R v Wandsworth London Borough Council, ex parte Beckwith
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | Lord Goff of Chieveley,Lord Griffiths,Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle,Lord Browne-Wilkinson,Lord Hoffmann |
| Judgment Date | 14 December 1995 |
| Judgment citation (vLex) | [1995] UKHL J1214-1 |
| Date | 14 December 1995 |
| Court | House of Lords |
[1995] UKHL J1214-1
Lord Goff of Chieveley
Lord Griffiths
Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle
Lord Browne-Wilkinson
Lord Hoffmann
House of Lords
OPINIONS OF THE LORDS OF APPEAL FOR JUDGMENT IN THE CAUSE
My Lords,
I have had the advantage of reading in draft the speech of my noble and learned friend Lord Hoffmann. For the reasons he gives I too would dismiss this appeal.
My Lords,
I have had the advantage of reading in draft the speech of my noble and learned friend Lord Hoffmann. For the reasons he gives I too would dismiss this appeal.
My Lords,
I have had the advantage of reading in draft the speech of my noble and learned friend Lord Hoffmann. For the reasons he gives I too would dismiss this appeal.
My Lords,
For the reasons given in the speech of my noble and learned friend Lord Hoffmann. I too would dismiss the appeal.
My Lords,
The appellant Mr. Beckwith is 75. He lives in George Potter House in Battersea High Street. This is one of four homes for the elderly in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The borough council, which is respondent to this appeal, has a statutory duty to make arrangements for providing residential accommodation for old people in need of care and attention. Until recently the council managed the four homes itself. But on 7 December 1994 it decided to transfer the other three homes into private ownership, subject to arrangements for their continued use as homes for the elderly, and to close down George Potter House altogether. Mr. Beckwith objected. He applied for judicial review on the ground that the council was under a legal duty to maintain some accommodation for the elderly in premises under its own management. Popplewell J. accepted this submission and quashed the council's decision. Potts J. quashed a later decision to the same effect. The Court of Appeal disagreed. It held that the council was entitled to discharge its statutory duty entirely by means of arrangements made with third parties. Mr. Beckwith now appeals to this House.
My Lords, the appeal turns on a very short point of construction on sections 21 and 26 of the National Assistance Act 1948. These sections have been amended a number of times, most recently by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 and the Community Care (Residential Accommodation) Act 1992. These amendments came into force on 1 April 1993 and in consequence the relevant provisions of the two sections now read as follows:
"21(1) Subject to and in accordance with this Part of this Act, a local authority may with the approval of the Secretary of State, and to such extent as he may direct, shall make arrangements for providing -
( a) residential accommodation for persons aged 18 or over who by reason of age, illness, disability, or any other circumstances are in need of care and attention which is not otherwise available to them; and
( aa) residential accommodation for expectant and nursing mothers who are in need of care and attention which is not otherwise available to them.
(4) Subject to the provisions of section 26 of this Act, accommodation provided by a local authority in the exercise of their functions under this section shall be provided in premises managed by the authority or to such extent as may be determined in accordance with the arrangements under this section, in such premises managed by another local authority as may be agreed between the two authorities and on such terms, including terms as to the reimbursement of expenditure incurred by the said other authority, as may be so agreed.
26(1) … [A]rrangements under section 21 of this Act may include arrangements made with a voluntary organisation or with any other person who is not a local authority where -
( a) that organisation or person manages premises which provide for reward accommodation falling within subsection 1(a) or ( aa) of that section, and
( b) the arrangements are for the provision of such accommodation in those premises."
By Local Authority Circular LAC(93)10, which came into force on the same date as the amendments to the Act, the Secretary of State directed local authorities to:
"make arrangements under section 21(1)( a) of the Act in relation to persons who are...
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