Article 2 inquest determination concerning Community Mental Health Services quashed – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 16th, 2022 in coroners, hospitals, inquests, mental health, news, statutory duty by sally

‘In R (Patton) v HM Assistant Coroner for Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire [2022] EWHC 1377 (Admin), Mrs Justice Hill quashed a ruling that the Article 2 general (or systemic) duty has not been potentially engaged by the death of Kianna Patton.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th June 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Judicial Review of Policies – Local Government Law

‘R (All the Citizens) v SoS (2022) EWHC 960 (Admin), a Divisional Court is concerned with whether there is a legal duty, enforceable by judicial review, to create and maintain records so that they are available for posterity, and whether policies are enforceable as a matter of public law.’

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Local Government Law, 4th May 2022

Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com

No messing about – Nearly Legal

Posted May 5th, 2022 in homelessness, housing, local government, news, statutory duty by sally

‘Two joined appeals on local authority duties to provide suitable accommodation under section 193 (2) Housing Act 1996 were before the Court of Appeal.’

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Nearly Legal, 4th May 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Legal challenge sees decision to close hospital over staffing issues quashed – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 26th, 2022 in consultations, coronavirus, hospitals, judicial review, news, statutory duty by sally

‘An NHS Trust has conceded, following a judicial review challenge, that its decision to close a hospital over staffing issues partly attributed to pandemic pressures was unlawful.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th April 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Failure to remove claims – the Osman test – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 11th, 2022 in domestic violence, families, local government, news, statutory duty by tracey

‘Jack Harding examines case law on failure to remove claims and the application of the Osman test in the context of domestic violence.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Age assessment and the Kent Intake Unit social worker guidance – Local Government Lawyer

‘The High Court has ruled that the Home Office acted unlawfully in detaining unaccompanied young people for age assessments at a port in Kent. Shu Shin Luh and Antonia Benfield explain why.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th January 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

R(ZLL) v SSHCLG: Everyone In a “call to action” not a policy – Nearly Legal

‘In this case, Fordham J scrutinised the nature of “Everyone In” and analysed whether it was a “policy”, such as to impose public law duties on the Secretary of State on its curtailment. The judgment (2022) EWHC 85 (Admin) contains a detailed discussion of the ingredients that make a policy, and a pithy take on when the need to consult stakeholders arises. The judge finds that Everyone In cannot properly be described as prescriptive policy guidance, but can safely be described as “an initiative”, so the Secretary of State was not bound by the constraints on changing policy. Judgment was given under the old Departmental name, since changed to the snappy Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The two interested parties, Camden LB Council and Shelter, did not appear.’

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Nearly Legal, 24th January 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Supreme Court invited to consider secondary victim claims – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Paul & Ors v The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2022] EWCA Civ 12 (13 January 2022). The Court of Appeal dismissed a set of claims for psychiatric injury on the basis of prior binding authority, but indicated that the issue is suitable for consideration by the Supreme Court.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 20th January 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Katy Sprague not warned of threat to kill hours before her murder – BBC News

‘A woman was not told her neighbour had threatened to kill her just hours before he murdered her, a review has found.’

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BBC News, 19th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Venues must have anti-terror measures under government plans – BBC News

Posted January 10th, 2022 in consultations, government departments, news, statutory duty, terrorism by tracey

‘Venues would have a legal duty to put in place security measures to protect the public from terror attacks under government plans. It comes in the wake of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, when 22 people were killed as they left an Ariana Grande concert. Home Secretary Priti Patel will set out the proposals on Monday, following an 18-week consultation.’

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BBC News, 9th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hillsborough Law would ‘level scales of justice’, says mayor – BBC News

‘A Hillsborough Law is needed to ensure fairer treatment for bereaved families, Liverpool City Region’s mayor has said.
Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the government needs to “level the scales of justice”.
They are calling for measures recommended in a 2017 report, based on the experiences of Hillsborough families, to be enshrined in law.’

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BBC News, 7th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Guidance from Divisional Court on Article 2 inquests – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 5th, 2022 in coroners, human rights, inquests, mental health, news, statutory duty by sally

‘In R (Morahan) v West London Assistant Coroner [2021] EWHC 1603 (Admin), the Divisional Court provided detailed guidance on the circumstances in which an enhanced investigation under Article 2 ECHR may be required at an inquest.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 4th January 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

The investigative duty and ‘historic’ allegations – when is the duty engaged? – UK Police Law Blog

‘In the same week that Dominic Raab unveiled his proposals for a new Bill of Rights, Parliament’s intent when it enacted the existing human rights framework has also been the subject of scrutiny by the Supreme Court. In the matter of an application by Margaret McQuillan for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) (Nos 1, 2 and 3) [2021] UKSC 55, the Court has provided guidance on three key matters: the extent to which the investigative duty under articles 2/3 of the European Convention of Human Rights is engaged in pre-commencement deaths (the ‘Temporal Scope Issue’); when new evidence revives the investigative obligation (the ‘Brecknell Issue’); and how courts assess the independence of investigations (the ‘Independence Issue’).’

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UK Police Law Blog, 20th December 2021

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

High Court dismisses judicial review over approach by council to deciding if suitable home education is taking place – Local Government Lawyer

‘The High Court has dismissed a legal challenge to the way in which Portsmouth City Council discharges its duties under the Education Act 1996 in respect of home-educated children.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th November 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Reasonable evidence of in reasonable condition – private sector discharge – Nearly Legal

‘Where a local authority proposes to discharge the homeless duty by an offer of private sector accommodation, what does it have to do to satisfy itself that the property is suitable, with regard to the conditions set out in Article 3 of The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012 (that the property is in reasonable and legal condition and the landlord is a fit and proper person)? That was the question in these two joined appeals.’

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Nearly Legal, 16th November 2021

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Violence against women and girls should be treated with same priority as terrorism, says watchdog – The Independent

‘“Radical” change is needed to stop an epidemic of violence against women and girls in Britain, a watchdog has found.
An inspection sparked by the killing of Sarah Everard, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a serving police officer, said police must prioritise protecting women as highly as counter-terrorism.’

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The Independent, 17th September 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sexual abuse in School – Adopting a zero-tolerance approach – 3 Hare Court

‘In April this year, thousands of anonymous reports were shared by students on Everyone’s Invited, a website which encourages young survivors of sexual abuse to share their stories. After these reports were received, Everyone’s Invited decided to name the schools implicated in these accounts. Of the 2,962 schools identified, 2,556 are secondary schools and 406 primary schools and 119 universities. To date, in excess of 51,000 testimonies have been shared on the site.’

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3 Hare Court, 1st September 2021

Source: www.3harecourt.com

Looked after children and secure accommodation after 9 September – Local Government lawyer

Posted September 3rd, 2021 in care homes, children, local government, news, statutory duty by tracey

‘David Lock QC considers the looming crisis for children in local authority care being deprived of their liberty. What should local authorities do for looked after children in secure accommodation on 9 September?’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd September 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Regulating content on user-to user and search service providers – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The dust has settled since the government released its draft Online Safety Bill. Now is therefore a good time to evaluate its aims, methods, and potential impacts, which we will do so in this two-part post. The first post will have a look at the overall architecture of the bill, discussing what it is trying to do and how it is trying to do it. The second post will survey responses to the bill from academics and civil society campaigners, discussing whether the bill does too much or not enough.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd August 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Council did not have reasonable system in place to respond to police requests for accommodation for detained juveniles: Court of Appeal – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 3rd, 2021 in children, criminal procedure, detention, news, police, statutory duty by sally

‘The London Borough of Waltham Forest was in breach of its duty to have a reasonable system in place to respond to requests by the police for secure accommodation for juveniles at risk of being detained in police cells overnight, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd August 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk