Chambers Team

Matthew Stockwell

Born: 21.12.75
Called: 1998

LL.B. (Hons)
LL.M. (Dublin)

Public/Regulatory

Matthew has a growing portfolio of Local Authority clients, principally in the areas of mental health and community care provision. He regularly assists with matters of the utmost sensitivity and those involving significant financial consequences, often to give advice upon generic issues. Examples include:

• Disputed Community Care Provision
  
  Whether local authority assessments have been appropriately carried out and/or are being adequately implemented.
• Eligibility Decisions/Reviews
  
  Whether finance or other factors have properly been taken into account when adopting or refusing a particular service or package or when making changes to generic criteria.
• Welfare Declarations (now Court of Protection jurisdiction) and POVA matters
  
  Whether a particular care package (typically surrounding issues of long-term residence and/or family contact) is in the best interests of an incapable adult and other safeguarding issues.
• Liability Adjudications
  
  Whether the costs of a package are to be paid by one authority or another (so called “Ordinary Residence” disputes) or by a health trust (so called "Coughlan" disputes).
• Charging and Direct Payments
  
  Matthew also has broad experience in the field of education law (at primary, secondary and tertiary level), with particular expertise in the following areas:
  • School discipline and exclusions
  • Admission arrangements and appeals
  • Special Educational Needs, Learning Disability and associated provision
  • Damages claims arising from educational provision

Matthew also regularly receives instructions in the areas of data protection/freedom of information, disability discrimination, housing, recoupment (fraud and mistaken payments etc) and in respect of contractual disputes.

Matthew offers specialist training and seminars within his core areas of public law practice to assist with contentious areas and legislative changes.

Representative cases:

• R (J) v. Chief Constable of Cheshire Police [2005] EWHC 2457 (Admin); Times, Nov. 4, 2005 Matthew acted for the successful applicant for judicial review in a case of general public importance clarifying police powers under Pedlars Act 1871
• R (Culkin) v. Wirral Independent Appeal Panel [2009] EWHC 868 (Admin); [2009] All ER (D) 216 (Apr); [2009] ELR 287 Matthew successfully resisted a JR claim arising from the Claimant’s permanent exclusion. The claim involved numerous allegations of procedural unfairness and bias.

Relevant Memberships:

• Constitutional & Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
• Northern Administrative Law Association (NALA) - Secretary (2008) and Founding Member

Recommendations:

Legal 500: Health, Safety & Regulatory

“India Buildings Chambers has developed a local authority following for regulatory and public law instructions, spearheaded by Matthew Stockwell”

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To e-mail click here matthewstockwell@indiabuildings.co.uk but please copy the clerks into any relevant correspondence:- clairel@indiabuildings.co.uk

India Buildings Chambers
providing advocacy and advice in all aspects of Criminal, Civil, and Family Work