UK Constitutional and Administrative Law Assessment Answers

Question 1:

The Scottish Parliament intends to pass a new piece of legislation to improve gender balance on public boards. The law aims for at least 60% of non-executive members on these boards to be women. For proper application of this law, the Scottish Government plans to publish a guidance to help public bodies. The guidance provides that the definition of “woman” includes a person whose “acquired gender is female” under the UK’s Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Consider the constitutional issue(s) in the scenario below and advice Tulip:

Tulip recently underwent a gender reconstruction procedure and obtained a gender reconstruction certificate, legally acquiring a female gender. However, she has constantly been denied access to single-sex spaces at the Scotland Memorial Hospital, where she works. Tulip has come to you for advice. She wants to know the impact of the recent UK Supreme Court decision regarding the definition of “woman” on the proposed Scottish Parliament guidance and her discrimination at work.

Question 2:

A local authority, Asparagus City Council, has decided to allocate council housing in a recently completed block of flats, Broccoli Building. The Council stated in official documentation that they would make the decision on the basis of the following criteria:

(a) number of children/ dependents

(b) proximity to schools/ workplace and

(c) financial needs of the prospective tenant.

Advise the following parties:

NOTE: Please address ALL of the scenarios:

Fiona is a member of a religious group, the Haricots. They were refused accommodation on the basis that the Council felt that

Cathy had a meeting at the Council last year in which she was promised she would be allocated a flat in the new block, but her application was turned down. She turned down another accommodation offer as a result of this promise.

Davina has three young children all attending the school next to Broccoli Building. She is a single parent and cannot drive. Her job is also within walking distance. She recently discovered that one of the flats was allocated to a young professional without children, Erica. When asked, a member of the Council stated that Erica was allocated the property as the Council determined that she was more likely to be able to pay the rent on time.

Fiona is a member of a religious group, the Haricots. They were refused accommodation on the basis that the Council felt that members of this particular group would not socialise well with other tenants. On this basis, applications by any Haricots were automatically refused.

Things to include:

• Please use relevant cases, key legislation and secondary commentary to strengthen your arguments.
• Provide references/bibliography using OSCOLA referencing standard.
• Demonstrate awareness of current issues impacting on the UK constitution.
• This is not an essay, so APPLICATION is key.
• Follow the provided structure below: Remember to give advice.

Question 1 Constitutional Law – Suggested Structure

1. Introduction: Issue identification and stance.
2. Rule of Law, Application and Implication
3. Conclusion: Advise

Question 2 Administrative Law – Suggested Structure

➢ Introduction: Issue identification – Set out the relevant ground of review in the scenario (irrationality, illegality, etc.) and the specific aspects of the ground, e.g., bias.

➢ Rule of Law: Application/Implication: State the test (case citation needed) and apply to the facts of the scenario.

➢ Conclusion: Advise parties on possible remedy and likelihood of success

Law Assignment Answers: Expert Answers on Administrative Law

Tulip- gender recognition and constitutional issues

Key constitutional issue: The key constitutional issue identified is the division of powers between the Scottish parliament and the UK parliament with respect to general recognition law.
Impact of UK code ruling: In respect to the Scottish government versus The advocate general for Scotland (2023), the court is of the opinion that parliament cannot read the term woman that directly changes the meaning of sex in the equality act 2010. This implies that the definition of woman includes the people with acquired gender as female.

Implication for Tulip: Tulip is considered as female in most of the context according to the general recognition certificates she possesses, single sex spaces can still be lawfully restricted under the equality act 2010. It is essential for the hospital to justify any cases of exclusion, and a blanket ban could result in two and unlawful discrimination.

Advice to Tulip: It is advised that Tulip should consider filing a grievance or discrimination complaint under the equality act. She can also consider citing human rights act 1998, and the Scottish guidance will likely have limited legal force if inconsistent with UK equality law.

Asparagus City Council – Allocation of housing

Fiona: The refusal of application from Haricots by the Council is a direct discrimination on the ground of religion or belief. It is essential for the Council to achieve compliance with the public sector equality duty. Fiona can therefore challenge the decision via judicial review.
Cathy: Cathy received an assurance from Council that she will get a flat. As a result, she has turned down another offer by relying on the fact that she will get a flat, and this clearly satisfies the test for substantive legitimate expectation. She can therefore ask for judicial review in case the Council changes its decision on the grounds of procedural unfairness and legitimate expectation. The remedy is therefore to consider the allocation or damages if loss is proven.
Davina: All the criteria as mentioned such as children, proximity to school, financial need are adequately met by Davina. The policy of the council is contradictory if the flat is allocated to Erica, and it would result in an irrational and procedurally unfair decision. This is also considered as a possible indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex or family status. The remedy would be to challenge the decision via judicial review.,

Sources of UK constitutional law, constitutional institutions and key constitutional principles

An analysis of the UK constitution indicates that it is uncodified, and multiple sources are being utilised including:

• Statute law, it deals with human rights act 1998, constitutional Reform Act 2005.
• Common law which is responsible for establishing constitutional principles.
• Conventions in the form of unwritten practices such as the responsibility of ministers.
• EU law and international law which is recognised as a major source earlier and still have its impact,
• Royal prerogative, such as the powers utilized by the executive.

The key constitutions comprises the executive, parliament and the judiciary, and they all are responsible for operating under the basic principles including parliamentary sovereignty, rule of law and separation of powers.

Current issues impacting the UK constitution

The major current issues that affect the UK constitution include:

• Devolution tensions such as the Independence movement of Scotland.
• Brexit aftermath affecting the executive power and parliamentary Sovereignty.
• Human rights act reform requiring its replacement with the bill of rights.
• Monarchy and transparency questioning the modern relevance.

UK administrative law mechanism

The main role of Administrative law is to make sure that the public authorities act within the boundaries through measures like:

• Judicial review to ensure fairness and rationality.
• Tribunals to help resolve administrative disputes.
• Ombudsman services to perform investigation of any wrong full act.
• Freedom of Information Act 2000 with the objective of promoting transfer transparency.

Written communication in relation to constitutional and administrative law issues

An effective legal writing requires the consideration of clarity and structure by utilising proper headings, logical flow and concise language, evidence based reasoning in the form of support with statues and case law, an objective tone with focus on legal analysis, and proper citation utilising legal referencing styles.

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