NS -v- London Borough of Lambeth (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2023-LON-003411

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

30 November 2023

Before:

Dan Kolinsky KC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge

Between:

The King on the application of
NS

-v-

London Borough of Lambeth

Order

Notification of the Judge’s decision on the application for permission to apply for judicial review (CPR 54.11, 54.12)
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant and the Acknowledgement of service filed by the Defendant

ORDER by Dan Kolinsky KC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge

  1. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is granted.
  2. The application is to be listed for 1 day; the parties to provide a written time estimate within 7 days of service of this order if they disagree with this direction.
  3. Identification of the Claimant is prohibited, pursuant to CPR r.39.2, and the Claimant is to be known as “NS” throughout these proceedings. Pursuant to CPR 39.2 there shall be no publication of the name or address of the Claimant or any particulars of the case likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant without the leave of the court.
  4. The proceedings shall be known as R (NS) v London Borough of Lambeth.
  5. There be substituted for all purposes in this case, in place of references to the Claimant by name, and whether orally or in writing, references to NS.
  6. So far as any document to which any person might have access pursuant to CPR Rules 5.4A-D at any time does not comply with the above, the Claimant’s solicitor has leave to file with the Court copies of such documents adjusted so as to comply. Such copies are to be treated for all purposes as being in substitution for the relevant originals.
  7. Pursuant to CPR Rules 5.4C and 5.4D, a person who is not a party to the proceedings may not obtain a copy of a statement of case, judgment, order or other document from the Court records without the permission of a Judge and unless the document has been anonymised in accordance with the direction above.
  8. An application to obtain a document as above must be made on notice to the Claimant and other parties (the Court will effect service).
  9. An application to set aside or vary paras 3-8 of the order may be made on notice to all parties.
  10. The Claimant has permission to rely on the witness statement contained in the bundle (as requested in para 4 of the statement of facts and grounds).

Observations

  1. I am satisfied that the grounds of claim are arguable.
  2. The Defendant has sensibly accepted that ground 1 passes the permission threshold and indicated that issues relating to the form of relief are matters for a substantive hearing.
  3. I consider that there is sufficient force in ground 2 for it to be granted permission. Any issues as to the extent to which members of the Claimant’s family have the protected characteristics of disability under the Equality Act 2010 can be considered at the substantive hearing. I consider that the grounds of challenge (paras 34-44 and 50) raise arguable points as to whether the Defendant’s duties under s.149 of the Equality Act have been complied with in respect of its macro (operational) and micro (case specific) functions.
  4. I grant anonymity as I accept that it is appropriate to do so for the reasons encapsulated in para 3 of the statements of facts and grounds.
  5. I am satisfied that it is appropriate for the Claimant to rely on the Claimant’s witness statement in the form that it has been included in the bundle.

Case Management Directions

  1. The Defendant and any other person served with the Claim Form who wishes to contest the claim or support it on additional grounds shall, within 35 days of the date of service of this Order, file and serve (a) Detailed Grounds for contesting the claim or supporting it on additional grounds, and (b) any written evidence that is to be relied on. For the avoidance of doubt, a party who has filed and served Summary Grounds pursuant to CPR 54.8 may comply with (a) above by filing and serving a document which states that those Summary Grounds shall stand as the Detailed Grounds required by CPR 54.14.
  2. Any application by the Claimant to serve evidence in reply shall be filed and served within 21 days of the date on which the Defendant serves evidence pursuant to 1(b) above.
  3. The parties shall agree the contents of the hearing bundle and must file it with the Court not less than 4 weeks before the date of the hearing of the judicial review. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared and lodged in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall, if requested by the Court lodge 2 hard-copy versions of the hearing bundle.
  4. The Claimant must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than 21 days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
  5. The Defendant and any Interested Party must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than 14 days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
  6. The parties shall agree the contents of a bundle containing the authorities to be referred to at the hearing. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall if requested by the Court, prepare a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle. The electronic version of the bundle and if requested, the hard copy version of the bundle, shall be lodged with the Court not less than [3] days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.