Hearing To Take Place On October 15th

A judicial review into the Salford City Council’s decision to cut vital transport services for vulnerable members of the community is to take place this week.

Irwin Mitchell’s Public Law team are representing two disabled adults who would be unable to access vital day centre support if the wheelchair bus service was withdrawn. The issue is now listed to be held at the High Court in Manchester on October 15th.

Irwin Mitchell is challenging the council’s decision on the transport cuts on several grounds:

• That the local authority failed to properly assess the care needs of those affected and what can be done to ensure they are met, with families claiming they were not asked for input
• That the council did not put forward enough reasons for the decision to demonstrate it was given proper consideration
• That the body did not meet its responsibilities under the Equality Act, primarily as it failed to gather information related to the potential impact on disabled people

Expert Opinion

Our clients have raised serious concerns regarding the impact that the withdrawal of this service would have on so many lives, with vulnerable members of the community needing this service to get the vital support they require.

"We are determined to use this hearing to ensure that our clients’ voices are heard on this very serious matter." Mathieu Culverhouse - Partner

The clients represented by Irwin Mitchell’s Public Law team are Michael Robson, from Swinton, and Jennifer Barrett, from Salford.

Michael needs daily support due to cerebral palsy and epilepsy and attends day centres in Stockport and Salford every week. He relies on the bus service to attend the St Georges Day Centre in Salford two days a week.

Jennifer has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. She uses the bus service to attend the Waterside Resource Centre in Salford four days a week.

The judicial review into their case is listed to be held at the High Court in Manchester on October 15th, with the hearing beginning at 10.30am.