Katy Ferris

Proposals to Transfer Complaints Panels to the Commission for Social Care Inspection – Throwing the Baby out with the Bath Water?

This article considers proposed changes to the social services complaints procedure. The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 makes provision for Complaints Panels to be taken away from local authorities. The suggestion is that in future the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) should be responsible for running all Panels. We argue that this proposal is not grounded in a satisfactory rationale, is not the best solution to any concerns about Panels and could lead to problems for all concerned: complainants, Panel members, complaints officers and the CSCI itself.

Delaney and the Motor Vehicle Insurance Directives: lessons for the teaching of EU law

ABSTRACT A recent series of cases relating to the EU Motor Vehicle Insurance Directives and their application in the UK makes for interesting reading. It is the UK’s negligent transposition, and a lack of knowledge and awareness by lawyers and judges in the cases of the interaction between domestic and EU law, which compounds the negative effects. The issues raised in Delaney v Pickett [2011] and Delaney v Secretary of State [2014] do not just generate concern as to the implications they have for the application of EU law principles, but have resonance with the way in which EU law is taught in many universities. In this article we suggest that reconsidering the method and purpose of EU teaching may better serve the EU-lawyers needed for the future.