HCLC News

Two schemes launched in memory to Hackney Community Law centre senior lawyer Nat Mathews

Nat Mathews was a much-loved lawyer who worked at Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC) for nearly thirty years, and who died two years ago in April 2022. As part of the Memorial to Nat Mathews, HCLC Board has agreed to two schemes:

It is two years since Nathaniel Mathews tragically died, well before his time. Since then, staff and trustees from Hackney Community Law Centre have reflected on how best to serve his memory and his work. This included consulting with his immediate family and friends.

22 March 2024: Update on Akinsanya litigation …

Akinsanya & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 469 (Admin)

The judgment in the second Akinsanya judicial review was handed down on 11 March 2024. The High Court ruled that the SSHD had misunderstood the operation of the Zambrano principle when writing guidance excluding those without another form of leave to remain from the EU Settlement Scheme.

However, the judge ruled that this misunderstanding did not affect the decision in the claimants' cases, and that the refusal of EU settled or pre-settled status to those applicants, like Ms Akinsanya, with another form of leave to remain, taken as a whole, was neither irrational nor discriminatory.

This is a positive outcome for applicants who did not have another form of leave during the relevant period, however, the practical effect of this judgment is unclear at this stage. We will provide further updates when available.

Please refer to this Free Movement article for further detail:

https://freemovement.org.uk/akinsanya-latest-guidance-on-zambrano-carers-found-to-be-unlawful-appendix-eu-unaffected/

Akinsanya Judicial Review number 2 is in the High Court this week, 13 and 14 December 2023. Joined with the case of Aning-Adjei v SSHD.

Simon Cox and Michael Spencer of Doughty Street Chambers acting as Counsel for the Claimant, instructing solicitor is Beya Rivers, Hackney Community Law Centre.

We will provide updates regarding the judgment when available.

It was disappointing to report that the Court of Appeal has dismissed our appeal in this case involving the rehousing of homeless families out of London. 

We had argued that the London Borough of Waltham Forest's reliance on the benefit cap as a means to relocate single parent households breached the Equality Act 2010 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2023/992.html

The Court found that the council had paid 'due regard' to the Public Sector Equality Duty but it also found that any breach would not have led to a different outcome. The rehousing of our client from Waltham Forest to Walsall had been lawful. 

HACKNEY COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE

seeks

Welfare Benefits Caseworker:  £30,000-36,000  according to experience

Context of the post: This post is funded by the City Bridge Trust for three years.

Key duties:

• To provide a comprehensive specialist welfare benefits advice service for people living in Hackney.
• To provide specialist casework and representation in welfare benefits matters
• Must have at least 1 years’ experience of benefits advice work.

The successful candidate must be adaptable and able to work in a busy environment, and must be able to demonstrate strong written & verbal skills.

On 13 July 2023 the Court of Appeal considered our homelessness challenge in a case about Waltham Forest’s homelessness rehousing policy. Waltham Forest has relied upon the benefit cap as a way to determine where people are offered rehousing and as a result of this our client and her children were provided with private accommodation in the West Midlands despite her and her family’s very strong ties to East London.  The benefit cap disproportionately affects single parent households and so impacts women more than men - we have long argued that this aspect of the council’s homeless policy has a discriminatory impact as the effect is to ensure that single parent households (the vast majority of which are headed by single mothers) are only ever considered for rehousing very far from London. The appeal now considers whether this was in breach of the Equality Act 2010.  Judgment from the Court is now awaited. This will be an important case for homeless households in Waltham Forest, but will also have implications for many other homeless families in Hackney and across London.

Housing Solicitor/Senior Caseworker: £37,000-£42,000 according to experience
Key duties:
• To provide specialist casework and representation in housing law
• To provide case supervision and to meet the Legal Aid supervisor standard
• To ensure compliance with Legal Aid Agency contract and funding requirements
• To be familiar with SRA requirements
• To act as duty solicitor
• To provide outreach advice and training

HACKNEY COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE

seeks

Welfare Benefits Caseworker:  £30,000-36,000  according to experience

Context of the post: This post is funded by the National Lottery Fund for three years.

Key duties:

• To provide a comprehensive specialist welfare benefits advice service for people living in Hackney.
• To provide specialist casework and representation in welfare benefits matters
• Must have at least 1 years’ experience of benefits advice work.

This post is to provide updated information regarding the Akinsanya EUSS Zambrano legal challenge, and also to provide a template of grounds of challenge for these types of cases (see bottom of update).

Who should read this update?

This update may be relevant to you if:

• you are not a British or EU citizen; AND
• you do not already have indefinite leave: AND
• you do not already have status under the EU Settlement Scheme; AND
• you are the parent or primary carer of a British citizen child living in the UK; AND
• you were the parent or primary carer of a British citizen child living in the UK before 31 December 2020.

EUSS Zambrano update – Further challenge

Following the successful challenge in the High Court in 2021, the Home Office had agreed to quash their initial refusal of Ms Akinsanya’s application and remake the decision following any challenge in the Court of Appeal and following their subsequent review of the rules and guidance on Zambrano EUSS applications.

The Home Office announced the outcome of their review on 13 June 2022, and as discussed in more detail in our previous update (29/6/22), they did not change the immigration rules to benefit Ms Akinsanya, who had another form of limited leave at the specified date (31 December 2020) and at the date of her EUSS application.

Following that review, the Home Office have remade the decision on Ms Akinsanya’s application, and it has been refused again.

Further to this second refusal of Ms Akinsanya’s application, her legal team will pursue a further challenge in the High Court. No Hearing date has yet been listed.

On 13 June 2022, the Home Office announced the outcome of its review of the EUSS Zambrano route, following the January 2022 Court of Appeal hearing. Unfortunately, they have announced that they will not be removing restrictions prohibiting those with other forms of leave from applying for EU Settled Status.

Although Ms Akinsanya was successful overall in the Court of Appeal, the Home Office were successful on one ground, regarding their interpretation of EU law. Their interpretation is that a person does not qualify for a Zambrano right to reside if they have another form of leave to remain and this interpretation was found to be correct by the Court of Appeal. In their announcement of 13 June 2022, the Home Office stated that the Appendix EU exclusion of Zambrano carers with other forms of leave from applying to the EU Settlement Scheme is justified, because this exclusion correctly reflects EU law.

The Home Office have stated that they will now make decisions on outstanding EUSS Zambrano applications that have been on hold, pending the outcome of their review. They have also provided a 6 week extension, until 25 July 2022, for individuals, who have not yet submitted an application, to submit one if they are eligible.

Doughty Street Chambers will host a seminar on 8 July 2022 to discuss this recent Home Office decision of 13 June 2022, and its implications for applicants. 

Please find more details about the seminar here: https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/event/new-eu-settlement-scheme-rules-zambrano-carers

The Home Office have now published their reviewed guidance following the Akinsanya appeal. Unfortunately, they have not removed restrictions prohibiting those with other forms of leave from applying for settled status. We are considering the next steps.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-zambrano-primary-carers/eu-settlement-scheme-zambrano-primary-carers

UPDATE: EUSS Zambrano – Further delay to the Secretary of State reconsideration of the rules and policy

The Secretary of State has advised that there will be a further delay in completing her review of the EUSS Zambrano rules and now expects the announcement of the outcome of the reconsideration to be made by 13 June 2022. This is all the information we have at this time. Please continue to keep an eye on our website and Twitter for further updates as and when they come.

HACKNEY COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE

seeks

Paralegal:  £22,000 (35 hours a week)

Hackney Community Law Centre is looking for a new paralegal dedicated to social justice, housing and welfare benefits law. Ideal candidates will have an outstanding understanding of public law and an evidenced interest in social welfare issues.

Sean Canning is a solicitor at, and the manager of, Hackney Community Law Centre.

It is with the deepest sadness that Hackney Community Law Centre (HCLC) announces the death, after a short illness, of Nathaniel (Nat) Mathews, our housing and senior solicitor and previous recipient of the LAPG Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (LALY) award.

Our Jeremy Ogilvie-Harris and Desmond Rutledge of Garden Court Chambers represented the claimant (respondent) in the case LBWF v PO [2022] UKUT 58 (AAC).

[Read more]

Mike Spencer of Doughty Street, who was counsel alongside Simon Cox for Akinsanya, writes a post about the Court of Appeal judgment in R (oao Akinsanya) v. SSHD [2022] EWCA Civ 37 and what it means. 

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