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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 September 2020
Members of the senior judiciary have expressed concern about the ‘over-judicialisation’ of welfare in the context of homelessness decision-making and adjudication. This paper examines how those fears have been manifested and makes a link with the concept of proportionate dispute resolution (PDR). It argues that the statutory scheme incorporates elements of PDR and judges should therefore refrain from introducing additional layers. The courts’ denial of the application of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights to the homelessness context is disputed, and the paper makes the case for continuing rigorous judicial oversight of front-line decision-making, recommending that attention is focused on assessing procedural safeguards rather than disputing the ambit of Article 6.
I am extremely grateful to Professor Robert Thomas, Professor David Gurnham and Dr Jacob Eisler for their insightful comments on earlier drafts. I also thank the journal's anonymous reviewers for their valuable input. All errors remain my own.
1 Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
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5 Public Health England Guidance Homelessness: Applying All Our Health, 2 November 2018.
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7 Holmes-Moorhouse v Richmond-upon-Thames London Borough Council [2009] UKHL 7 at [50] per Lord Neuberger.
8 Department for Constitutional Affairs Transforming Public Services: Complaints, Redress and Tribunals Cm 6243 (July 2004) para 2.2.
9 Ministry of Justice Administrative Justice and Tribunals: Final Report of Progress against the Strategic Work Programme 2013–2016, Cm 9319 (March 2017) p 3.
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11 House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee Oversight of Administrative Justice Written Evidence – Evidence submitted by the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, p 20.
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25 Housing Act 1996, s 182.
26 Care Act 2014.
27 Children Act 1989, ss 17 and 20. See also duties under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000.
28 Equality Act 2010, ss 4, 13, 19 and 149.
29 Housing Act 1996, s 189.
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32 Housing Act 1996, ss 206 and 208.
33 Housing Act 1996, s 198.
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37 cf Nzolameso v Westminster City Council [2015] UKSC 22.
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39 Department for Constitutional Affairs Transforming Public Services: Complaints, Redress and Tribunals Cm 6243 (July 2004) para 2.2. Lord Woolf employed the concept of proportionality in his report into civil justice: Lord Woolf Access to Justice: Interim Report (Lord Chancellor's Department, 1995) and Lord Woolf Access to Justice: Final Report (Lord Chancellor's Department, 1996).
40 DCA, above n 39, para 1.7.
41 Ibid, para 10.3.
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43 Ibid, p 5.
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51 Housing Act 1996, ss 202–204.
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53 Ibid, para 1.11.
54 Puhlhofer v Hillingdon London Borough Council [1986] AC 484 at 518.
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56 Ibid, at 510.
57 Law Commission, above n 52, para 2.24.
58 Council on Tribunals Annual Reports 1989/90 cited in Law Commission, above n 52, para 2.18.
59 Law Commission, above n 52, para 2.25.
60 Housing Act 1996, ss 202 and 203 and the Homelessness (Review Procedure etc) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/223 which replace the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Review Procedures) Regulations 1999, SI 1999/71.
61 Ibid, reg 5(3).
62 Housing Act 1996, s 204.
63 Danesh v Kensington and Chelsea [2006] EWCA Civ 1404 at [30] per Lord Neuberger.
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72 Thomas and Tomlinson, above n 65, at 537.
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74 Ibid.
75 Thomas and Tomlinson, above n 65, at 538.
76 Ibid.
77 Immigration Act 2014, s 15 substituting Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, s 82.
78 Home Office Impact Assessment of Reforming Immigration Appeal Rights (TSO, 2013) p 2.
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83 Luba, above n 80, at 91.
84 Live tables on homelessness, above n 82.
85 720 county court appeals divided by 15,470 rejected applications.
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91 Housing Act 1996, s 203(4).
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94 Hoffmann LJ dissented.
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99 See also Ibrahim v Wandsworth London Borough Council [2013] EWCA Civ 20, [2013] HLR 15.
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114 Halliday, above n 112, at 457.
115 Homelessness Act 2002, ss 1–3.
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120 Ibid, at [38].
121 Ibid, at [41].
122 Local Government Ombudsman, above n 104. See also eg LGO Decision 09 001 262.
123 P Niner Homelessness in Nine Local Authorities: Case Studies of Policy and Practice (HMSO, 1989) cited in Alden, above n 111.
124 Halliday, above n 112, at 456.
125 Nabi, above n 117, at 110.
126 B Rashleigh ‘Keeping the numbers down’ (2005) ROOF cited in Alden, above n 111.
127 Alden, above n 111.
128 National Audit Office Financial Sustainability of Local Authorities HC 834 Session 2017–19 8 March 2018.
129 Alden, above n 111, at 938.
130 Ibid, at 936.
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139 Ibid, at [79].
140 Hackney London Borough Council v Haque [2017] EWCA Civ 4, [2017] HLR 14 at [8]–[9].
141 Luba HHJ QC.
142 Haque, above n 140, at [51].
143 Wendy Lomax v Gosport Borough Council [2018] EWCA Civ 1846 at [48]–[50].
144 The local authority must discharge its functions ‘having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’: Children Act 1989, s 11(2).
145 Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012, SI 2012/2601, art 2.
146 Nzolameso v Westminster City Council [2015] UKSC 22, [2015] HLR 22.
147 Ibid, at [36]–[37].
148 Ibid, at [35].
149 Ibid, at [21].
150 Ibid, at [35].
151 Konig v Federal Republic of Germany (1978) 2 EHRR 170; Bentham v The Netherlands (1985) 8 EHRR 1; Bryan v United Kingdom (1995) 21 EHRR 342; Albert v Belgium (1983) 5 EHRR 533.
152 Runa Begum, above n 4, at [6].
153 Ibid, at [4].
154 Ibid.
155 Ali v Birmingham City Council [2010] UKSC 8, [2010] HLR 22.
156 Salesi v Italy (1998) 26 EHRR 187.
157 Ali, above n 155, at [49].
158 Ibid, at [5].
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161 Poshteh v Kensington & Chelsea Royal London Borough Council [2017] UKSC 36, [2017] HLR 28.
162 Ibid, at [33].
163 Ali, above 73, at [77].
164 Ibid, at [85].
165 Ibid, at [85].
166 Ibid, at [79] and [82].
167 The Homelessness (Review Procedure etc) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/223, regs 5(3) and 8(2)(b).
168 S Nield ‘Clash of the titans: Article 8, occupiers and their home’ in S Bright (ed) Modern Studies in Property Law Vol 6 (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2011).
169 Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2010] UKSC 45, [2011] 2 AC 10; Hounslow London Borough Council v Powell [2011] UKSC 8, [2011] 2 AC 186.
170 Thomas and Tomlinson, above n 65.
171 Ali, above n 155, at [4].
172 Thomas and Tomlinson, above n 65, at 542.
173 Ali, above n 155, at [4].
174 Immigration Act 2014, s 15 substituting Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, s 82.
175 Care Act 2014, s 72.
176 MoJ, above n 9, p 17.
177 The Special Educational Needs and Disability (First-tier Tribunal Recommendations Power) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/1306.
178 Which undertake a judicial function; Department for Education School Admission Appeals Code Statutory Guidance for School Leaders, Governing Bodies and Local Authorities (February 2012) section 1.2.
180 R (on the application of Cart) v Upper Tribunal [2011] UKSC 28, [2012] 1 AC 663; Eba v Advocate General for Scotland [2011] UKSC 29, [2012] 1 AC 710.
181 Laurie, above n 44.
182 Elliott and Thomas, above n 45, at 314.
183 Cart, above n 180, at [30].
184 Ibid, at [42]–[43].
185 Ibid, at [130].
186 Ras Behari Lal v King-Emperor (1933) 60 IA 354 at 361 cited in R (on the application of C) v The Upper Tribunal [2010] EWCA Civ 859, [2011] 2 WLR 36 at [34] per Sedley LJ giving the judgment of the court.
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189 Ibid, s 3(5).
190 Ibid, s 2.
191 Public Health England Guidance Homelessness: Applying All Our Health 2 November 2018.
192 Office for National Statistics Deaths of Homeless People in England and Wales – Local Authority Estimates: 2013 to 2017 Statistical Bulletin, 25 February 2019, p 2.
193 Thomas, above n 103, p 26.
194 Ali, above n 155, at [5].
