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A tale of two cases – Two High Court judgments on the pre-determination of consultation – within a week
Court cases are very seldom lost on the mechanics of a public consultation.
But increasingly, dissatisfied consultees are challenging public bodies by alleging that the consultation is a sham and that decisions have effectively already been taken. It’s called pre-determination, and the advent of two quite separate cases – one on NHS service changes and another on Library closures – is an opportunity to reflect upon the state of the law … especially as they produced quite different results.
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Rhion Jones
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