Star date: 10th September 2014

JUDICIAL REVIEW INTO SALFORD COUNCIL CUTS TO DISABILITY TRANSPORT SET FOR OCTOBER

This afternoon a High Court judge granted permission for a judicial review into Salford Council's cuts to transport for people with disabilities. The case is being brought by law firm Irwin Mitchell, on behalf of Swinton's Michael Robson, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and who attends day centres in Stockport and Salford for vital support. The judicial review is due to be held in October.

Meanwhile, those who have had transport cut already are supposed to have it reinstated, on appeal, until the hearing. The Star understands that this is not happening.

Full details here...

Salford City Council will have to explain its cuts to transport for people with disabilities at the High Court in October, after a judge granted permission today for a judicial review into the decision.

The case is being brought by law firm Irwin Mitchell, on behalf of Swinton's Michael Robson, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and who attends day centres in Stockport and Salford for vital support.

"The confirmation that a judicial review will be held is a welcome step forward on this issue, with the proposed cuts to transport services set to leave our client and a huge number of other people with no suitable means to access the care and support they need" says Mathieu Culverhouse, the specialist public lawyer at Irwin Mitchell's Manchester office who is acting for the Michael and his mum Mary Robson.

"We have numerous concerns regarding the decision, from whether proper assessments were carried out into people's needs and if a lawful consultation was undertaken, so we are determined to ensure that our client's voice is heard on this matter" he adds "It is vital that this important decision which will impact on a great number of people's lives is given the care and attention it deserves, and we are determined to ensure that our client can continue to benefit from the services he requires."

The lawyers are challenging Salford Council on the following grounds...

Failure to assess
Families, including Michael's, have reported that they were not asked if they were willing and able to provide transport to and from the day centres and it was simply assumed that they would step in to provide this service.  The legal team believe that the council has therefore failed to carry out the necessary assessments of people's care needs and how they can be met.

Flawed consultation
The legal team believe that SCC has failed to put forward sufficient reasons for the proposal to ensure proper consideration, with detail on the website failing to make it clear that the plans mean the closure of the Council's passenger transport service.

Breach of equality duty
Under the terms of section 149 of the Equality Act, the legal team believe the council failed to meet its responsibilities. Specific concerns include the Council's failure to gather the information it needed in order to assess the impact of the decision on disabled people.

Today's decision follows last week's High Court hearing (see here) when Salford Council agreed to reinstate transport, on appeal, for 94 families. The Salford Star understands that this not happening with many families being ignored by the Council and the transport service in chaos – further details to follow...

• For a full background on the cuts to transport for people with disabilities – click here and follow the links