimination. It is a rarely used defence and it is even more rare to have an appellate case providing guidance, but Allay (UK) Limited v Gehlen [2021] UKEAT 0031_20_0402 (Unreported, 4 February 2021) clarifies what is meant by “all reasonable steps”, exploring permissible and impermissible considerations to meet the high threshold set by s.109.’
3PB, 9th February 2021
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘An urgent inquiry to investigate how alleged systemic racism in the NHS manifests itself in maternity care will be launched on Tuesday with support from the UK charity Birthrights. The inquiry will apply a human- rights lens to examine how claimed racial injustice – from explicit racism to bias – is leading to poorer health outcomes in maternity care for ethnic minority groups.’
The Guardian, 7th February 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘If concerns are raised that a person might be vulnerable to radicalisation, how long can a police force hold data about that person? This was the question facing the High Court in the case of R (II) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2020] EWHC 2528 (Admin), which held that the police’s continued retention of data a sixteen year old was contrary to the Data Protection Act 2018 and article 8. In finding this, the court held that a force’s retention of data must be proportionate, what is proportionate in any given situation is fact-specific and that when the police cease to be able to identify a policing purpose for continued retention of personal data, it should be deleted.’
UK Police Law Blog, 28th January 2021
Source: ukpolicelawblog.com
‘The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been accused of “systemic illegality” in its approach to charging rape cases in a landmark judicial review into how the crime is prosecuted.’
The Guardian, 26th January 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In his comically surreal war novel, Joseph Heller explained the paradox of Catch-22: “A concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind.” For if you flew more missions you were crazy and did not have to. But if you did not want to you were sane and had to. In other words, a no-win situation.
This was unfortunately the position faced by Mrs Habibo Nur (Mrs Nur), a Birmingham City Council housing applicant with three adult daughters including one, Zakiya, who has learning difficulties and suffers from cerebral palsy. Zakiya consequently requires support with daily living activities and has been assessed as needing a level access shower, access to stairs with bilateral handrails and accommodation with a downstairs toilet.’
Law Society's Gazette, 25th January 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Khatija Hafesji looks at the legal action threatened against Muslim parents in relation to their daughter’s breach of school uniform policy.’
Monckton Chambers, 13th January 2021
Source: www.monckton.com
‘Joseph Bryan discusses Steer v Stormsure Ltd, in which the Employment Appeal Tribunal has raised the prospect of an amendment to the law to permit claimants in proceedings under the Equality Act 2010 to seek interim relief.’
Littleton Chambers, 14th January 2021
Source: littletonchambers.com
‘A “troubling inequality” between BAME and White British consumers in the way they access legal services has changed little in the five years since it raised the issue, the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) has found.’
Legal Futures, 19th January 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Reforms to the Mental Health Act will help tackle the disproportionate number of black people sectioned, the government has announced.’
The Guardian, 13th January 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The family of a mentally ill man who starved to death after his benefits were stopped will take on the government at the High Court later.’
BBC News, 12th January 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘It’s clear that coronavirus will inevitably continue to be one of the biggest rights issues of 2021 – but it’s not the only thing that should be on our radar. This selection of things to look out for – some quite specific and some more general – is by no means exhaustive and, as the last year has shown, there’s no way we can accurately predict the future. However, there are pressing issues on the horizon – here are just a few, in no particular order.’
Each Other, 8th January 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘A High Court judge has dismissed an appeal over a ruling in a housing case that there had been no breach by Slough Borough Council of the public sector equality duty.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th January 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
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