"Until trial or further order the Defendants shall not ... cause or permit the publication of the address or location of any house of which the Claimant is or may become the ... owner or ... licensee or which the Claimant is in the process of acquiring for occupation. "
"Sex offenders and disturbed teenagers from all over Britain are set to be housed near a Black Country primary school, the Express and Star can reveal today. Children's home operator Green Corns, which caters for some of society's most troubled young people, has bought the three bedroom semi-detached property in ... Wolverhampton - just streets away from several schools. The private firm, based in Wolverhampton and Rochdale Greater Manchester, looks after problem children aged 11 - 17 including single parents, those with extreme and challenging behaviour or mental health problems, and those who harm others sexually. It is understood two carers will be employed to look after just one youngster around the clock, costing taxpayers around£8,000 a week. The previous tenants moved out at the end of November and work is now underway to extend the bedroom in preparation for the first arrival, expected around the end of February. Furious parents with children at ... Primary School in nearby ... Avenue are concerned that many pupils walk past the property every day. They have organised an emergency public meeting at the school at 7pm on Thursday due to be attended by councillors and Green Corns regional manager Alan Butler. ..., who has three children at ... Primary School aged 8,7 and 5 said: "
"Dozens of houses have been bought up in the Black Country to house sex offenders and disturbed teenagers, the Express and Star can reveal... we can reveal a house in ... has already been bought by the firm. And a youngster is already living in the house in the Bradmore area .... The ... home is yards from ... Infant School where in 1996 nursery nurse ... saved children from being harmed by machete maniac Horret Campbell. Neighbour ... said ..., a three bedroom detached home, has been bought by Green Corns. They have told local families that young sex offenders, child abusers and teenagers with extreme and challenging behaviour could be housed there ... "
"Hundreds of angry residents and parents braved the cold weather to campaign against plans to house young sex offenders and disturbed teenagers in a quiet Wolverhampton Street. Around three hundred people attended an emergency meeting last night at ... Church Hall .... Where they heard the children's home operator Green Corns had bought a three-bedroom house for up to six youngsters. The house ... is undergoing repairs in preparation for the youngsters, who will be supervised around the clock by carers. ... ..., aged 73 who lives at [the next door address], said: "
" ... Although information that CSCI holds about registration of their service providers/managers is not accessible under FIA, some information about currently registered services is available to the public underSection 6 of the Care Standards Act 2000 .... Including the name, address and telephone number of the establishment, the date of registration, any conditions imposed on the registration, the service category, the number of service users of each sex, etc. Anyone asking for a copy or extract from the register is entitled to have one, under Section 36 (1) but Section 36 (3) allows for regulations to prescribe circumstances in which these provisions are not applicable.The Care Standards Act 2000 (Establishments And Agencies) Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2002 state that register entries of children's homes are restricted to include only the name of the home and the telephone number but not the address or other location details for the safety and protection of children. Hence the addresses of children's homes on the register cannot be supplied to anyone making a request under Section 36 (1) of the CSA and the address is/are therefore, also exempt under Section 44 of the FOIA, prohibitions on disclosure. Regarding the second part of your request, the CSI received a petition and about eighty letters objecting to the location of Green Corns home in a residential street. As these documents contain personal information and information provided in confidence they are exempt from disclosure under Sections 40 and 41 of the FOIA. Due to the nature and number of letters received, the business relationship manager has prepared a standard response and I attach a copy for your information."
"The Regulations referred to are supported by National Minimum Standards, which the Commission must take into account in its decision making, but these are not in themselves legally enforceable. These touch on relations with the wider community at Standard 34.9- the manager is required to "take reasonable steps to ensure good relationships with neighbours and the wider community"
"3. Green Corns Limited ('Green Corns') is a company which carries on the business of providing care to vulnerable children between the ages of 9 and 18. Usually these children are placed under the care of Green Corns by local authorities and very often the children will have been through a number of care homes already before coming to Green Corns. 4. It is correct to say that Green Corns is one of the largest providers of specialist care services for children aged 9 to 18 in the United Kingdom. Operations have been established by the company in the West Midlands, as there are 6,000 'looked after' children who may be in care in the region with over 3,000 in the particular region known as 'the Black Country' where the Defendant's newspaper is circulated. 5. In the recent Green Paper published by the Government entitled 'Every Child Matters', following the Laiming Enquiry set up to investigate the death of Victoria Climbie, the Government stated as policy that children in care should be housed within 20 miles of where they originate from. This is a policy which Green Corns tries to adhere to when locating a child that is placed with it. 6. The Children that are placed with Green Corns are all vulnerable children. This is not merely by reason of their minority but also because of their experiences in life. Of the children under the care of Green Corns about 75% have been abused physically, sexually or emotionally damaged. Our figures show that 26% of our clients have been sexually abused and a further 54% suffer from family disfunction, challenging behaviour (usually caused by abusive behaviour etc.). Some of the children will have been through the criminal legal system but the majority have not. 7. I shall explain the care that is provided by Green Corns in general terms so that the court can understand the sensitivity of the work with which we are engaged. I should stress that in this witness statement I am only describing the procedures employed by Green Corns insofar as they are relevant to this case. 8. The general procedure which is adopted by Green Corns is that a house is purchased outright by the company and is selected in accordance with certain 'safety' criteria to ensure that the child under care is not exposed to inappropriate company. An example of this is that we would not acquire a house in an estate which is known to have a drug or gang problem. 9. It is important to emphasise that the investment of Green Corns in the care of the children placed with it is substantial. Green Corns purchases the property, provides carers on a 24hr17 days a week basis to the children so that they are not left unattended at any time. Only when the Local Authority placing the child together with Green Corns assess that there is no longer a significant risk to the community, is any child allowed to leave the house. The children do not access mainstream schools as they are provided with their educational needs in the house by Green Corns. The educational services provided are specialist services as many of the children have learning difficulties. Over time the children are taught to become independent. Children are required by the placing Social Services department to be provided with pocket money. Children are taught to budget the use of this money,£8 per week under age 16 in two instalments to purchase items from the local shop on their accompanied visits. 10. It is very important that it is understood that this is specialist care that is provided by Green Corns and there is only one child in a house that is purchased at anyone time. There will be one but more likely two carers in the house with that child at any one time. No two houses are purchased by Green Corns in close proximity. The intention of Green Corns is to try to place a vulnerable child into an as near "normal" and safe environment as possible near to where they originate. 11. Each house is registered with the Commission for Social Care and Inspection ('the Inspectorate') although that register is not available to the public as the publication of the addresses of homes in which vulnerable children are housed is clearly dangerous. Publication of the addresses would make the houses a target for criminals and paedophiles as well as inviting protests at the houses, which in itself can have a detrimental effect. ACQUIRING PROPERTIES 12. In acquiring properties Green Corns does not publicise the fact, as this would be detrimental to the purpose for which it is acquired. The company only uses certain building companies to carry out any refurbishment work which is required before occupation. These builders are told not to divulge the name or business of the purchasers, as indeed are estate agents and property finders. 13 Likewise carers attending at houses are instructed not to discuss their activities with anyone else. 14 Whilst a register identifying the houses is kept by the Inspectorate that register is not made available to the public by the Inspectorate or by Green Corns."
" I believe that the issue of where problem children should be placed, including the specific location of placements, are issues of the highest public interest. People are understandably concerned about the impact on their on their own children, on the area, and on property values. Some of their concerns may be exaggerated, but I suggest they are better met by argument and information than unrealistic attempts at imposing secrecy."
"I should emphasise that there was never, ever, any possibility of any of the residents of the Applicants homes being identified in the E and S. "
"12. - (1) This section applies if a court is considering whether to grant any relief which, if granted, might affect the exercise of the Convention right to freedom of expression ... (3) No such relief is to be granted so as to restrain publication before trial unless the court is satisfied that the applicant is likely to establish that publication should not be allowed. (4) The court must have particular regard to the importance of the Convention right to freedom of expression and, where the proceedings relate to material which the respondent claims, or which appears to the court, to be journalistic, literary or artistic material (or to conduct connected with such material), to- (a) the extent to which- (i) the material has, or is about to, become available to the public; or (ii) it is, or would be, in the public interest for the material to be published; (b) any relevant privacy code."
"Article 8 - Right to respect for private and family life 1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. 2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of · .. , public safety or ... , for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."
"22 .... section 12(3) makes the likelihood of success at the trial an essential element in the court's consideration of whether to make an interim order. But in order to achieve the necessary flexibility the degree of likelihood of success at the trial needed to satisfy section 12(3) must depend on the circumstances. There can be no single, rigid standard governing all applications for interim restraint orders. Rather, on its proper construction the effect of section 12(3) is that the court is not to make an interim restraint order unless satisfied the applicant's prospects of success at the trial are sufficiently favourable to justify such an order being made in the particular circumstances of the case. As to what degree of likelihood makes the prospects of success 'sufficiently favourable', the general approach should be that courts will be exceedingly slow to make interim restraint orders where the applicant has not satisfied the court he will probably ('more likely than not') succeed at the trial. In general, that should be the threshold an applicant must cross before the court embarks on exercising its discretion, duly taking into account the relevant jurisprudence on article 10 and any countervailing Convention rights. But there will be cases where it is necessary for a court to depart from this general approach and a lesser degree of likelihood will suffice as a prerequisite. Circumstances where this may be so include those mentioned above: where the potential adverse consequences of disclosure are particularly grave, or where a short-lived injunction is needed to enable the court to hear and give proper consideration to an application for interim relief pending the trial or any relevant appeal. 23. This interpretation achieves the purpose underlying section 12(3). Despite its apparent circularity, this interpretation emphasises the importance of the applicant's prospects of success as a factor to be taken into account when the court is deciding whether to make an interim restraint order. It provides, as is only sensible, that the weight to be given to this factor will depend on the circumstances. By this means the general approach outlined above does not accord inappropriate weight to the Convention right of freedom of expression as compared with the right to respect for private life or other Convention rights. This approach gives effect to the parliamentary intention that courts should have particular regard to the importance of the right to freedom of expression and at the same time it is sufficiently flexible in its application to give effect to countervailing Convention rights"
"17 The interplay between Arts 8 and 10 has been illuminated by the opinions in the House of Lords in Campbell v MGN Ltd[2004] 2 WLR 1232 What does, however, emerge clearly from the opinions are four propositions. First, neither article has as such precedence over the other. Secondly, where the values under the two articles are in conflict, an intense focus on the comparative importance of the specific rights being claimed in the individual case is necessary. Thirdly, the justifications for interfering with or restricting each right must be taken into account. Finally, the proportionality test must be applied to each. For convenience I will call this the ultimate balancing test. "
"14 This cause of action has now firmly shaken off the limiting constraint of the need for an initial confidential relationship. In doing so it has changed its nature. In this country this development was recognised clearly in the judgment of Lord Goff of Chieveley in Attorney General v Guardian Newspapers Ltd (No 2)[1990] 1 AC 109 ,281. Now the law imposes a "duty of confidence" whenever a person receives information he knows or ought to know is fairly and reasonably to be regarded as confidential. Even this formulation is awkward. The continuing use of the phrase "duty of confidence" and the description of the information as "confidential" is not altogether comfortable. Information about an individual's private life would not, in ordinary usage, be called "confidential"
"[Articles 8 and 10] have provided new parameters within which the court will decide, in an action for breach of confidence, whether a person is entitled to have his privacy protected by the court or whether the restriction of freedom of expression which such protection involves cannot be justified. The court's approach to the issues which the applications raise has been modified because, under section 6 of the 1998 Act, the court, as a public authority, is required not to 'act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right'. The court is able to achieve this by absorbing the rights which articles 8 and 10 protect into the long-established action for breach of confidence. This involves giving a new strength and breadth to the action so that it accommodates the requirements of these articles."
"This appeal is concerned with the problem which arises when offenders who have committed serious sexual offences against children are released from prison after serving long prison sentences. When this happens, the public are naturally concerned that the offenders should not have the opportunity to commit again offences of the same nature. The police and other agencies who are involved in protecting children from offending of this nature obviously share this concern. Regrettably recent experience has confirmed that while some former sexual offenders' behaviour has changed after serving their sentence, other offenders retain the propensity to repeat their offending and, if given the opportunity to do so, commit further serious offences of the same or a similar nature. The police and the other agencies therefore have the very heavy responsibility of deciding on the steps which it is appropriate to take to provide protection for children who could in this way be at risk from former offenders. In reaching their decisions the police and the other agencies cannot ignore the position of the offender. The offender has served his sentence and he may be determined, so far as possible, to re-establish himself as a law-abiding member of society. His ability to do this will be made far more difficult if he is subject to the attention of the media or harassment by members of the community, who because of his past, do not want him to live amongst them. Sometimes a former sex offender can be at risk of physical attack from those who are outraged by his or her previous offending. In addition to having to take into account the interests of the offender, it is also necessary to take into account the danger of driving those who have paedophile tendencies underground. When their whereabouts are known, it is simpler for those responsible to ensure that they are living and working in conditions which reduce the risk of repetition of their previous conduct. Most importantly steps may be able to be taken to ensure that they are subject to suitable supervision, that they receive appropriate treatment and support and are suitably housed. If, instead, the former offender is driven underground by the conduct of the media or members of the community in which he is living, this may make it impossible to take steps which would otherwise be available to protect children living in the area. The tension which is the result of these conflicting considerations makes the position of the police one of extreme difficulty and sensitivity. They can be criticised for taking no or inadequate action to protect children at risk. Where they take action they can be open to criticism, either because of its effect on the ability of the offender to live a normal life or because it causes the offender to conceal his whereabouts so that children are more at risk than they would have been if this had not happened. "
"Each case must be judged on its own facts. However, in doing this, it must be remembered that the decision to which the police have to come as to whether or not to disclose the identity of paedophiles to members of the public, is a highly sensitive one. Disclosure should only be made when there is a pressing need for that disclosure. Before reaching their decision as to whether to disclose the police require as much information as can reasonably practicably be obtained in the circumstances. In the majority of the situations which can be anticipated, it will be obvious that the subject of the possible disclosure will often be in the best position to provide information which will be valuable when assessing the risk."
" ... counsel for the Secretary of State and also, I think, counsel for the police authority were disposed to argue that issues of disclosure of confidential or private information could not arise in any event on the facts of this case, because the fact of AB and CD's convictions were by concession and self-evidently neither confidential nor private, and the identity of AB and CD and their presence on the caravan site was already known to the person to whom disclosure was made. I do not think that the matter can be turned away so easily. What in this case might at least be argued to have the basic attribute of inaccessibility (see Gurry, Breach of Confidence(1984), p. 70, cited in Attorney-General v. Guardian Newspapers Ltd. (No.2)[1990] 1 AC 109 ,215) was the conjunction of those various facts. It was that conjunction that the police deliberately brought to the attention of the site owner, when otherwise he would not, or probably would not, have found it out. As I have said, I very much doubt whether the subject of even that conjunction of information can claim confidence in it, because none of that information has come into the possession of its holder in circumstances that impart an obligation of confidence. I do however consider that a wish that certain facts in one's past, however notorious at the time, should remain in that past is an aspect of the subject's private life sufficient at least potentially to raise questions underarticle 8 of the Convention ."
"11 (1) ... the registrar must keep an index of proprietors' names, showing for each individual register the name of the proprietor of the registered estate ... (3) A person may apply in Form PNI for a search to be made in the index in respect of either his own name or the name of some other person in whose property he can satisfy the registrar that he is interested generally (for instance as trustee in bankruptcy or personal representative)."
"In a modem, developed society it is only a small minority of citizens who can participate directly in the discussions and decisions which shape the public life of that society. The majority can participate only indirectly, by exercising their rights as citizens to vote, express their opinions, make representations to the authorities, form pressure groups and so on. But the majority cannot participate in the public life of their society in these ways if they are not alerted to and informed about matters which call or may call for consideration and action. It is very largely through the media, including of course the press, that they will be so alerted and informed. The proper functioning of a modem participatory democracy requires that the media be free, active, professional and inquiring. For this reason the courts, here and elsewhere, have recognised the cardinal importance of press freedom and the need for any restriction on that freedom to be proportionate and no more than is necessary to promote the legitimate object of the restriction. "