MS, R (on the application of) v Manchester City Council

FORDHAM J: Open Justice 1. In this case the parties are agreed as to the Order which the Court should make. I am making an Order in those agreed terms. The Order involves the discontinuance of the claim for judicial review. I have not determined any substantive issue. But I am taking the same course which I took in R (BN) v Hounslow LBC [2023] EWHC 3083 (Admin) , for the same reasons (see §1). I am satisfied that it is appropriate to promote open justice, by my setting out the terms of the Order in the form of this brief judgment. The parties, to whom I am grateful for their cooperation and assistance, have no objection to this course. As in BN , it avoids any practical bar from non-parties being left in the dark, in circumstances where they would (if they knew to ask) have a right of access to Orders from the court records (CPR 5.4C and 5.4D). It is unnecessary to take any further step. I am simply recording, verbatim, the agreed terms of the Order. Recitals 2. The following text appears as recitals in the Order. (1) Upon the terms of this Order, including the following recitals, having been agreed between the parties. (2) And upon the Defendant having agreed to withdraw the decision made on 3rd August 2023 which the Claimant was challenging in these proceedings. (3) And upon the Defendant having conducted a review into the Policy of referring single people applicants aged under 25 who have applied for homelessness assistance under Part VII Housing Act 1996 to a third-party charity for such applications to be assessed and processed on behalf of the Defendant, such policy being challenged as unlawful by the Claimant in these proceedings. (4) And upon the Defendant, in concluding the review of that Policy, having brought the Policy to an end on 25th September 2023 so that officers directly employed by the Defendant will assess and process the applications for homelessness assistance of single people aged under 25. Operative Paragraphs 3. The operative paragraphs of the Order state that, by consent, it is ordered that: (1) The application for permission to proceed with judicial review proceedings is discontinued. (2) The Defendant shall pay the Claimant's reasonable costs, to be assessed if not agreed. (3) There be a detailed assessment of the Claimant's publicly funded legal costs. 26.3.24