England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT

		Royal Courts of Justice Strand London WC2A 2LL
		18th November 2009

SIR GEORGE NEWMAN :

1. This is an application for permission to apply for judicial review by the claimant, Ronald Bacon.
2. On 14th November 2008 the claimant was committed to prison for 21 days for having wilfully refused to pay council tax which was then outstanding by way of arrears in the sum of £6,255.
3. The matter has a little history. The appearance of Mr Bacon before the court on 14th November 2008 (when, I emphasise, he was represented by a solicitor, Mr Tan) was not the first occasion he had appeared before the magistrates. There had been a number of appearances. His appearance in person immediately prior to the 14th November had been on 27th October 2008. On that occasion the magistrates found wilful refusal, but adjourned the matter to 14th November in order to give the claimant an opportunity to pay the outstanding sum of money from a sum of £62,000 which the magistrates were led to believe he had in a bank account. As I have said, on 14^th November he was represented by Mr Tan.
4. It seems to me to be clear that the true position was not made plain to the magistrates. The facts should have been clarified. The record does not disclose that Mr Tan of Phillips & Co, a firm of solicitors in Salisbury, may have drawn the attention of the magistrates, as Mr Wheaton assures me he did, to a letter dated 13th November 2008 from Altman Blane & Company, accountants. But it seems that he could not have emphasised that what Mr Bacon had said on the previous occasion about a sum of money in a bank account, and a figure of £62,000, was simply wrong.
5. The letter from Altman Blane & Company records the history, because Altman Blane, or a partner of that firm, being an insolvency practitioner, became a trustee in bankruptcy of Mr Bacon to realise the pension policies which he had. All of these had been realised for the creditors in 1993. The letter records that when the pension policies were realised, the proceeds including the proceeds of assignment were accounted for to the creditors of Mr Bacon.
6. A little bit of thought and consideration, had it been given to the matter, would have itself demonstrated that if there had been a sum of £62,000 available to Mr Bacon, apparently, as he had indicated, by reason of pension policies which had existed, it was plain that they would have been disbursed for the benefit of the creditors by the trustee in bankruptcy. The letter concludes:

"Mr Bacon therefore has no interest whatsoever in pension policies of which we are aware."

It seems that Mr Tan was able to make clear to the magistrates that Mr Bacon had a certain income from his pension and that the total amount in 1 year, which he would be able to pay, as a result of having access to those funds, would be of the order of £470.

7. It is plain that this did not impress the magistrates because in paragraph 3 of their notes they say:

"We find it inconceivable that he has not had private finances to pay this bill to the council. He has never offered to pay this off, even in regular amounts, until today at £470 per year."

It seems — and I do not criticise the magistrates — that the magistrates merely took the offer of £470 a year as an offer which rubbed salt into the wound. They believed Mr Bacon had had money available to pay the outstanding amount and they no doubt regarded £470 a year as derisory. Thus it is that they came to the same conclusion: that there had been wilful refusal.

8. It is very regrettable as it seems to me that a simple issue as to fact was not made plain to the lay justices and it seems to me also unfortunate that no account was taken of the age and state of mind and health of this claimant who, according to information now before this court, is suffering (and no doubt was suffering) a decline in his mental capacity which has left him presently, in any event, with a mild form of dementia.
9. These things are very difficult and people who appear before the court and give inconsistent accounts to magistrates cannot expect a great deal of sympathy nor can they complain when magistrates take the view that they are lying and deceptive, but one must always look at these things with a breadth of restraint and, more particularly in this case, bearing in mind there was legal representation on that day, it does seem to me deeply regrettable that the magistrates were not given the advantage of full and proper information. It is apparent from the reasons they have given in the recorded finding that they could not have been.
10. Had the position been made plain they would not have come to the conclusion that the claimant had more money available to him than the money which was then being offered by Mr Tan on his behalf and that the original decision that he had been guilty of wilful refusal was to be regarded as vitiated by an error of fact underlying the basis for their conclusion.
11. This leaves me in the position where, on any basis, it is a case where there should be permission to apply for judicial review. But I have set out my reasons for so concluding in the hope that the case can be resolved, without a full hearing, once the facts, as this court understands them to be, are drawn to the attention of the Magistrates' Court and the interested party.
12. Thank you very much.

MR WHEATON: My Lord, I am grateful.

13. Lastly, may I invite your Lordship to order that a transcript be made available at public expense.
14. SIR GEORGE NEWMAN: Yes, I better. Of course where ought to make it plain the bail is continued. There is no great urgency, bearing in mind the bail is continued, but how soon, without inconveniencing the shorthand writer, can a transcript be made available to me to approve? (Pause). I will have the transcript. It will come to me and I will approve it as soon as I am able, but in the meantime it will not do any harm if you, or even Mr Tan, might make a telephone call or two.
15. MR WHEATON: Yes, sure.
16. SIR GEORGE NEWMAN: Thanks very much.