S2 Ep10: The A to Z of Housing Discrimination Case Law: Bracking v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

From Akerman-Livingstone to Z v Hackney, learn about the cases and the principles which have shaped Housing Discrimination since the Equality Act 2010 came into force.  In each of our podcasts, we will discuss one case: its facts, its context, and what principles it decided. In this tenth podcast, Iris Ferber KC and James Hoile discuss Bracking v DWP, 2013’s foundational discrimination case about the Public Sector Equality Duty in section 149 of the Equality Act.  Although this was not a housing case, it was the first case authority to consider the (then) new duty, and it gave the Court of Appeal the opportunity to set out the fundamentals of how public bodies should comply with the PSED.  After looking at the history of the duty, and at the wording of section 149, we summarise the principles set out by the Court of Appeal, the extent of the duty, and its practical limitations.