The Public Sector Equality Duty

Session 1: Key points on the Public Sector Equality Duty

1-2pm, Tuesday 29 June 2021
Chair – Stephanie Harrison QC, Joint Head of Garden Court Chambers
Overview of the Public Sector Equality Duty – Miranda Butler, Garden Court Chambers
Case law update – Nicola Braganza, Garden Court Chambers
How to fund a claim – Leona Bashow, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
Q&A

Session 2:  The Public Sector Equality Duty in practice

1-2pm, Tuesday 13 July 2021
Chair – Amanda Weston QC, Garden Court Chambers
PSED in the context of school exclusions – Ollie Persey, Garden Court Chambers
Bridges as a case study of success – Megan Goulding, Liberty
Q&A

Speakers

Stephanie Harrison QC, Joint Head of Garden Court Chambers (Chair - Session 1)
Described as a "brilliant advocate", Stephanie is a leading public law practitioner who has appeared at all court levels. Her multi-disciplinary practice spans the breadth of public law and civil liberties. Stephanie's cases include those arising from unlawful detention, national security, official misconduct, abuse of power, child sexual exploitation, equality and discrimination, minority rights and civil rights protest and injunctions.

Stephanie is regularly involved in test case litigation and has been instrumental in winning some of the most important cases within her areas of specialism in recent times. Much of her work is high profile and receives media coverage. She is passionate about upholding and advancing the rights of vulnerable, minority groups and children. Stephanie was appointed as legal counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in 2015 and is head of the Garden Court Public Law team. Stephanie is ranked for Administrative and Public Law, Civil Liberties and Human Rights and Immigration in both the Legal 500 and Chambers UK Bar Guide. Stephanie was shortlisted for Civil Liberties & Human Rights Silk of the Year at Legal 500 UK Awards 2020 and for Human Rights and Public Law Silk of the Year at Chambers Bar Awards 2019. 

Amanda Weston QC, Garden Court Chambers (Chair - Session 2)
Amanda is a leading silk in many areas including Court of Protection, public law, civil liberties and immigration. Amanda has over 20 years of experience in judicial review at all levels including the Supreme Court. Substantive areas of her leading public law practice include community care, mental health and mental capacity, immigration, unlawful detention, trafficking, national security measures such as deprivation of citizenship, prison law, human rights, criminal procedure and discrimination. She has particular experience in challenges to both local and central government policy, rules and subordinate legislation. She is currently leading the judicial review challenge to the fees imposed on children’s citizenship applications, brought by the Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens (PRCBC).

The breadth of her expertise can be seen from her leading cases. They include McNally, the successful judicial review of the Education Secretary’s decision to intervene in a teacher’s disciplinary proceedings where natural justice principles were ‘read-in’ to primary statute and AHK on the principles which apply where the Secretary of State wishes to rely on undisclosed material in judicial review. She writes, teaches and trains other lawyers on the cutting-edge of public law and is co-author of Judicial Review: A Practical Guide (Lexis Nexis). She has extensive experience in systemic and public interest JR including cost-capping orders. Amanda is also a member of the ‘A’ Panel of preferred Counsel who act for the Equality & Human Rights Commission. 

Miranda Butler, Garden Court Chambers
Miranda works in a broad range of public law areas, including unlawful detention, community care, healthcare provision, trafficking, and strategic litigation. She is regularly instructed in judicial review challenges, including urgent matters and applications for interim relief.  Miranda is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Panel of Counsel and in 2020 she was a finalist in the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards.

Miranda works on a broad range of challenges on behalf of those with no recourse to public funds, including claims concerning asylum accommodation, trafficking support and under the Children Act 1989. She was instructed in NN and LP v SSHD [2019] EWHC 1003 (Admin) and has a particular interest in the support provided to victims of trafficking. She has been involved in successful challenges to the level of financial support given to victims who are pregnant or new mothers and to the Home Office's cessation of trafficking support for those housed in initial accommodation. She is currently instructed on a strategic challenge to the level of fees for children seeking to register or naturalise as British Citizens, in PRCBC and ors v SSHD in the Court of Appeal, led by Richard Drabble QC.

In January 2020 Miranda was instructed by JCWI to intervene in linked challenges to the Home Secretary’s decision to pursue deportation flights to Jamaica despite the failure to publish the Windrush report. She is regularly instructed in urgent injunctions to prevent removals from the UK. She was recently led by Amanda Weston QC in EOG v SSHD, a challenge to the prohibition on working for certain victims of trafficking in which the High Court found that the Home Office’s policy prohibiting potential victims of trafficking from working or enjoying leave to remain was unlawful. Miranda is currently led by Samantha Knights QC in a challenge to the lack of support given to victims of trafficking in initial accommodation provided by the Home Office. 

Nicola Braganza, Garden Court Chambers
Nicola specialises in Discrimination, Equality, Public law, with an emphasis on human rights, Immigration and Asylum.  She is ranked in the Legal 500 and in Chambers & Partners as a leading barrister in Employment law, for her discrimination work, Immigration, and Civil Liberties and Human Rights. She regularly provides training and workshops on equality issues and has been an invited speaker at the European Academy of Law on EU Directives on Equality and Anti-Discrimination for many years. 

Over the last 28 years, Nicola has successfully acted for many claimants in discrimination claims against a range of employers, including public authorities, multi-national corporations, the police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office.  Most recently, she represented several women in the Armed Forces on a human rights challenge concerning the handling of sexual violence offences by the MoD, which has led to the recent launch of an inquiry by the Defence Committee on 'Women in the Armed Forces: From Recruitment to Civilian Life' and some 4,000 submissions to date.  In May last year, Nicola was appointed a part-time Employment Judge and a part-time Tribunal Judge on the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

Leona Bashow, Principal- Legal Advisory and Litigation Team, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
Leona is a barrister, who previously worked within immigration and family law. She joined the EHRC’s Litigation and Advisory Department in April 2020, and her role involves managing strategic litigation cases that raise equality/human rights issues, which included the recent grammar school case about accessibility arrangements for the 11+ exams.

Ollie Persey, Garden Court Chambers
Ollie is a public law barrister. Ollie often acts for individuals and NGOs in judicial review claims challenging systemic unfairness. He joined Garden Court Chambers from Public Law Project, where he gained considerable experience in strategic litigation at all domestic levels including the Supreme Court.  Ollie has a broad public law practice, specialising in disability and migrant rights and has particular expertise in judicial review claims raising discrimination, education, EU citizens’ rights and retained EU law issues. At Public Law Project, Ollie worked on all aspects of judicial review litigation and is well-placed to advise from the earliest stages of a potential claim. He has in-depth knowledge of the legal aid scheme, with expertise in applying for Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) and challenging Legal Aid Agency funding decisions. Ollie also coordinated Public Law Project’s EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) support hub, providing second-tier advice to Law Centres and other organisations assisting vulnerable EU citizens and family members to apply to the EUSS. 

Megan Goulding, Lawyer, Liberty
Megan Goulding is a lawyer at the UK human rights organisation Liberty. Megan specialises in privacy and technology and runs Liberty’s litigation in this area. She is currently working in particular on state surveillance and police technologies. She acted for a client in the first legal challenge to police use of facial recognition technology. She is running Liberty’s challenges to bulk surveillance, both at the European Court of Human Rights and in the UK courts. Previous to Liberty, Megan worked as a solicitor in private practice.