[2023] UKSC 23
The Secretary of State's Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme resettles in the UK those vulnerable refugees who have fled the conflict in Syria and who are referred to the scheme by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the "UNHCR"). The appellants are Palestinian refugees from Syria who, by virtue of being Palestinian, are excluded from the mandate of the UNHCR and so effectively excluded from being resettled under the Scheme.
The appellants challenged the Scheme on the ground that it unlawfully discriminated indirectly against them as Palestinians, contrary to section 29(6) of the the Equality Act 2010 (the "EA 2010"), and that the Home Secretary had failed to have due regard to its equality implications when setting up the Scheme, contrary to section 149(1) of the EA 2010.
The Court of Appeal held, inter alia, that section 149(1) did not have extraterritorial effect. The Appellants now appeal to the Supreme Court.
The issue is:
The sole issue in this appeal is: what is the territorial scope of the public sector equality duty in section 149(1) of the EA 2010, which requires public authorities to have due regard to equality issues?
The Supreme Court unanimously dismisses the appeal.
More information is available on our website: UKSC 2021/0195
