UKAJI January 2021 round-up

Here is UKAJI’s summary of important administrative justice related news, events, cases, and publications for January 2021. If you have anything to add to this round-up or any future round-ups, please contact Lee Marsons on lm17598@essex.ac.uk.

Publications:

• Sheila Riddell, Neville Harris and Gail Davidge, Autonomy, education and the rights of children with special and additional support needs and disabilities in England and Scotland: a new paradigm? (Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law);
• Patricio Cuevas-Parra, Thirty years after the UNCRC: children and young people’s participation continues to struggle in a COVID-19 world (Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law);
• Sheila Riddell and Kay Tisdall, Transforming children’s rights? Dilemmas, challenges and implementation (Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law);
• Mairi Ann Cullen and Stephen Cullen, Young people’s right to appeal to the English First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability): learning from the first two years (Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law);
• Sebastien Lorien, A Model for National Human Rights Systems? New Governance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Nordic Journal of Human Rights);
• Julija Simpson, Viviana Albani, Zoe Bell, Clare Bambra, and Heather Brown, Effects of social security policy reforms on mental health and inequalities: A systematic review of observational studies in high-income countries (Social Science and Medicine);
• Anne Mette Møller, Deliberation and Deliberative Organizational Routines in Frontline Decision-Making (Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory);
• Gustavo M Tavares, Filipe Sobral and Bradley E Wright, Commitment to Public Values, Charismatic Leadership Attributions, and Employee Turnover in Street-Level Bureaucracies (Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory);
• Aaron Erlich, Daniel Berliner, Brian Palmer-Rubin and Benjamin E Bagozzi, Media Attention and Bureaucratic Responsiveness (Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory);
• Jon H Fiva, Benny Geys, Tom-Reiel Heggedal, and Rune Sørensen, Political Alignment and Bureaucratic Pay (Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory);
• Gregory Porumbescu, Suzanne Piotrowski, and Vincent Mabillard, Here’s the Surprising Way Race Matters to Holding Public Officials Accountable (Medium);
• Simon Turner, John Samuel and Fletcher Wright, The corporatisation of healthcare organisations internationally: a scoping review of processes, impacts, and mediators (Public Administration);
• Tara Grillos, Krister Andersson and Alan Zarychta, Governance Reform, Decentralization, and Teamwork in Public Service Delivery: Evidence from the Honduran Health Sector (Public Administration);
• Christopher K. Frantz and Saba Siddiki, Institutional Grammar 2.0: A specification for encoding and analyzing institutional design (Public Administration);
• Jon Pierre and Jenny de Fine Licht, Collaborative Gaming: When Principals and Agents Agree to Game the System (Public Administration);
• Shelena Keulemans, Exploring rule‐following identity at the frontline: The roles of general self‐efficacy, gender, and attitude towards clients (Public Administration);
• Stephen P. Osborne, Greta Nasi and Madeline Powell, Beyond co‐production: value creation and public services (Public Administration);
• Yukyung Yeo, Varieties of State Regulation: How China Regulates Its Socialist Market Economy (Harvard University Press);
• Henning Deters and Gerda Falkner, Remapping the European Agenda‐Setting Landscape (Public Administration);
• Guswin de Wee and Kwame Asmah-Andoh, Model for Overcoming Policy Analysis Limitation and Implementation Challenges: Integrative Propositional Analysis of South African National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2013-2020 (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Judit Ricz, The Anatomy of the Newly Emerging Illiberal Model of State Capitalism: A Developmental Dead End? (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Mei Jen Hung, What Influences Bureaucrats’ Support for Red Tape Reduction Reform in Taipei City Government? (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Julio Zambrano-Gutierrez and Claudia Avellaneda, Municipal Response to Fiscal and Governance Reforms: Effects of Stricter Debt Limits across Jurisdictions (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Yoon-jung Kim, Public–private Partnerships for Urban Projects: A Korean Case of Partnership Failure (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Victoria Bellou and Maria Dimou, The Impact of Destructive Leadership on Public Servants’ Performance: The Mediating Role of Leader-member Exchange, Perceived Organizational Support and Job Satisfaction (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Beatriz Cuadrado-Ballesteros, Serena Santis and Marco Bisogno, Public-sector Financial Management and E-government: The Role Played by Accounting Systems (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Harmen Binnema and Ank Michels, Does Democratic Innovation Reduce Bias? The G1000 as a New Form of Local Citizen Participation (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Vincent Mabillard, Trust in Government: Assessing the Impact of Exposure to Information in a Local Context (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Shihong Weng, Gary Schwarz, Susan Schwarz and Ben Hardy, A Framework for Government Response to Social Media Participation in Public Policy Making: Evidence from China (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Wieke Blijleven and Merlijn van Hulst, How Do Frontline Civil Servants Engage the Public? Practices, Embedded Agency, and Bricolage (American Review of Public Administration);
• Niva Golan-Nadir, The Role of Interorganizational Competition in Motivating Street-Level Bureaucrats to Adopt Policy Entrepreneurship Strategies: The Case of Israeli Rabbis in Government Hospitals (American Review of Public Administration);
• Bienmali Kombate, Muganga Emmanuel and Kouadio Konan Richard, The Implication of the Strategic Implementation Style and Middle Management Effort in Public Organization Strategic Management Implementation and Its Organizational Performance (Journal of Public Administration and Governance);
• Jochelle Greaves Siew, Attempts of Fully Controlling Bureaucracy: Quae Merito? (Journal of Public Administration and Governance);
• Fee Cheng Tan and Devika Nadarajah, Adaptability Features, Proactivity, and Change Readiness: An Empirical Investigation of Public Sector Organisations (Journal of Public Administration and Governance).
• Cass Sunstein and Adrian Vermeule, Law and Leviathan: Redeeming the Administrative State (Harvard University Press).

Reports, consultations, and policy papers:

• Department for Education launched a policy paper entitled Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth (White Paper);
• Cabinet Office released a policy paper on the UK-EU Trade Agreement’s Northern Ireland Protocol (Command Paper);
• Department of Health and Social Care launched a consultation on reforming the Mental Health Act 1983, to close on 21 April 2021. This followed the publication of the report of an independent review of the Act, released in December 2020.
• Independent Human Rights Act Review (IHRAR) published its call for evidence, to close on 3 March 2021.
• Women’s Budget Group released a briefing entitled Distribution of Money within the Household and Current Social Security Issues for Couples in the UK;
• Disability Rights UK released a report entitled We Belong;
• Beyond Race, Rota and Lankelly Chase released a report entitled It takes a system: The systemic nature of racism and pathways to systems change;
• Runnymede Trust released a briefing regarding Covid-19 mortality and racial inequality;
• Women’s Budget Group produced a press release describing the results of a short-term study on Covid-19, working class women, job losses, and school closures;
• Friends Families and Travellers released a briefing concerning unmet demand for travellers’ pitch sites in England;
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation released its UK Poverty 2020/21 Report;
• British Institute of Human Rights published a report on the discriminatory use of Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) notices in the Covid-19 pandemic;
• Ministry of Justice released its report into responses to human rights judgments in 2019-20;
• Government Equalities Office released a report into employers’ actions and understanding of the gender pay gap in 2019;
• The Minister for Women and Equalities gave a speech entitled Fight for Fairness at the Centre for Policy Studies;
• Fawcett Society released a report into tackling sexual harassment in the workplace;
• Gingerbread released a report regarding single parent poverty post-coronavirus;
• Women’s Budget Group released a briefing on the impact of the third national lockdown in England on women;
• Department for Health and Social Care released its annual report and accounts for 2019-20.
• Ministry of Housing released its annual report and accounts for 2019-20.
• National Audit Office has launched an investigation into how the Department for Education distributes schools funding, with particular reference to financial sustainability;
• Department for Business released its annual report and accounts for 2019-20;
• National Audit Office released a report into the housing of rough sleepers during the Covid-19 pandemic;
• Ministry of Justice released its annual report and accounts for 2019-20.
• Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch released a report on patient safety and supporting NHS staff.
• Competition and Markets Authority launched a consultation on consumer protection, competition law, and the use of algorithms, to close on 16 March 2021. This follows a research briefing from the Authority concerning how algorithms can impact on consumer protection, available here.
• Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration launched a call for evidence on the use of hotels and barracks as contingency accommodation for asylum seekers, to close on 19 February 2021.
• Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration released a report on the Home Office’s Presenting Officer function, a role which involves representing the Home Office in the tribunals system. The Home Office response is available here.
• Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration released a report on the Home Office’s use of sanctions and penalties, with particular focus on those designed to ensure compliance with the Immigration Rules. The Home Office response is available here.
• Chief Executive of the Parole Board released a blog concerning the Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act 2020.
• The Home Office created a new route for British Nationals (Overseas) in Hong Kong to apply for residence in the United Kingdom. The official guidance is available here.
• The Home Office released new guidance related to the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
• The Home Office released its evaluation of a pilot study which permitted tier 4 migrants to remain in the UK for work for a period of six months rather than two to four.
• The Home Office released a Windrush Compensation Scheme update. The full dataset is available here.
• The Home Office released guidance on the so-called ‘Community Trigger’ on anti-social behaviour, whereby victims of persistent anti-social behaviour can request a multi-agency case review where a local threshold is met under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
• An independent review of the Prevent scheme is to be led by William Shawcross.
• The UK Drug Recovery Champion, Dr Ed Day, released his first annual report.
• The Home Office released its Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy.
• The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority released its annual report for 2019-20.
• The Home Office released its response to a report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse on the sexual abuse of children outside the UK. The Inquiry’s report can be found here.
• The Home Office released new guidance related to the Stalking Protection Act 2019.
• The Home Office released updated EU Settlement Scheme guidance for caseworkers.
• The Home Office released the outcome of its consultation into pre-charge bail by police.
• The Home Office released a draft code of practice on the use of covert human intelligence sources.
• The Home Office launched a consultation on violence against women and girls, to close on 19 February 2021.

Cases of interest:

• Aviva Insurance v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2020] EWHC 30 (Admin), related to the relief available to the claimants following a successful claim via Article 1 Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights that s.22 of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1977 violated the company’s rights under the Human Rights Act 1998. Especially useful is a discussion between [18] and [37] of the obligations under s.3 HRA. The original substantive judgment, handed down in November 2020, is available here.
• R (Democracy Newham) v London Borough of Newham [2021] EWHC 150 (Admin), a judicial review against a decision of Newham which declared a petition seeking a referendum about a change of governance to the council invalid. The referendum is sought pursuant to The Local Authorities (Referendums) (Petitions) (England) Regulations 2011.
• R (Fraser) v Shropshire Council [2021] EWHC 31 (Admin), a judicial review related to the granting of planning permissions by the defendant local authority.
• R (Gifford-Hull) v Parole Board [2021] EWHC 128 (Admin), a judicial review related to the Parole Board’s decision not to disclose to the claimant prisoner a full version of a statement provided by a victim and related to the Board’s assessment of the claimant’s risk to the public.
• R (Glatter) v NHS Hertfordshire Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group [2021] EWHC 12 (Admin), a judicial review related to the duty to consult in relation to an NHS reorganisation in Hertfordshire, supposedly under the National Health Service Act 2006.
• Havant Biogas v Gas and Electricity Markets Authority [2021] EWHC 84 (Admin), a judicial review against the regulator’s decision to refuse permission for the claimant company to participate in an energy subsidy scheme.
• R (HJ) v London Borough of Croydon [2021] EWHC 66 (Admin), a judicial review related to a victim of human trafficking and the obligations of local authorities under the Children Act 1989.
• R (Hewson) v Bar Standards Board [2021] EWHC 28 (Admin), a case related to the appropriate professional sanction against a member of the Bar where the barrister was soon to pass away with a terminal illness.
• R (Ladkin) v Independent Office for Police Conduct [2021] EWHC 122 (Admin), a judicial review related to a decision of the defendant public body that police officers involved in a fatal car crash were not guilty of professional misconduct.
• R (Mendes) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWHC 115 (Admin), a judicial review seeking the return of the claimant who had been deported from the UK to Portugal on the basis that his deportation was unlawful.
• Privacy International v Investigatory Powers Tribunal [2021] EWHC 27 (Admin), on the interpretation of s.5 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 and the supposed power to issue ‘general warrants’.
• R (RS) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWHC 54 (Admin), a judicial review related to the detention of the claimant pending deportation following convictions for serious drugs offences.
• R (Salvato) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] EWHC 102 (Admin), a judicial review related to the childcare costs element (CCE) of Universal Credit.
• R (Singh) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWHC 158 (Admin), a judicial review related to the legality of the claimant’s immigration detention under Hardial Singh principles.
• R (United Trade Action Group) v Mayor of London [2021] EWHC 72 (Admin), a judicial review related to traffic regulation imposed by the Mayor of London in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
• R (Wild Justice) v Natural Resources Wales [2021] EWHC 35 (Admin), a judicial review related to the lawfulness of licences issued by the defendant public body granting permission to kill carrion crows in Wales.
• R (ClientEarth) v Secretary of State for Business [2021] EWCA Civ 43, a judicial review related to the proper interpretation of the Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (“EN-1”) and the National Policy Statement for Fossil Fuel Electricity Generating Infrastructure (“EN-2”).
• R (FA) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 59, a judicial review related to the so-called ‘domestic violence concession’ in Immigration Rules.
• R (Lowe) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 62, a statutory appeal related to Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the refusal of the Upper Tribunal to find in favour of the claimant’s human rights claim to avoid deportation.
• R (Monkhill) v Ministry of Housing [2021] EWCA Civ 74, a case related to the National Planning Policy Framework and its protection of Areas of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB).
• R (M) v Chief Constable of Sussex Police [2021] EWCA Civ 42, a case related to whether an anonymity order granted when the claimant was a child criminal defendant should continue post her eighteenth birthday.
• R (Rees) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2021] EWCA Civ 49, an assessment of damages for malicious prosecution and misfeasance in a public office.
• R (FWF) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 88, a case examining the interrelationship between Article 8 ECHR, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the so-called Dublin III Regulations (Regulation 604/2013).
• R (NF) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 17, a statutory appeal against the decision of the Upper Tribunal to refuse permission to appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal.
• Z, M, S and R v University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust [2021] EWCA Civ 22, a family appeal against a decision of the Court of Protection to withdraw life-sustaining treatment from a man in a permanent vegetative state.
• R (Taj) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 19, a judicial review related to the application of common law principles of fairness to the points-based system on whether a person should be granted leave to remain in the UK as a tier 1 entrepreneur migrant.

Ombuds and administrative agencies:

• Public Services Ombudsman for Wales launched its first own initiative investigation into the provision of homelessness services by a number of local authorities in Wales.
• Public Services Ombudsman for Wales determined that Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board failed to provide adequate end-of-life care and service to a cancer patient who subsequently died.
• Scottish Public Services Ombudsman laid its findings its 34 cases before the Scottish Parliament.
• Scottish Independent National Whistleblowing Officer has developed a series of training courses on its National Whistleblowing Standards to go live in April 2021.
• Housing Ombudsman determined that a social housing provider, Orbit, had committed severe maladministration through failing to ensure adequate heating and water systems.
• Mariette Hughes was appointed the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces.
• Office of the Information Commissioner launched the fourth phase of its privacy innovation grants programme.
• Information Commissioner released a blog about strengthening global data protection standards here.
• The period of appointment of the Information Commissioner was extended to October 2021 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Information Commissioner released a blog on the data protection aspects of the UK-EU trade agreement here.
• Competition and Markets Authority proposed new guidance on merger and market remedies related to reporting, investigation, and enforcement of potential breaches of competition law, available here.
• Competition and Markets Authority issued a warning to a number of firms alleging involved in price-fixing related to the provision of services to disabled students, available here.
• Network Rail and the Equality and Human Rights Commission signed an agreement following Network Rail’s failure to adjust its services to suit the needs of disabled users during a refurbishment.
• Lord Herbert was appointed Chair of the College of Policing.

Parliamentary affairs:

• The Joint Committee on Human Rights established an inquiry into the government’s Independent Human Rights Act Review, to close on 22 March 2021.
• The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology released a research briefing on the use of artificial intelligence in the NHS in England available here.
• The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee held an evidence session on government use of data during the Covid-19 pandemic, available here.
• The Commons Procedure Committee released a report relating to the government’s response to its sixth and seventh reports of 2020 on virtual participation in the House of Commons during the coronavirus pandemic.
• The House of Commons was recalled on 6 January 2021 in order that the Prime Minister could make a statement on coronavirus regulations.
• The Public Accounts Committee released a report entitled Lessons learned from major projects and programmes.
• The Commons Procedure Committee questioned the Leader of the House of Commons on parliamentary procedure during the coronavirus pandemic, available here.
• The Commons Treasury Committee wrote to the Financial Ombudsman Service expressing concerns about its proposed budget and funding, strategies to clear a casework backlog, and how case handling times should be reduced.
• The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee approved the appointment of Richard Sharp as Chair of the BBC Board.
• The Works and Pensions Committee held an evidence session on the disability employment gap, available here.
• The Treasury Committee approved the appointment of Antony Jenkins and John Taylor to Prudential Regulation Committee of the Bank of England.
• The Joint Committee on the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 held an evidence session on the operation of the Act, available here.
• The Education Committee held a pre-appointment hearing with the government’s preferred candidate for the Office for Students, Lord Wharton.
• The Joint Committee on National Security Strategy held an evidence session related to the government’s Conflict, Security and Stability Fund.
• The Commons Science and Technology Committee held an evidence session related to the role of local authorities during the coronavirus pandemic, available here.
• The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee released its report on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for 2019-20.
• The Home Affairs Committee held an evidence session on the Home Office’s preparedness for Covid-19, available here.
• The House of Lords considered the Domestic Abuse Bill at Committee Stage.
• The House of Lords considered the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill at Third Reading.
• The House of Lords considered the Financial Services Bill at Second Reading.
• The House of Lords considered the Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill at Third Reading.
• The Lords Economic Affairs Committee launched an inquiry into quantitative easing.
• The House of Lords Commission released a report concerning the day-to-day administration of the House of Lords, available here.
• House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee released a report on the funding of social care.
• The Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill begun its Committee Stage in the House of Lords.
• The Lords considered the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill at third reading.
• The Lords Economic Affairs Committee released a report entitled New powers for HMRC: fair and proportionate?
• The House of Lords considered the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill at third reading.
• The Lords EU Goods Sub-Committee launched an inquiry into the UK-EU Trade Agreement.
• The Lords Science and Technology Committee released a report entitled Ageing: Science, Technology and Healthy Living.
• The Lords EU Environment Sub-Committee launched an inquiry into the UK-EU Trade Agreement and its effects on the environment, energy, food trade, agriculture, fishing, climate change, and chemicals.

Devolved affairs:

• Welsh Auditor General released a report entitled Doing it Differently, Doing it Right? concerning governance in NHS Wales during the Covid-19 pandemic;
• National Audit Office released a report on the administration of Scottish income tax 2019-20;
• National Audit Office released a report on the administration of Welsh income tax 2019-20;
• Holyrood’s Covid-19 Committee held four so-called citizens’ panels of 20 persons representing the demographics of Scotland to discuss the Scottish response to Covid-19.
• Scottish Justice Minister, Humza Yousaf MSP, proposed further amendments to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill so as to protect freedom of expression related to trans matters.