Closure of residential care facilities not unlawful (R (AB) v Slough Borough Council)

Article summary

Local Government analysis: In this case, the court held that—(a) the consultation that preceded the closure of certain care facilities in Slough was not unlawful, and (b) that the decision did not fail to take into account relevant considerations. This decision provides an example of how local authorities can approach the restructuring of their services without breaching public law principles. In this case, the consultation was conducted at a formative stage even though the local authority may have had a preferred option and sufficient reasons were provided that allowed intelligent consideration and response. Furthermore, while the local authority did not consider the needs of service users as part of its decision-making process, there was no requirement that before a local authority changes the way it delivers services provided to many people it has to assess the needs of each service user and match those needs to available alternative service providers. Written by Justin Leslie, associate barrister at Bevan...