UKAJI May 2020 round-up

Here is UKAJI’s round-up of administrative justice news, events, publications, and cases for May 2020. If you have anything to add to this round-up or any future round-ups, please contact Lee Marsons on lm17598@essex.ac.uk.

UKAJI blogs

• UKAJI March and April 2020 round-up
• Administrative Justice Council Webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on administrative justice (29 April 2020)
• Sarah Nason and Ann Sherlock (University of Bangor), Helen Taylor (Cardiff Metropolitan University), and Huw Pritchard (Cardiff University Wales Governance Centre), New Research Report: Public Administration and Justice in Wales – Social Housing and Homelessness
• Joe Tomlinson (University of York), Jack Maxwell (Public Law Project), Jo Hynes and Emma Marshall (University of Exeter), Judicial Review During Covid-19 Part I and Part II
• Sarah Nason and Ann Sherlock (University of Bangor), Helen Taylor (Cardiff Metropolitan University), and Huw Pritchard (Cardiff University Wales Governance Centre), New Research Report: Public Administration and a Just Wales

Publications

• The Scottish Mental Health Law Review published its interim report into the reform of mental health legislation in Scotland, which can be found here;
• Following on from the publication of JUSTICE’s report into resolving housing disputes in March 2020, Andrea Coomber from JUSTICE posted a blog with the Legal Action Group advocating the establishment of a Housing Disputes Services;
• Adam Szot, May, Should, or Do, Administrative Judges Participate in the Management of the Public Sphere in the Rule of Law? (2020) 33 International Journal for Semiotics of Law 65-75;
• The Home Office published statistics relating to Covid-19 and the immigration system;
• McGill University published a compendium of resources related to Covid-19 and federalism;
• The Women’s Budget Group published its response to the Government’s Covid-19 recovery roadmap;
• The Children’s Society published two reports on children’s services, one on funding available and one on the perceptions of staff working in children’s services;
• The Institute of Race Relations published a report entitled The London clearances, race, housing and policing;
• Democratic Decay posted a compilation of blogs and website providing regular updates on Covid-19 domestically and internationally;
• Keith Ewing, Covid-19: Government by Decree (2020) 31(1) King’s Law Journal;
• The Bonavero Institute of Human Rights published a preliminary assessment of the legislative and regulatory responses to Covid-19 from eleven jurisdictions;
• The UN Office of the Human Rights Commissioner warned that Covid-19 should not become an excuse for arbitrary and unlawful deprivations of liberty;
• Simon Halliday, Jed Meers and Joe Tomlinson published an interim report on public attitudes to the Covid-19 restrictions as part of their Law and Compliance project;
• The Centre for Mental Health and Capacity Law published its submission to Holyrood’s Human Rights and Equality Committee inquiry into Covid-19;
• The LGSCO issued guidance to local authorities on how to deal with complaints during the Covid-19 pandemic;
• The UKCLA blog published Public Law’s current survey for the period November to January 2020;
• The International Ombudsman Institute published new guidance on peer review for ombuds;
• Dorcas Quek Anderson, The evolving concept of access to justice in Singapore’s mediation movement (2020) International Journal of Law in Context 1-18

Events

• The Welsh Assembly is now known as the Welsh Parliament (‘Senedd Cymru’) following a change in law via the Senedd and Election (Wales) Act 2020;
• Aurélien Antoine (Jean-Monnet St Étienne University/Lyon University), Andrew Blick (King’s College London), Geraldine Gadbin-George (Panthéon-Assas University) & Elizabeth Gibson-Morgan (Tours University) hosted a virtual workshop on 28 May 2020 about constitutional, political and social threats posed by Covid-19;
• The Public Law Project posted a job advert for a Research Fellow in Constitutional Reform;
• Lewis Graham (University of Cambridge) hosted a virtual workshop entitled ‘How should judges decide ‘political’ cases?’. Speakers included Dimitrios Kagiarios (University of Exter), Lee Marsons (University of Essex), Daniella Lock (UCL), Margo Munro Kerr (City, University of London), and Josie Kemeys (University of Worcester);
• The Civil Justice Council initiated a rapid consultation into the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on the civil justice system;
• Solicitors from Wedlake Bell wrote to the Secretary of State for Health to issue judicial review proceedings against his approval of the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (England) Regulations 2020;
• Schools, nurseries, and colleges in England began reopening on 1 June;
• The PHSO posted a Radio Ombudsman podcast which involved a discussion between the Ombudsman, Rob Behrens, and Dr Tony Dysart on working as a clinician during Covid-19;
• The PHSO posted a Radio Ombudsman podcast which involved a discussion between the President of the International Ombudsman Institute and the PHSO on how own initiative powers increase access to justice;
• The Irish Ombudsman published its annual report for 2019;
• On 21 May 2020, the LGSCO reinitiated some investigations against local authorities who indicated that they had the capacity to work with an investigatory team;
• The SPSO published a job advertisement for four new complaints reviewers;
• Naomi Creutzfeldt presented a paper on 29 May 2020 at the Law and Society Association Annual Meeting on Access to Justice and Energy Poverty – Theoretical and Empirical Foundations;
• Medical Mediation Foundation held a Webinar on leading and responding to uncertainty;
• The School of Law of the Singapore Management University is organising a virtual conference on global public-private law approaches to Covid-19 with a view to furthering comparative insight into how different legal systems around the world have grappled with particular public and private law aspects of the pandemic. The announcement can be found here;
• On 18 June, Jaime Lindsey and Margaret Doyle (University of Essex) will be hosting a virtual roundtable on mediation in the Court of Protection.

Parliamentary affairs

• Holyrood published its Social Security Administration and Tribunal Membership (Scotland) Bill and initiated a public consultation on the draft Bill;
• The Speaker of the House of Commons wrote to MPs proposing a new physical voting system wherein division lobbies will not be used until public health allows otherwise;
• Westminster’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee launched what it called a ‘super-inquiry’ into post-pandemic economic growth;
• Westminster’s Scotland Committee heard evidence from Scotland’s interim Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith;
• The House of Lords debated what economic lessons should be learned from Covid-19 and how economic recovery should be pursued;
• Westminster’s Economic Affairs Committee held in first evidence session on 29 May 2020 in its inquiry on the economics of Universal Credit;
• The House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee held an evidence session on Universal Credit, disabled people, and access to the labour market;
• The House of Lords’ Constitution Committee launched an inquiry into the constitutional implications of Covid-19;
• Westminster’s Housing Committee argued that the Government must established a £100m rough sleeping fund;
• Westminster’s Housing Committee questioned a Housing Minister on dangerous cladding in residential flats;
• Westminster’s Justice Committee questioned the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales on the impact of Covid-19 on courts and tribunals;
• Westminster’s Justice Committee questioned the Director of Public Prosecutions on the rise in domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic;
• Westminster’s Housing Committee published an interim report into protecting rough sleepers and renters in the private sector;
• The House of Lords’ Public Services Committee launched an inquiry into lessons that public services can learn from Covid-19;
• The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee launched an inquiry into the Government’s response to Covid-19;
• William Wragg MP, Chair of PACAC, wrote to the Prime Minister to request that papers from the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) are made public;
• PACAC held an evidence session scrutinising the work of the PHSO;
• PACAC held an evidence session with the National Statistician, Sir Ian Diamond, on Covid-19 death numbers;
• Westminster’s Women and Equalities Committee held an evidence session on the unequal impact of Covid-19 in the workplace;
• Westminster’s Women and Equalities Committee held an evidence session with the Equality and Human Rights Commissioner on the unequal impact of Covid-19;
• The Welsh Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee announced that it will be re-examining reporting issues with NHS Informatics following concerns that several health boards were not accurately reporting Covid-19 deaths;
• Holyrood’s Economy Committee called for reforms to Scotland’s legislation on debt solutions and management;
• Holyrood’s Public Accounts Committee called for reforms to Scotland’s freedom of information legislation;
• Holyrood’s Health Committee launched an inquiry into pandemic preparedness;
• Holyrood’s Covid-19 Committee called for public views on Scotland’s move out of lockdown;
• Holyrood’s Health Committee launched a consultation on the impact of Covid-19 on care homes.

Cases

• Serafin v Malkiewicz [2020] UKSC 23, a Supreme Court decision where the court had to consider whether the behaviour of a High Court Judge, Mr Justice Jay, was sufficiently unacceptable to render a trial unfair;
• Dill v Secretary of State for Housing [2020] UKSC 20, concerning an appeal under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 on the meaning of a ‘building’ under that legislation and whether it included two vases on a plinth;
• Badmus v Secretary of State for Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 657, on fixed payments made to detainees in immigration detention
• Chandran v Secretary of State for Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 634, an appeal against refusal of leave to remain from the Upper Tribunal
• London Borough of Hackney v Okoro [2020] EWCA Civ 681, on the proper construction of Practice Direction 51Z which stayed possession proceedings during the coronavirus pandemic;
• Morton v Eastleigh Citizens Advice Bureau [2020] EWCA Civ 638, on whether the Employment Tribunal made an error of law to adjourn a preliminary hearing;
• Moss v Information Commissioner [2020] EWCA Civ 580, an appeal against the refusal of the First-Tier Tribunal (Administrative Chamber) to grant the applicant an anonymity order;
• R (Governing Body of X) v Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills [2020] EWCA Civ 594, on whether a report made by Ofsted could be published prior to a judicial review of that report being resolved;
• R (TD) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2020] EWCA Civ 618, which concerned a judicial review related to the implementation of Universal Credit;
• Viasat UK Ltd v Office of Communications [2020] EWCA Civ 624, an appeal against the judgment of the Competition Tribunal to refuse an appeal against granting another company access to 2GHz spectrum;
• R (Client Earth) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2020] EWHC 1303 (Admin), a judicial review against a decision of the Minister to grant planning permission to an energy company to build power stations in North Yorkshire;
• R (Susan Fisher) v Durham County Council [2020] EWHC 1277 (Admin), a judicial review seeking to quash an abatement notice granted by the defendant council;
• R (Flores) v London Borough of Southwark [2020] EWHC 1278 (Admin), a judicial review against the defendant council’s refusal to include the claimant in its priority housing scheme;
• R (Emily Hunt) v Director of Public Prosecutions [2020] EWHC 1292 (Admin), on the issue of costs when the claimant decided to withdraw her judicial review against the DPP for refusal to prosecute a man for an offence of voyeurism;
• R (Hussain) v Secretary of State for Health [2020] EWHC 1392 (Admin), a judicial review against the impact of the coronavirus regulations in England on places of worship;
• R (Lochailort Investments Ltd) v Mendip District Council [2020] EWHC 1146 (Admin), a judicial review against the decision of the defendant council to accept the recommendations of a neighbourhood plan and to proceed to a referendum;
• Mayor of London v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2020] EWHC 1176 (Admin), a judicial review concerning planning permission at a school in Harrow;
• R (National Farmers Union) v Secretary of State for Environment [2020] EWHC 1192 (Admin), a judicial review against a direction issued by the Minister to Natural England requiring them to grant no badger culling licences in Derbyshire;
• R (Nmai) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2020] EWHC 1139 (Admin), a judicial review against the refusal of the Minister to grant the claimant a British passport;
• R (OA) v London Borough of Bexley [2020] EWHC 1107 (Admin), on the extent of a local authority’s duties under s.17 of the Children Act 1989;
• R (Reilly) v Teaching Regulation Agency [2020] EWHC 1188 (Admin), a judicial review against a decision to remove the claimant from her position as a headteacher on the basis of her failure to disclose her relationship with a man arrested on suspicion on possessing indecent images of children;
• R (Wyllie Financial Services) v Financial Services Compensation Scheme [2020] EWHC 1344 (Admin), a judicial review against a refusal of a compensation claim;
• R (W and J) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2020] EWHC 1299 (Admin), a judicial review regarding the ‘no recourse to public funds’ rule in leave to remain decisions.