Hunt v North Somerset Council

Summary

Trinity Term
[2015] UKSC 51
On appeal from: [2013] EWCA Civ 1320

JUDGMENT

Hunt (Appellant) v North Somerset Council (Respondent)

before

Lady Hale, Deputy President
Lord Wilson
Lord Reed
Lord Hughes
Lord Toulson

JUDGMENT GIVEN ON

Heard on 29 April 2015

Appellant
David Wolfe QC
Aileen McColgan
(Instructed by Public Interest Lawyers)

Respondent
Nigel Giffin QC
Jane Oldham
(Instructed by North Somerset Legal Services)

LORD TOULSON: (with whom Lady Hale, Lord Wilson, Lord Reed and Lord Hughes agree)

The appellant brought a claim for judicial review of a decision of the respondent, on 21 February 2012, to approve a Revenue Budget for 2012/13 in relation to the provision of youth services. In his claim form he applied for declarations that the respondent had failed to comply with section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and section 507B of the Education Act 1996 and for an order quashing the decision to approve the budget.

The claim was dismissed at first instance (Wyn Williams J) and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs, subject to a proviso against enforcement of the order without further permission of the court. He obtained limited permission to appeal on two grounds. The Court of Appeal (Moore-Bick, Rimer and Underhill LJJ) decided the two substantive issues in his favour but did not grant him any relief, dismissed his appeal and ordered him to pay half of the respondent's costs of the appeal. This appeal is about the form of the Court of Appeal's disposal of the matter. The appellant submits that since the court held that the respondent had failed in its statutory obligations, it should have made a declaration to that effect and should have made an order for costs in his favour.

The underlying facts and issues are set out in the very thorough judgment of Wyn Williams J, [2012] EWHC 1928 (Admin), and recapitulated, so far as was necessary, in the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered by Rimer LJ, [2013] EWCA Civ 1320. For present purposes a briefer outline will be sufficient.

The appellant was born on 17 April 1991. He suffers from ADHD and has other difficulties. He was therefore a "qualifying young person" within the meaning of section 507B of the 1996 Act, which required the respondent, so far as reasonably practicable, to secure access for him to sufficient educational and recreational leisure-time activities for the improvement of his well-being. Section 507B(9)(b) required the respondent in exercising its functions under that section to "secure that the views of qualifying young persons in the authority's area are taken into account".

The appellant's disability was also a protected characteristic which brought into play, in relation to him, the public sector equality duty ("PSED") contained in section 149 of the 2010 Act. The section required the respondent to "have due regard" to the statutory equality needs in the exercise of its functions.

By its decision on 21 February 2012 the respondent approved a reduction in its youth…