§ Mr. David Steelasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will introduce amending legislation to provide a statutory right of appeal to the sheriff court for persons aggrieved by a local authority decision under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977, in the light of the House of Lords' decision in Brown v. Hamilton district council on 25 November 1982; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandNo. The decision of the House of Lords in the case of Brownv. Hamilton district council has raised certain questions about the existing procedures in Scotland for judicial review of administrative decisions by local authorities and other public bodies, and in particular as to whether the existing procedures can be improved so as to enable such a review to be obtained more speedily and cheaply while at the same time protecting public authorities from unreasonable actions.
I am glad to say that, after consultation with my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate, the Lord President of the Court of Session has set up a small working party under the chairmanship of Lord Dunpark, with the remit of devising a simple form of procedure for judicial review in the Court of Session.
It would not appear that local authority decisions under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 are so different either in volume or in nature from decisions of local authorities and other public bodies under other statutes as to suggest that the provisions of the 1977 Act should be considered separately from this general review of the scope for improvement in the procedural provision for judicial review.