Enfield Council loses out in rights ruling

A disabled woman and her husband were awarded £10,000 damages
under the Human Rights Act 1998 in a landmark case last week after
being forced to live in a “wholly unsuitable” home.

Mr Justice Sullivan ruled that, due to the “corporate negligence”
of Enfield Council, north London, Dulcie Bernard had been almost
totally confined to her home.

He said the couple appeared to have “fallen into an administrative
void” between the council’s social services and housing
departments, and that the council had shown a “singular lack of
respect” for the couple’s private, family and home life, in
violation of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.