UKAJI February 2021 round up

UKAJI February 2021 round-up:

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

Publications:

• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published a blog entitled Here’s how the Government can release renters from mounting pressure;
• Tarun Khaitan, Killing a Constitution With a Thousand Cuts: Executive Aggrandizement and Party-State Fusion in India (Law and Ethics of Human Rights);
• Thorbjørn Sejr Guul, Ulrik Hvidman and Hans Henrik Sievertsen, Quasi-market competition in public service provision: User sorting and cream-skimming (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);
• Heidi Houlberg Salomonsen, Stefan Boye and Jan Boon, Caught up or Protected by the Past? How Reputational Histories Matter for Agencies’ Media Reputations (Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory);
• Joe Tomlinson, Lewis Graham and Alexandra Sinclair, Does judicial review of delegated legislation under the Human Rights Act 1998 unduly interfere with executive law-making? (UKCLA);
• Inbal Aviv, John Gal and Idit Weiss‐Gal, Social workers as street‐level policy entrepreneurs (Public Administration);
• Jakob Laage-Thomsen, Professional expertise in Policy Advisory Systems: How administrators and consultants built Behavioral Insights in Danish public agencies (Public Administration);
• Malika Igalla, Jurian Edelenbos and Ingmar van Meerkerk, Institutionalization or interaction: which organizational factors help community‐based initiatives acquire government support? (Public Administration);
• James Perry, Managing Organizations to Sustain Passion for Public Service (Cambridge University Press);
• Simon Turner and John Samuel Fletcher Wright, The corporatisation of healthcare organisations internationally: a scoping review of processes, impacts, and mediators (Public Administration);
• Janine O’Flynn, Where to for Public Value? Taking Stock and Moving On (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Cheong Kim and Sanghee Park, When Push Comes to Shove: The Effect of Economic Crisis on the Spending of Government Savings (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Pedro Cavalcante and Gabriela Lotta, Are Governance Modes Alike? An Analysis Based on Bureaucratic Relationships and Skills (International Journal of Public Administration);
• Jos Raadschelders, The Three Ages of Government – From Person, to the Group, to the World (University of Michigan Press);
• Ken Coghill, Existential Public Value (International Journal 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).

Independent reports:

• ClientEarth released a report entitled Environmental Law and Governance Post-Brexit, written by Rachel Jones (Blackstone Chambers);
• Inclusion London released a report entitled Locked Down and Abandoned: Disabled People’s Experiences of Covid-19;
• Acevo released a report entitled Hidden leaders: Disability leadership in civil society;
• Women’s Budget Group released a report entitled Lessons Learned: Where Women Stand at the Start of 2021;
• The Brexit Civil Society Alliance released a report entitled Seizing the Opportunity: The Case for Embracing Civil Society’s Role in Democracy;
• Centre for Ageing Better released a report entitled Ever more needed? The role of the Leeds Neighbourhood Networks during the Covid-19 pandemic;
• Rosa released a report on the impact of coronavirus on specialist women’s centres, available here.
• Transform Justice released a report on access to police station legal advice during the Covid-19 pandemic, available here.

Policy papers and government statements:

• The Department for Education released a policy paper entitled Higher education: free speech and academic freedom;
• The Home Office released a policy paper entitled Statement in relation to legal routes from the EU for protection claimants including family reunion of unaccompanied children;
• The Department for Health released the fifth two-monthly report on which powers under the Coronavirus Act 2020 are currently active;
• The leaders of the G7 nations released a joint statement following a virtual meeting, available here;
• The government released its Covid-19 Response Roadmap – Spring 2021 for easing lockdown restrictions. The oral statement of the Prime Minister to the House of Commons is available here;
• The Legal Services Board released a report outlining the options for ensuring the continued professional competency of lawyers in England and Wales, available here.
• The Legal Services Board released an updated version of its Covid dashboard, tracking the impact of Covid on the legal services market in England and Wales.
• The Cabinet Office released its submission to the Review Body on Senior Salaries on the Pay of the Senior Civil Service.
• The Cabinet Office released a briefing on how public bodies can comply with the World Trade Organisation Government Procurement Agreement and the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
• The government released its response to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on Northern-Ireland related terrorism. The report, published in November 2020, is available here.
• The Build Back Better Council released its terms of reference here.
• The Cabinet Office released a report into the Departmental Board Programme, whereby department boards are staffed by independent non-executive directors and civil servants and chaired by a relevant minister.
• The Bank of England drafted two reports for the Treasury Committee, here and here. The Bank further published a report on data collection from the financial sector, available here.

Events:

• The Runnymede Trust launched a call for evidence on the government’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (‘CERD’). The consultation closes on 8 March 2021.
• Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, David Ramsden, gave speech related to the use of quantitative easing as a fiscal tool.
• The government announced a £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund.
• Lord Agnew, Minister at the Cabinet Office, announced that Prof David Mosey would lead a review of public sector construction frameworks.
• Lord Frost was appointed as Minister of State in the Cabinet Office, to be a full member of Cabinet. Frost will focus on European Union relations.
• Susanna McGibbon has been appointed as Treasury Solicitor, HM Procurator General and Permanent Secretary to the Government Legal Department.
• The 2020 Judicial Attitudes Survey was released.
• Friends, Families and Travellers launched a new tool to support primary care networks in tackling neighbourhood health inequalities.
• The Fawcett Society released a statement on gender pay gap reporting.
• Equally Ours is seeking to map the race equality sector in England and its call for evidence is available here;
• The UK joined the International Platform on Sustainable Finance, an international committee of governments related to sustainable and environmentally friendly economic growth.
• Public Law Wales held an event on the unique nature of public law in Wales.
• The Cabinet Office launched a consultation on the expansion of the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) Data Matching Powers and the new Code of Data Matching Practice. The consultation is to close 10 March 2021.
• The Treasury extended the so-called Levelling Up Fund across the whole of the UK.
• The Minister for the Constitution and Devolution made a written statement to Parliament on the local elections in May 2021. The Minister also released the draft Mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Coronavirus, Nomination of Candidates) (Amendment) Order 2021.
• The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made a written statement to Parliament on the next meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee on 24 February 2021. Information on the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, a joint UK-EU body designed to supervise the implementation of the Agreement, can be found here.

Cases of interest:

• Uber v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5, concerning whether certain Uber drivers were workers for the purposes of section 230(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996;
• R (Begum) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] UKSC 7, related to the Home Secretary’s decision to deprive Shamima Begum of her British citizenship on the basis that her citizenship was a threat to national security given her membership and association with Islamic State;
• Shiva Ltd v Boyd (One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Health and Safety) [2021] EWHC 371 (Admin), on whether an Employment Tribunal staying an appeal pending the outcome of criminal proceedings violated common law natural justice principles;
• TW Logistics v Essex County Council [2021] UKSC 4, concerning whether an area of concrete land in a working commercial port could be listed as a town and village green under section 15(3) of the Commons Act 2006;
• R (KBR Inc) v Serious Fraud Office [2021] UKSC 2, concern whether the Serious Fraud Office could issue a notice pursuant to section 2(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 requiring a foreigner to produce material held overseas;
• R (Al-Siri) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 113, on whether an application for asylum should be dismissed on the basis that the claimant was a threat to national security under Article 33(2) of the Refugee Convention;
• R (Gladman Developments) v Ministry of Housing [2021] EWCA Civ 104, concerning the so-called ‘titled balance’ provisions in para. 11(d)(ii) of the National Planning Policy Framework;
• Carrington v Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2021] EWCA Civ 174, concerning whether the Revenue should be permitted to raise additional points of law on appeal to the Court of Appeal not raised pursuant to section 14 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 with the Tribunals below;
• R (Leech Homes) v Northumberland County Council [2021] EWCA Civ 198, concerning whether following a compulsory purchase acquisition land belonging to the claimant should be treated as though it was land to which green belt policies applied;
• R (Mozumder) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 138, related to a costs dispute in a judicial review;
• FD v A Local Authority [2021] EWCA Civ 149, on the sufficiency of reasons given by a trial judge related to whether a father had sexually abused his daughter;
• Pigot v Environment Agency [2021] EWCA Civ 213, concerning whether the claimant could sue the Environment Agency for nuisance and whether the Agency had a defence of statutory authority;
• R (Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 193, concerning the legality at common law of fees prescribed by the Home Secretary for the registration of foreign national children as citizens;
• R (Tomanovic) v Foreign and Commonwealth Office [2021] EWCA Civ 117, on whether the Court of Appeal should reopen a prior decision refusing permission to appeal on the papers related to an Article 2 and 3 HRA 1998 claim connected to killings and abductions in Kosovo;
• R (Children: Control of Court Documents) [2021] EWCA Civ 162, on whether the claimant, found to have been a paedophile who had committed rape against a child, should have access to the full unredacted judgment against him or whether only a summary should be provided on the basis that he may misuse the full judgment;
• R (AK) v London Borough of Islington [2021] EWHC 301 (Admin), related to whether the local authority had adequately assessed the claimant for her care needs following her discharge from hospital pursuant to s.117 of the Mental Health Act 1983;
• R (Amadu) v Essex County Council [2021] EWHC 256 (Admin),  a renewed application for permission to seek judicial review related to an age assessment conducted by the local authority;
• R (C1) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWHC 242 (Admin), a challenge related to the vires of Article 117(7) of the Immigration (Leave to Remain) Order 2000 under s.3B of the Immigration Act 1971;
• R (Gisagara) v Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) [2021] EWHC 300 (Admin), where the claimant sought permission to judicially review a decision of the Upper Tribunal on the basis of a conflict of authorities between the Court of Appeal and House of Lords;
• R (Good Law Project) v Secretary of State for Health [2021] EWHC 346 (Admin),  related to the Health Secretary’s failure to comply with procurement law and policy on coronavirus contracts;
• R (JS) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWHC 234 (Admin), related to the Family reunion: for refugees and those with humanitarian protection policy and paragraphs 352A to 352F of the Immigration Rules;
• R (Maxley) v High Speed 2 Limited [2021] EWHC 246 (Admin), a judicial review related to High Speed 2 Limited’s decision to remove the claimant from a tunnel owned by the company on the basis that he is a trespasser;
• R (Minott) v Cambridge City Council [2021] EWHC 211 (Admin), a challenge to Cambridge’s refusal to accept the claimant’s renewed homelessness application under the Housing Act 1996;
• Mohammad v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWHC 240 (Admin), on the Home Secretary’s failure to abide by an interim mandatory injunction to provide accommodation to the claimant;
• R (QSA) v National Police Chiefs’ Council [2021] EWHC 272 (Admin), on whether the retention of information on the Police National Computer related to the claimants’ historic convictions for loitering in a street for the purposes of prostitution violated Article 8 HRA 1998;
• JM and LF v Secretary of State for Home Department [2021] EWHC 266 (Admin),  related to the necessity and proportionality of terrorism prevention and investigation measures (TPIMs) imposed against two alleged members of Al-Muhajiroun;
• R (The Motherhood Plan) v Her Majesty’s Treasury [2021] EWHC 309 (Admin), on whether the Self Employment Income Support Scheme introduced via sections 71 and 76 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 was contrary to Article 14 and A1P1 of the HRA 1998 and whether the Treasury had breached the public sector equality duty (PSED) in s.149 of the Equality Act 2010;
• R (The 3 Million) v Minister for Cabinet Office [2021] EWHC 245 (Admin),  related to the compatibility of the registration arrangements for the May 2019 European Parliament elections with A3P1 of the HRA 1998 (free and fair elections) and whether these arrangements violated s.149 of the Equality Act 2010;
• Open Spaces Society v Secretary of State for Environment [2021] EWCA Civ 241, relating to, among other things, when a later enactment can be used as an aid to interpreting a previous enactment;
• R (SM) v Lord Chancellor [2021] EWHC 418 (Admin), on whether there was unlawful discrimination contrary to Article 14 HRA taken together with Articles 2, 3, 5 and 8 on the basis that migrants detained in prisons were not provided with the same legal advice given to those detained in immigration removal centres.

Parliamentary affairs:

• Alison Stanley CBE released an 18-month review of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) for the House of Commons, available here.
• The House of Commons Justice Committee held an evidence session related to Court Capacity: The Future of Legal Aid. Witnesses included Jane Russell (Employment Law Bar Association), Simon Mullings (Housing Law Practitioners Association), Chris Minnoch (Legal Aid Practitioners Group), and Ian Townley (Broudie Jackson Canter).
• The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee held an evidence session on the success of the UK’s vaccination strategy and programme for Covid-19, available here. Witnesses included Professor Anthony Harnden (Deputy Chair, Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and Professor of Primary Care, University of Oxford) and Professor Wendy Barclay (Head of the Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London).
• The Home Affairs Committee launched an updated call for evidence on the Windrush Compensation Scheme, available here.
• The Home Affairs Committee held an evidence session with the Home Secretary, available here.
• The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee held an evidence session on the Northern Ireland Protocol of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement, available here.
• The House of Commons Justice Select Committee held an evidence session with the Chair of the Sentencing Council, Holroyde LJ.
• The Ministerial and Other Maternity Allowances Bill 2021 continued to make its way through both Houses of Parliament.
• The Women and Equalities Committee held an evidence session on the operation of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
• The Science and Technology Committee held an evidence session on the easing of lockdown restrictions in England, available here.
• The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee held an evidence session on food insecurity related to Covid-19, available here.
• The Treasury Committee released a report entitled Economic impact of coronavirus: gaps in support and economic analysis.
• The Chairs of the Commons Procedure Committee, Petitions Committee and Backbench Business Committee wrote to the Leader of the House of Commons, calling for an extension of Westminster Hall debates in a Covid-secure manner.
• The Women and Equalities Committee released a report entitled Unequal impact? Coronavirus and the gendered economic impact.
• The Work and Pensions Committee held an evidence session on the Department for Work and Pensions’ preparation for long-term changes in the world of work, available here.
• The European Scrutiny Committee held an evidence session with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove MP, available here.
• The Work and Pensions Committee released a report entitled The temporary increase in Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit.
• The Education Committee held an evidence session on the underachievement of disadvantaged white students, available here.
• The Transport Committee held an evidence session on the impact of Covid-19 on the bus sector, available here.
• The Covid-19 Committee launched an inquiry into the long-term impact of coronavirus on wellbeing.
• The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee held an evidence session on the government’s use of data during the coronavirus pandemic.
• The Home Affairs Committee held an evidence session on the rise in domestic violence incidents during the coronavirus pandemic.

Devolved affairs:

• The Welsh Auditor General released a report on Welsh NHS governance during the coronavirus pandemic entitled Doing it Differently, Doing it Right?
• The Scottish Parliament’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee released a report on changes in practice and procedure at Holyrood during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Holyrood’s Finance Committee released a report on how Covid-19 had exacerbated existing structural inequalities among those on low and precarious incomes, available here.
• The Welsh Parliament held a pre-appointment hearing for the Welsh Commissioner for Standards, Douglas Bain.
• The Welsh Government released its Draft Budget for 2021-22.
• In response to advice from the Crown Office, the Scottish Parliament’s Committee on the Scottish Government’s Handling of Harassment Complaints declined to release an unredacted version of former First Minister, Alex Salmond’s, submission to the Committee related to how the Scottish Government dealt with a sexual complaint against him. Further details on the importance of this ongoing story are available via the BBC here.
• The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee released a critical report on the Education Authority and its work concerning special educational needs.
• The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Health Committee released a report into the impact of Covid-19 on care homes in Northern Ireland.

Ombuds affairs:

• The LGSCO determined that Leicestershire County Council should apologise and pay a teenager £7200 after it failed to make use of its powers via the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to compel an academy school to educate the teenager.
• The LGSCO determined that Cornwall County Council should review the alternative education arrangements of students who are unable to attend mainstream schools.
• The LGSCO determined that Newcastle City Council failed to provide adequate information to a father who had been accused of harming his children.
• The LGSCO determined that Cornwall County Wall had failed to provide adequate alternative arrangements after stopping a disabled woman’s care payments.
• The SPSO is recruiting a Head of Improvement, Standards and Engagement.
• The SPSO laid its conclusions in 34 complaints before the Scottish Parliament.
• The PSOW launched a consultation on its new draft Guidance on the Code of Conduct for members of County and Community/Town Councils.
• The PSOW determined that a cancer patient underwent unnecessary surgery after a misdiagnosis.
• The PSOW released an equality and human rights casebook focusing on the Articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
• The NIPSO called for greater clarity over the responsibilities of patients and their families on care home fees.
• The Housing Ombudsman released a quarterly insight report into its casework and activities, available here.
• The Housing Ombudsman released a report entitled Cold Comfort: Spotlight on complaints about heating, hot water and energy in social housing.
• The Housing Ombudsman released its February 2021 newsletter, available here.
• The Housing Ombudsman launched a recruitment process for its new Resident Panel, designed to enhance the voices of residents of social housing in its activities.
• Mariette Hughes was appointed as the new Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces.