2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The court examined whether the exclusion from student loan eligibility based on immigration status violated the claimant’s right to education under A2P1 and constituted unjustifiable discrimination under Article 14 of the ECHR. The Secretary of State was justified in implementing a bright line rule for student loans based on settled status due to the necessity of clear, administrable rules. Several legal principles regarding the approach to proportionality and the Secretary of State’s duty to consider evolving immigration policies were affirmed. The Secretary of State's appeal was allowed, and the cross-appeal by the claimant was dismissed.
J U D G M E N T
LORD JUSTICE LAWS : This is an appeal with permission granted by the judge below brought by the Secretary of State against the decision of Hayden J in the Administrative Court on 17 July 2014 ([EWHC] Admin 2452) on grounds one and two of the judicial review claim before him. The Claimant in the case cross appeals also against his decision on ground four.
The claim arises out of the effective refusal of a student loan to the Claimant, who is a Zambian national born on 29 August 1995, on the ground that she was not an "eligible student" within the meaning of the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011. The case principally raises issues in relation to Article 2 of the first protocol (A2P1) and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Claimant was brought to the United Kingdom by her parents when she was 6. She entered as a dependent of her father who had a student visa. She has lived in the United Kingdom with her mother ever since. All her education has been in the English educational system. She has done very well in school and is determined to go to university. She has had a number of offers of university places.
Her determination is demonstrated by the fact that after it became apparent that she would not obtain a student loan -- I will, of course, come to that -- she applied for places at local universities which she could attend while living at home. She accepted a place at Hull University and was able to pay the first tuition fee instalment. Her mother had changed jobs to earn more. The Claimant obtained a student overdraft, but she had to pull out of the course. She could not meet the ongoing costs. She was liable to forfeit the tuition fee payment and was left overdrawn on her student account. However, she now has a place to you study International Business Management at Middlesex University starting in October 2014. She will not be able to take it up unless she secures a student loan by September. Her place, as is generally the case, is conditional on payment of upfront fees, albeit in instalments. Anyone acquainted with the facts of the case would wish to pay tribute to the Claimant's single minded ambition to gather the benefits of higher education.
I should say a little more about the Claimant's immigration history. Her father left the United Kingdom in early 2003 when his leave expired. The Claimant and her mother remained, unlawfully overstaying their leave. So the matter stood, as I understand it,