Prestwick Care Limited & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department
[2023] EWHC 3193 (Admin)
New Hope Care Limited, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
24 May 2024
[2024] EWHC 1270 (Admin)
High Court
A care company's sponsor licence was revoked. They sued, saying the government didn't give them a fair chance to explain themselves before the licence was taken away. The court agreed, and the licence revocation was overturned. The government needs to redo the process fairly.
Key Facts
- •New Hope Care Limited's sponsor licence was revoked by the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
- •The revocation was based on several alleged breaches of sponsor duties, including the Authorising Officer's (AO) prolonged absence from the UK, excessive issuance of sponsorship certificates, and employment law violations.
- •The Claimant challenged the revocation decision on grounds of irrationality, misdirection as to policy, procedural unfairness, and failure to conduct a global assessment.
- •The Authorising Officer, Mr. Cheza, was absent from the UK for extended periods due to his arrest and detention in Zimbabwe.
- •The Claimant argued that it was not given a meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations before the licence was revoked.
Legal Principles
High degree of trust is placed on sponsor licence holders.
Case law and Guidance
The Secretary of State's judgment on breaches by licence holders is primary; the Court's role is supervisory.
R (London St Andrew’s College) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 2496
Procedural fairness requires an opportunity for representation before adverse decisions, except in impractical circumstances or where public interest is at risk.
R v Secretary of State ex parte Doody [1994] 1 AC 531; R (Balajigari) v SSHD [2019] 1 WLR 4647
Public authorities must follow published procedures unless there is good reason not to.
Mandalia v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] 1 WLR 4546
Public authorities may be bound by clear and unambiguous promises about procedure, but can resile if justified, fair, and proportionate.
Attorney-General of Hong Kong v Ng Yuen Shiu [1983] 2 AC 629; R (Nadarajah) v SSHD [2005] EWCA Civ 1363
Even mandatory grounds for revocation do not entirely eliminate the need for procedural fairness.
Guidance C9.10-C9.14
A global assessment of the impact of revocation might be required in terms of proportionality but not necessarily in terms of detailed investigation of individual impacts.
Prestwick Care Limited and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3193 (Admin)
Outcomes
Claim for judicial review granted on Ground 3 (procedural unfairness).
The Defendant failed to follow its own guidance and made clear promises regarding procedural fairness. The Claimant was not given a meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations before the licence was revoked.
Claim for judicial review dismissed on Grounds 1 (irrationality), 2 (misdirection as to policy), and 4 (failure to conduct global assessment).
Ground 1: While some statements in the decision letter were inaccurate, they did not render the overall decision irrational. Ground 2: The Defendant's interpretation of 'based in the UK' was not a misdirection of law. Ground 4: The Court held that a 'global assessment' is not required to the extent argued by the claimant, and that even with a fair process, revocation would likely have been the outcome given the seriousness of the breaches.
Defendant's decision to revoke the Claimant's sponsor licence was quashed.
Procedural unfairness rendered the revocation decision unlawful.
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