Barnet considers warden ruling appeal
A London council which was ruled to have acted unlawfully when it planned to end its resident warden service is applying for leave to appeal the decision.
Barnet council had planned to replace its resident warden service in several sheltered housing schemes with visiting support and an alarm service.
However Judge Milwyn Jarman said in a December judicial review ruling that it had acted unlawfully.
The council was criticised for not showing that all members of the council fully understood their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act. Its leader, Lynne Hillan, said: ‘We are obviously respectful of the judge’s comments but the judgment has such a potentially wide ranging impact on the way councils do business that we have no alternative but to keep the option of an appeal open.’
The council is now applying for leave to appeal the judicial review decision.
Solicitor Yvonne Hossack, who brought the case against Barnet, said she had been contacted by many more elderly people whose resident warden services were under threat. She said: ‘The problem has not gone away.’
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Readers' comments (5)
Peter | 26/01/2010 10:49 am
Barnet Council's concern of the comments made by Judge would have cause 'wide ranging impact on the way councils do business,' isn't that what the Judge is concerned with? Clearly the Councillors in Barnet had failed to understand their actions in trying to rail road this scheme through without proper consultant or the concerns of the people who are going to be affected.
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Vernony | 28/01/2010 10:49 am
Perhaps the residents and council tax payers of Barnet may wish to reflect on the actions of of Barnet council. What it amounts to is that the Barnet council wish to use other people's money to fight a case so, if they win, they can ultimately reduce care for the elderly in their borough.
As you are now
So were we
As we are now
So will you be
I.E. everybody in Barnet will be the elderly citizens of the future and when that day arrives, it will be to find that 'in their name' some of the care they feel they are entitled to, and which others enjoyed in the past, no longer exists.
Sincerely
Vernon J Yarker
Chairman
The Sheltered Housing UK Association
www.shelteredhousinguk.com
mailbox@shelteredhousinguk.com
twitter.com/shukassociation
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Joe Halewood | 28/01/2010 12:00 pm
The words of the council leader are very interesting: - "...but the judgment has such a potentially wide ranging impact on the way councils do business that we have no alternative but to keep the option of an appeal open"
The wide ranging impact on the "we have always done it this way" is seemingly what the council is objecting to. The implication is that the judge has not considered what this means for the council in other areas of their business and that - God forbid - councils are not the be all and end all of everything and cant get their own way all the time!
This makes the judgment all the more appealling to me - the fact that councils can be brought to task and are not above the law. They cant get away with 'nonsultations' and crass easyjet-style provision and THEY have to change just like any other business does. More importantly they cant ride roughshod over the needs of and at the expense of vulnerable people.
At the moment it seems Barnet are applying for permission to appeal and not appealing the judgment yet. Im reasonably sure that if such permission is granted to appeal they can only appeal on a point of law (that the judge made an error in law or its application) and not on the impact this judgment has on other areas of its operations such as DDA implications in other areas.
What this judgment has done is make all other councils look at all similar decisions they have made or proposing to make in terms of DDA and consultation / nonsultation and that is the real benefit of this seminal judgment to tenants, sheltered housing and supported housing.
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Norman Adams | 29/01/2010 1:46 pm
Both Portsmouth and Barnet have withdrawn their appeals against the Judicial Reviews.
The Parliamentary Select Committee are due to publish their findings into their review of Sheltered Housing on the 29th January and it will be in the public domain on the 30th January.
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Joe Halewood | 29/01/2010 8:20 pm
Heres the report link below:
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snsp-05197.pdf
And on one cursory reading its a farce
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