Vo and Others v Secretary of State for Justice
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Mrs Justice Thirlwall |
| Judgment Date | 08 April 2016 |
| Neutral Citation | [2016] EWHC 1211 (Admin) |
| Docket Number | CO/6507/2015; CO/6508/2015; CO/6489/2015; CO/6514/2015 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court) |
| Date | 08 April 2016 |
[2016] EWHC 1211 (Admin)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London WC2A 2LL
Mrs Justice Thirlwall
CO/6507/2015; CO/6508/2015; CO/6489/2015; CO/6514/2015
Ms Stephanie Harrison QC (hearing only) and Mr G O'Ceallaigh appeared on behalf of the Claimants
Mr T Poole (instructed by the Government Legal Department) appeared on behalf of the Defendant
These are four renewed applications for permission to claim judicial review. Jay J ordered that the four applications be linked on 22 December 2015, and they were put before the single judge who considered the papers and refused permission in all four cases on 4 March this year. I heard extensive argument from Ms Harrison QC who appears on behalf of all 4 claimants, and from Mr Poole, who represented the Secretary of State.
The claimants seek judicial review on 5 grounds. The grounds and other documents in support are discursive. I have not dealt with all the arguments but concentrated on those issues that I needed to determine in order to decide arguability. In short, I give permission on grounds 1, 3 and both limbs of ground 5. I refuse permission on grounds 2 and 4. These are my reasons.
The background
At the beginning of proceedings, all four claimants were in immigration detention. All four have served prison sentences in the United Kingdom for offences committed here. The focus of these claims for judicial review is upon the lawfulness of the system operated by the Secretary of State for providing accommodation under section 4(1)(c) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to people released on bail from immigration detention.
Since proceedings began, one claimant, Mr Ali, has been released on bail. The precise circumstances of his release are unclear. It occurred one day after the Secretary of State had successfully opposed his bail application before the First-tier Tribunal. At the time of the application before the First-tier Tribunal, the Secretary of State had offered section 4 accommodation to Mr Ali, but it appears that the accommodation was not available when he was released, and he was released to another address that had earlier been available to him but which was no longer available. I was told that he is now street homeless but complying with bail conditions.
Section 4(1) reads as follows:
"The Secretary of State may provide, or arrange for the provision of, facilities for the accommodation of persons…
(c) released on bail from detention under any provision of the Immigration Acts."
It is accepted that section 4(1)(c) does not confer a duty. It is a power. It is accepted by the Secretary of State that she should use reasonable endeavours to secure accommodation. In this case the Secretary of State has not refused to provide accommodation (a refusal may be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal). On the contrary, she has accepted the applications and it is her case that she is using reasonable endeavours to secure the provision of accommodation. It is common ground that there have been delays in bringing the applications for accommodation to a conclusion. The overall delay from application to the hearing is now up to 18 months. The significance of the length of the delays is a matter in issue between the parties. The Secretary of State does not suggest that there has not been delay; not all of the delay is yet explained. At least one period is said to be the result of oversight. Some of the delay is said to be the result of maladministration.
The report of Bail for Immigration Detainees ("BID"), a well known organisation which intervened in an earlier case to which I shall turn in a moment, makes clear that in many cases accommodation is provided without prolonged delay or great difficulty but there is an increasing problem for those...
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