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Law Cases
Administrative Law Cases
Control of discretion Cases

R v Environment Secretary ex parte Hammersmith and Fulham LBC [1991] 1 AC 521

Country:
United Kingdom
By Oxbridge Law Team
Lord Bridge

  • The secretary of state had the power to “designate” and sanction LAs whose budgets were deemed excessive by him, by giving them less of a central govt grant.

  • HL declined to interfere, saying that since what was “excessive” was a matter of political judgment, his actions were not open to challenge on grounds of irrationality short of bad faith, improper motive or manifest absurdity, none of which had been shown.

  • What he deemed “unreasonable” was not open to challenge. 

Lord Bridge

  • Provided that the purpose of the statute is not frustrated by a minister’s actions, then the economic policy of the minister is not open to challenge for irrationality “short of the extremes of bad faith, improper motive or manifest absurdity”.

  • He says that “Both the constitutional propriety and the good sense of this restriction seem to me to be clear enough.”

    • This is deference because the courts are afraid of appearing to usurp the political judgment of the secretary of state.

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