Pre-Action Letter: The Mayor of London-commissioned St Mungo's withhold case notes in clear violation of Declan's rights under the Human Rights Act. Details of Claim revealed in this post. Particulars of Claim up next (WITH UPDATE 29/4/2019)
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County Court at Central London, Royal Courts of Justice
Heavey v St Mungo's (2016)
Trial held in the Central London County Court, Royal Courts of Justice on 20 February 2017.
On 23 August 2018, Declan complained to the Information Commissioner's Office about case notes St Mungo's Executive Director Dominic Williamson assured the Court at trial in February 2017 had been rectified by him but were in fact being held under my name. It took the scheduling of a preliminary hearing in October 2016 to have case notes from two meetings so-called rectified by Williamson as Declan had requested all along; and that rectification only took place after a failed attempt by an international firm of solicitors, Osborne Clarke, to have Declan's claim struck out on the papers. The judge at the preliminary hearing dismissed St Mungo's application to strike out Declan's claim for compensation. DJ Avent's order dated 11 March 2017 does not state why he dismissed the claim at trial. Williamson: "The court case concerned your complaint about the notes on your record. My understanding is that following the court case it became apparent that the note in contention was mirrored on your wife's record - which I don't recall being aware of at the time - and this was subsequently amended to reflect the change we had made to yours. The court was therefore not misled." We do not accept that the court was not misled.
4 January: Information Commissioner: Declan battles the Commissioner's Lead Case Officer over the nature of his data complaint against the Mayor of London-commissioned St Mungo's (WITH UPDATE 31/1/2019) What an experience!
Declan and I are housed in a flat that is part of the Mayor of London's Rough Sleepers Initiative. Alongside our tenancy is access to the Mayor's Tenancy Sustainment Team (TST) at St Mungo's. It has been acknowledged by the Greater London Authority in court papers that both Declan and I can live independently – we do not have addictions or mental illness or behavioural issues. Our needs are solely related to the harassment, discrimination and intimidation we routinely face. Only last January, Declan came within days of filing in the Central London County Court a second claim against St Mungo's in three years; see my post of 27 January, Particulars of Claim: Declan is forced to issue court proceedings against the Mayor of London-commissioned St Mungo's without further notice (WITH UPDATE 31/1/2019). For over two months he has been fighting for the first of two unrecorded meetings, held on 18 February, to be recorded as agreed with St Mungo's TST during the second unrecorded meeting over a month ago. This is the latest in a string of violations that have had a destabilising effect upon our tenancy month in, month out for almost a year. Last Friday he issued St Mungo's CEO Howard Sinclair this pre-action letter under the Human Rights Act 1998:
Howard Sinclair
Chief Executive
St Mungo's
3 Thomas More Square
London
E1W 1YW
26 April 2019
Pre-Action Letter
Dear Mr Sinclair
In re Breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998
I have been fighting for over two months for notes from the first of two unrecorded meetings, held on 18 February, to be inputted into your Opal system as agreed with the St Mungo's Tenancy Sustainment Team (TST) during the second unrecorded meeting over a month ago. The withholding of these and other notes is done in clear violation of my rights under the Human Rights Act (HRA), which compels charities such as St Mungo's to treat everyone equally, with fairness, dignity and respect.
This withholding of information comes on foot of a string of other violations of the HRA that have had a destabilising effect upon my and my wife's tenancy month in, month out for almost a year. Please could you provide me with a clear written explanation of why the decision has now been made not to immediately input into your Opal system agreed-upon notes from five different dates, and in a manner that does not violate my rights under the HRA. For example, my wife and I do not agree to emails (and/or their attachments) from any party being used as notes.
I have seen and fought the awful results of email and other forms of communication, such as my calls in to the TST duty line, being turned into notes without my knowledge or consent. There should, however, be no reason why the five agreed-upon notes currently at issue cannot be inputted into Opal in the same manner as those notes already on the system. Please note that it is both unfair and unreasonable for St Mungo's to expect me to attend a meeting to discuss this matter when the charity will not explain to me in writing why agreed-upon notes from two meetings this year, and more besides, are currently being withheld.
Time is of the essence in this matter, as the ongoing withholding of this information could have serious consequences for me in the short term, depending on why these notes are being withheld. Therefore, if I do not receive a full response from you within 14 days of the date of this letter, I intend to issue court proceedings without further notice.
Yours sincerely
Declan Heavey
Managing Director
Network for Church Monitoring
Claimant: Declan Heavey
Defendant: St Mungo's
Brief details of claim
The Claimant and his wife are tenants of Defendant's Clearing House. For almost a year, the Claimant has been battling the Defendant to stabilise his and his wife's tenancy. First it was problems with the renewal of their tenancy agreement, which took over two months and the threat of court action to resolve. For over two months from late June 2018, it was problems with inaccurate case notes, which got even more serious on 1 August 2018 when the Claimant discovered that notes the Defendant had assured the Court the year previous had been rectified were in fact being held under the Claimant's wife's name. In January 2019, the Claimant discovered that outrageous communication notes were being held without his knowledge or consent since May 2018. These notes were subsequently deleted but the Defendant is currently refusing without explanation to input into its Opal system agreed-upon notes dating back to February 2019. These four examples are by no means exhaustive. The Claimant contends that in the context of his supported housing tenancy, the serial breaching of the Human Rights Act by the Defendant that has occurred, and continues to occur, constitutes discrimination, a type of harassment, and a threat to life. The Claimant is therefore making an application to the Court for a declaration that the Defendant has acted unlawfully and in dereliction of its duty. The Claimant seeks damages for distress and costs.
Value
The Claimant expects to recover not more than £1,000.
Defendant: St Mungo's
Brief details of claim
The Claimant and his wife are tenants of Defendant's Clearing House. For almost a year, the Claimant has been battling the Defendant to stabilise his and his wife's tenancy. First it was problems with the renewal of their tenancy agreement, which took over two months and the threat of court action to resolve. For over two months from late June 2018, it was problems with inaccurate case notes, which got even more serious on 1 August 2018 when the Claimant discovered that notes the Defendant had assured the Court the year previous had been rectified were in fact being held under the Claimant's wife's name. In January 2019, the Claimant discovered that outrageous communication notes were being held without his knowledge or consent since May 2018. These notes were subsequently deleted but the Defendant is currently refusing without explanation to input into its Opal system agreed-upon notes dating back to February 2019. These four examples are by no means exhaustive. The Claimant contends that in the context of his supported housing tenancy, the serial breaching of the Human Rights Act by the Defendant that has occurred, and continues to occur, constitutes discrimination, a type of harassment, and a threat to life. The Claimant is therefore making an application to the Court for a declaration that the Defendant has acted unlawfully and in dereliction of its duty. The Claimant seeks damages for distress and costs.
Value
The Claimant expects to recover not more than £1,000.
Last May St Mungo's made the international press for all the wrong reasons. They are accused of helping to get rough sleepers arrested and deported. When the story came through my Russia Today (RT) news feed, it left Declan gob smacked. He subsequently spoke with Diane Taylor, the journalist covering the story for the Guardian.
EU freedom for rough sleepers infringed - shock horror. https://t.co/RuJKrSEiTm
— Andrew Martin (@devonprof) May 14, 2018
UPDATE 29 April (5.05pm): Not a squeak! Today we're dealing with absolute silence from St Mungo's, which is ominous, and swiftly heading for Particulars of Claim under the Human Rights Act Articles 8 (protection of family life and home) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination). Declan will probably draw up the particulars this week. I am battling the internet connection speeds I am getting on my primary laptop; see my previous post yesterday, The internet connection on my primary laptop is taken away again. The previous record for this form of assault is over three months on the same laptop. Declan pays British Telecom £900 per year for Superfast Fibre 2 Unlimited broadband with an average speed advertised at 67Mb. He has been experiencing no issues this month with speeds on his primary laptop. I, on the other hand, have been struggling since last Monday. Today I can hardly open a page.
From My Picks:
8 April: Threat to Life: Declan writes to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan about the blockade across London on his volunteer applications notwithstanding his support from the Mayor-commissioned St Mungo's (Local Government Ombudsman Case ID: 18011204)
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
'Let me recommend an important web site churchandstate.org.uk. Operating out of London this well-designed and exciting web site covers church-state, population, climate change and other issues. Check it out.' Edd Doerr, President, Americans for Religious Liberty
http://churchandstate.org.uk/about/
