Blackett, R (on the application of) v Nursing and Midwifery Council

A statutory appeal must be brought within the period fixed by the enabling legislation where that legislation contains no power to extend time. General procedural rules cannot enlarge a statutory time limit where they are subject to special statutory provisions. An informal letter to the regulator is not an appeal to the High Court where the applicable procedure requires an appellant’s notice. A three-month limit for disciplinary appeals is compatible with Article 6 where it serves legal certainty and is proportionate. The appellate court must not substitute its view for that of a specialist disciplinary committee unless its decision falls outside the range of reasonable decisions.

The claimant appealed against the Professional Conduct Committee’s decision to remove her name from the nursing register. The decision followed her admission that she had failed to disclose previous convictions when applying for nursing employment and requesting a police check.

The Council notified her of the decision on 1 April 2003. She wrote to the Council on 12 June expressing an intention to appeal, but did not file an appeal in the High Court until 11 December 2003. The issues were whether the June letter constituted an appeal, whether the statutory three-month period could be extended, whether the limit was compatible with Article 6, and, if the appeal were in time, whether the removal decision was lawful and reasonable.

1. Outcome. The appeal was out of time and failed. The court had no power to extend the three-month period in section 12 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1997.
2. Statutory time limit. Section 12 fixes the period for appealing at three months after notice of the Council’s decision. Nothing in the section confers a power to enlarge that period. Order 52 and rule 3.1(2)(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 do not supply such a power. Rule 52(6) regulates applications to vary time where a power to vary exists; it does not create that power.
3. Commencement. The claimant’s letter to the Council was not an appeal to the appropriate court. No notice had been given to the High Court.
4. Article 6. The three-month period pursued certainty and finality in disciplinary proceedings and was not disproportionate.
5. Merits. Had the appeal been in time, it would have been refused. The failure to disclose convictions was relevant to nursing integrity and public protection. The removal decision was within the range of reasonable decisions.

Statutory appeal to the High Court under section 12 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1997. The appeal was dismissed as out of time.