Biden v Waverley Borough Council

Court of Appeal: Macur, Asplin and Coulson LJJ, [2022] EWCA Civ 442, 1 April 2022

The Court of Appeal dismissed the claimant’s appeal against the dismissal of her claim that the respondent authority had breached the PSED by failing to make the inquiries the claimant deemed necessary on matters relating to the incidence of gender reassignment hate crime in the area of the accommodation offered to the claimant with the assistance of  an LGBT liaison officer, rather than a police support community officer. Continue reading

SM (a child, by his father and litigation friend) and another v Hackney LBC

Queen’s Bench Division (Planning Court): Kerr J, [2021] EWHC 3294 (Admin), 7 December 2021

This was an unsuccessful challenge under Articles 8 and 14 and s149 EqA (the PSED) to experimental traffic orders (ETOs) made by the respondent which took effect from 9 November 2020. The applicants complained that they are severely prejudiced by increased car journey times to and from their school. The challenge was brought under paragraph 35, Part VI, Schedule 9 to the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 rather than by way of judicial review, and so did not require permission, but Kerr J pointed out at §4 that the same principles applied. He expressed sympathy for the applicants who he accepted had been disadvantaged by the ETOs but upheld them as proportionate measures in pursuit of legitimate aims of reducing congestion, improving air quality, road safety and accessibility, encouraging active travel to school and social distancing (applying R (SC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 26, [2021] 3 WLR 428 [and see earlier blog]. He rejected the PSED claim on the basis that, taken in the round, the respondent had taken sufficient steps to comply with the duty of due regard.

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