Protection of Vulnerable Adults
The House of Lords has held (reversing partly the decision of the Court of Appeal in R (on the application of Wright and others) v Secretary of State for Health and another [2007] EWCA Civ 99; [2008] 1 All ER 886 CA) that (i) a decision to include a worker in the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) list engages art 6 of the ECHR in all cases since it is potentially one of a drastic character which may cause irreversible prejudice to the worker; and (ii) the draconian effect of provisional listing, coupled with the inevitable delay before a full merits hearing can be obtained cannot be cured by offering some of the care workers an opportunity to make representations in advance, while denying that opportunity to other workers who may have been just as unfairly treated by their former employers. It followed that that the scheme as enacted in the Care Standards Act 2000 does not comply with article 6(1): Wright & Ors,R (On the application of) v Secretary of State for Health & Anor [2009] UKHL 3.
Categories: 4th Edition, Chapter 16, Updates