Applications for judicial review against local authorities fell 4% in 2016: MoJ

Local authorities had 762 applications for judicial review lodged against them in 2016, down 4% on the previous year, data released by the Ministry of Justice has revealed.

Of the applications against local authorities, 228 were granted permission to proceed to final hearing (30% of applications), and of these, 33 were found in favour of the claimant.

The figures for 2016 meant the sector was the third largest recipient of judicial review challenges after the Home Office (1,832, up 18%) and the Ministry of Justice (1,152, down 32%).

In the first quarter of 2017 there have been 1,100 applications overall so far for judicial review. This is down 3% on the same period last year.

The statistics also revealed that for 2016:

• The Supreme Court saw 210 applications presented, 32 fewer than in 2015. This was driven by a reduction in applications to the Civil Court of Appeal. There were 200 appeals disposed of last year, of which 38% were allowed.
• The Court of Appeal Civil Division had 1,012 appeals filed in 2016, down 18%. The largest number came from the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal, which contributed 26% of all appeals filed.
• The High Court – Queen’s Bench had 4,123 proceedings started in 2016, down 15%. The most common type of claim was personal injury actions, accounting for 38% of all proceedings started.
• There were 276,928 days sat by judges in 2016, down 1%. This decrease was seen across all court types, except for public family law in the County Court, which increased by 9%, and the Technology and Construction Court, which increased by 18%.

More information can be found here.