A Local Authority considering closing a residential home did not have a duty to notify and consult with each resident who might be affected, but did have a duty to act fairly, and to give sufficiently prominent notice and sufficient time to allow residents to make representations and give their objections, and for these to be considered. Considering legitimate expectations: ‘Sometimes the phrase is used to denote a substantive right: an entitlement that the claimant asserts cannot be denied him . . various authorities show that the claimants right will only be found established when there is a clear and unambiguous representation upon which it was reasonable for him to rely. Then the administrator or other public body will be held bound in fairness by the representation made unless only its promise or undertaking as to how its power would be exercised is inconsistent with the statutory duties imposed upon it. The doctrine employed in this sense is akin to an estoppel. In so far as the public body’s representation is communicated by way of a stated policy, this type of legitimate expectation falls into two distinct sub categories: cases in which the authority are held entitled to change their policy even so as to effect the claimant, and those in which they are not.’
Judges:
Simon Brown LJ
Citations:
Ind Summary 22-Feb-1993, [1995] 1 All ER 73
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Approved – Cowl and others v Plymouth City Council Admn 14-Sep-2001
The applicants were residents of a nursing home run by the respondents, and sought judicial review of the decision to close it. Before making the decision, the council consulted the residents and concluded that none had been offered a ‘home for . .
Cited – Regina v Department of Education and Employment ex parte Begbie CA 20-Aug-1999
A statement made by a politician as to his intentions on a particular matter if elected could not create a legitimate expectation as regards the delivery of the promise after elected, even where the promise would directly affect individuals, and the . .
Cited – Regina on Application of Dinev and Others v Westminster City Council Admn 24-Oct-2000
Street artists had operated in Leicester Square for many years without either licenses or being prosecuted. The respondent introduced a scheme to regulate them, and the applicants sought to challenge it by way of judicial review, alleging a failure . .
Applied – Regina v London Borough of Islington ex parte East Admn 1996
The court considered the obligation on an authority to consult: ‘.. the precise demands of consultation .. there according to the circumstances .. The extent and method of consultation must depend on the circumstances. Underlying what is required . .
Cited – Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain v Charity Commission Admn 12-Dec-2014
The respondent had instigated a statutory inquiry under the 2011 Act into the claimant’s child safeguarding practices, and policies after compaints made to it. The Society now sought judicial review of that decision, and to production orders made to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Local Government, Administrative
Updated: 09 April 2022; Ref: scu.86536