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1/13 SEND families will know how important it is to be able to hold local authorities to account, because they spend half their life doing just that. No one wants to do it. Its awful and stressful and people put their lives on hold to do it. https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/judicial-review-regime-fit-for-purpose-local-government-lawyers/5106432.article
2/13 That's why this review of judicial review is so concerning. There are plenty of things wrong with JR - it is inaccessible both financially and in terms of public understanding, it is a long and stressful process and it is hard to succeed in.
3/13 But these problems aren't fuelling the government's drive toward reforming JR. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/feb/11/what-is-judicial-review-and-why-doesnt-the-government-like-it
4/13 The intent is instead to change the very nature of how they, and their functionaries, are held to account. JR is the most direct and effective way that an individual can do this. https://inews.co.uk/news/boris-johnson-expected-curb-judicial-review-constitutional-reforms-386812
5/13 So, for SEND families, this could mean changing when you can ask a court to intervene for you individually, or to intervene in government decision making that could make our society less inclusive for children with SEND generally.
https://publiclawproject.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/data/resources/153/40108-Guide-to-Strategic-Litigation-linked-final_1_8_2016.pdf
https://publiclawproject.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/data/resources/153/40108-Guide-to-Strategic-Litigation-linked-final_1_8_2016.pdf
6/13 This is particularly frustrating as this government have gutted local government funding. And that's what much of this is about - stopping the courts from embarrassing the government when they make laws that look good, but aren't actually followed. https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/latest-send-tribunal-figures-paint-a-troubling-picture/
7/13 For example - all the great sounding rules around SEND provision that then don't come with any funding. So local authorities end up refusing or frustrating provision that the law says you are entitled. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/send-campaigners-lose-high-court-case-against-government-funding-cuts/
8/13 That is simply bad government, and the law should be able to step in and protect SEND learners from decisions that turn their rights from something productive, to something entirely tokenistic. https://www.lag.org.uk/article/203689/no-surprises--ndash--gatekeeping
9/13 So, to the point at last. Local government lawyers themselves have responded to say that the regime as it stands is "fit for purpose" and a vital tool for oversight. This is good - from the horses mouth as it were. https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/judicial-review-regime-fit-for-purpose-local-government-lawyers/5106432.article
10/13 This is why its so concerning that the review itself appears to be tilted to reach the conclusion the government want. This isn't just dry procedural wordplay, it could impact how every person in the country can hold their public bodies to account. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53612232
11/13 It is not an exaggeration to say that, for some people, this is life and death. And for many others it will be decisions that can change the direction of their whole lives - in education, immigration, incarceration, health, policing and many more.
12/13 Remember, even where the courts aren't involved, the government provides guidance to civil servants called "The Judge Over Your Shoulder", to explain the legal framework and to ensure decisions are made properly. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/judge-over-your-shoulder
13/13 It's in none of our interests for that shoulder judge to disappear. SEND families know as well as anyone that the right laws are only half the battle. Sometimes you need a big legal stick to give them any meaning.
