SK -v- Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (anonymity order)
Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order
Case number: AC-2023-LON-003801
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court
12 January 2024
Before:
The Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE
Between:
The King on the application of
SK
-v-
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
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 Acknowledgment of service filed by the Defendant;
Order by the Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE
1. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is granted on Ground 2.
2. The application for permission to apply for judicial review on Ground 1 is adjourned to be heard on the same occasion as the substantive hearing on Ground 2. If permission is granted on Ground 1, the Court will proceed to hear the substantive claim on the same occasion.
3. The hearing is to be expedited so as to be heard in the week commencing 22 January 2024, with a time estimate of 1 day, having regard to the availability of counsel.
4. No later than 16 January 2024, the Claimant do file and serve her proposed amendments to Ground 1, and file at Court a copy of the Defendant’s Housing Needs Assessment and Personalised Housing Plan which was drawn up in November 2023.
5. No later than 16 January 2024, the Claimant shall lodge two hard copies of the hearing bundle at the Administrative Court Office.
6. No later than 16 January 2024, the Claimant shall file and serve a skeleton argument, together with a Claimant’s bundle of authorities relied upon. The electronic version of the authorities bundle shall be prepared by the Claimant in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The Claimant must also lodge two hard-copy versions of her authorities bundle at the Administrative Court Office.
7. No later than 19 January 2024, the Defendant do file and serve its proposed amendments to Ground 1 in its Summary Grounds of Defence.
8. No later than 19 January 2024, the Defendant shall file and serve a skeleton argument, together with a Defendant’s bundle of any authorities relied upon. The electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared by the Defendant in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The Defendant must also lodge two hard-copy versions of its authorities bundle at the Administrative Court Office.
9. Pursuant to CPR r.39.2, in any report of these proceedings, there shall be no publication of the name and address of the Claimant, nor any other particulars likely to lead to her identification. In the proceedings, the Claimant shall be anonymised and referred to as “SK”. The Claimant’s children shall be anonymised and referred to as GZ, HZ, JZ and KZ.
10. No later than 16 January 2024, the Claimant’s solicitors shall file with the Court copies of case documents which have been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant and her children, in accordance with paragraph 9 above.
11. Non-parties may not obtain any documents from the court file which have not been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant and her children, in accordance with paragraph 9 above.
12. Costs in the case.
Observations
1. The claim, which relates to housing, should ideally be heard prior to the care proceedings listed for hearing in the Family Court in the week commencing 29 January 2024. Therefore it has been expedited for hearing in the week commencing 22 January 2024. I note that the claim was filed on 6 December 2023, but owing to administrative failures, it has not been processed as swiftly as it should have been.
2. I do not consider it is feasible to list the Claimant’s other claim (R(XZ) v Frimley Integrated Care Board AC-2023-LON-003437) on the same occasion. There will be insufficient time to hear both claims in one day.
3. Although the Defendant’s Housing Needs Assessment and Personalised Housing Plan was drawn up in November 2023, it was not made available to the Claimant until 19 December 2023. Because of this failure by the Defendant, and the importance of this issue to the Claimant, I have granted the Claimant permission to amend her Statement of Facts and Grounds and adjourned the permission application on Ground 1 to be heard at the substantive hearing on Ground 2. I have also made provision for the Defendant to amend its Summary Grounds of Defence.
4. I have granted permission on Ground 2, in the light of the concessions made by the Defendant in the Summary Grounds of Defence.
5. I have granted an anonymity order because the claim concerns children. The Claimant is the mother of the children and therefore her identity cannot be disclosed without revealing the identity of the children. In the circumstances, a departure from the general principle of open justice is justified.