R (on the application of Royal Brompton & Harefiled NHS Foundation Trust) v Joint Committee of PCTs & anor [2012] EWCA Civ 472 (Arden LJ, Richards LJ, Sir Stephen Sedley): The appellant appealed against a decision ([2011] EWHC 2986 (Admin)) that it had failed to meet a legitimate expectation in its consultation process which affected the respondent NHS foundation trust and that that process had to be quashed. On allowing the appeal the Court held there had been no bias when an advisory committee to a medical body had included in its composition consultants from medical centres which were being considered by the medical body. The question was whether an observer, knowing the composition and remit of both the advisory body and the deciding body, would perceive a real possibility both of bias in the advice and of its infecting the decision (click here for transcript).
Department of Health v (1) Information Commissioner (2) John Healey MP (3) Nicholas Cecil [2012] FTT (GRC) (Judge John Angel , Richard Enderby, Darryl Stephenson): The appellant appealed against a decision of the first respondent Information Commissioner that it was obliged to disclose two risk registers to the second and third respondents (R2 and R3). The appellant argued that a requirement to disclose the risk registers would have a "chilling effect" on the future behaviour of civil servants. The First-tier Tribunal found that the Department of Health should have acceded to a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for disclosure of a transition risk register which set out the risks of implementing the government's proposed reforms of the NHS. (click here for transcript).
