In BP v Surrey County Council (2020) EWCOP 17 a care home had acted lawfully in suspending all family visits during the coronavirus pandemic. It was necessary and proportionate to derogate from ECHR Articles 5 and 8. Considering alternative means of contact and communication was imperative. An appropriate balance had been struck.
In Sawkill v HighWays England (2020) EWHC 801 (Admin) the Claimant sought judicial review of a decision by the defendant highway authority to seek to use its power under Section 172 of the Highways and Planning Act 2016to enter onto his land to carry out a survey in connection with a Development Consent Order (DCO). The claim failed. The authority could choose that general power and was not confined to the specific provisions of Section 53 of the Planning Act 2008 in connection with DCOs.
In R (Drexler) v Leicestershire County Council (2020) EWCA 502 the Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed am appeal against a Judgment of Swift J dismissing an ECHR challenge to a Council Cabinet decision to amend its SEN Home to School/College Transport Policy. Swift J did not (para75) err in applying the “manifestly without reasonable foundation” test or a conventional proportionality test. The issue was as to alleged unlawful age discrimination, contrary to Article 14 of the ECHR.
Following on the Elections scheduled for 7 May this year being postponed by 12 months until 6 May next year, the Local Government (Postponement of Elections and Referendums) ( England and Wales) Regulations 2020, S.I. 2020/395, pursuant to Sections 61 and 63 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, contain detailed provisions that specified local elections and referendums that would otherwise be required before 5 May 2021 are postponed until 6 May 2021. The specified local elections are those to fill “casual vacancies” in local authority and other bodies, including “local by-elections” under Section 89 of the Local Government Act 1972. The specified referendums include those relating to governance changes and neighbourhood planning.
In Packham v SOS for Transport (2020) EWHC 829 (Admin) a Divisional Court said that:
(1) When dealing matters depending essentially upon political judgment, matters of national economic policy and the like, the Court will interfere on grounds only of bad faith, improper notice or manifest absurdity : para 55; and
(2) Whether there is a failure to take into account a relevant consideration that the decision maker is obliged to take into account has nothing to do with the different question of whether a decision is vitiated by error of fact : the two should not be eluded or confused : para 51.
The House of Lords EU Internal Market Sub-Committee record that the Government lacks a clear understanding of what State Aid provisions it signed up to in the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, that the details of its subsidy control regime remain unknown, and that the role of the CMA in the future subsidy control framework remains uncertain.
R (McKeown) v Islington LBC (2020) EWHC 779 (Admin) quashes a refusal by the Council of Disabled Facilities Grant under the Housing Grants etc Act 1996. An application by a council tenant must be treated on the same basis as an application by an owner occupier. It is irrelevant whether the accommodation is suitable for a disabled person.
Explanatory Notes to S.I. 2020/392 state :
It will be possible to make secondary legislation to bring forward the end date of 7 May 2021 “ if social distancing rules are relaxed or removed on the basis of medical and scientific advice”: para 3.4.
The Government does not intend to issue Guidance : para 11.1
The Local Authorities etc (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Meetings) ( England and Wales) Regulations 2020, S.I. 2020/392 contain 4 Parts. Part 1, Regs 1-3, is General. It and Part 4, Police and Crime Panels, apply to England and Wales. Parts 2 and 3 apply to England only. Part 2 relates to Remote Attendance and consists of Regs 4&5. Part 3 relates to Modification of Meetings and Public Access Requirements. It consists of Regs 6-17. The Regs apply to Meetings that are required to be held, or held, before 7 May next year. Reg 3 relates to Interpretation, including “local authority” and “local authority meeting”.