Court of Appeal to hear two post-Brexit homeless eligibility appeals for applicants with pre-settled status

Permission has been granted to hear and join two cases of post-Brexit homelessness where Barnet and Haringey councils refused to provide housing assistance.

Hodge Jones and Arnold Solicitors advises that in the Barnet case -

The county court decided that the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union applied to homelessness assistance and found that the local authority had used this correctly by having it “in mind”. The ground of appeal that was raised within the Court of Appeal is that having the Charter in mind is insufficient; the local authority must comply with the duties set out in the Charter.

... and in the Haringey case -

In an appeal to the county court, unlike the Haringey case, the county court found that the Charter of fundamental human rights had no impact on the decision to refuse homeless assistance, and Barnet was right not to consider the same.

... and for both cases-

The issue of broader public importance is the relevance of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to the eligibility for social welfare assistance of EU citizens who are lawfully resident in the UK based on Pre-Settled Status.

In the decision to grant permission, Lord Justice Arnold stated -

I consider that both grounds of appeal have real prospects of success and raise important points of principle. As highlighted by the application to intervene by the Independent Monitoring Authority, the case was decided below without reference to the Withdrawal Agreement. There are significant issues regarding the impact of the Withdrawal Agreement and associated domestic legislation upon the rights of persons in the position of the Appellant. In addition, there is a question as to the legal relevance of the EU Charter after Brexit, as to which differing conclusions have been reached in this case and the London Borough of Haringey. These issues merit consideration by the Court of Appeal so that authoritative guidance can be given to local authorities and the County Court.

Fantastic article from EU Rights and Brexit Hub looking at the above test cases and another pivotal UT case -

Pivotal test cases pending all at once: Pre-settled status, benefits and the Charter beyond Fratila and CG