R (on the application of Luton Borough Council and others) v Secretary of State for Education [2011] EWHC 217 (Admin)

Date
11 February 2011

Link to judgment
http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/217.html&query=luton+and+schools&method=boolean

Discrimination grounds
Race, gender, disability

Summary of case
The Case concerned the Department of Education’s Building Schools for the Future programme which aimed to re-furbish/rebuild all secondary schools in England. Following the May 2010 General Election the Government cancelled some of the projects that were still in the pipeline. Six local authorities whose projects had been cancelled challenged the decision.

Outcome
The Secretary of State had not complied with the equality duties, he had not considered the equality impact of the decision to cancel the projects and he had not consulted with the claimants. The Court commented ‘the Secretary of State must, I stress must, reconsider the position of each of the claimants with an open mind and paying due regard to whatever representations they may respectively make. But provided he discharges that duty and his equality duties, the final decision on any given school or project still rests with him.’

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