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UK CHURCHES - USPCONSORTIUM - Grok.pdf
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The case involves UK churches (primarily listed places of worship and associated charities) suffering harms from policy changes, including the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Act 2025 imposing additional costs, reductions to the Listed Places of Worship (LPOW) Grant Scheme (e.g., £25,000 annual VAT cap and budget cuts), and environmental issues like water pollution from sewage spills damaging heritage sites. Additional factors include highways defects delaying access and repairs, leading to escalated costs, asset devaluation, and operational disruptions. The focus is on establishing tort liabilities against non-central government public bodies to secure compensation for victims without admitting policy-level fault.
Form a Victim Coalition and Gather Evidence: Establish or expand a group like the UK Churches Collective Redress Group (UKCCRG) to represent affected churches (e.g., over 1,000 sites). Collect quantifiable data on losses, such as repair costs (£250,000+ per site), pollution damage records (e.g., sewage discharge logs from EA), highways defect reports from LAs, and impact assessments showing devaluation or disruptions. Use FOI requests (e.g., to CMA, as in the attachment) to obtain records on regulatory failures, EIAs, and enforcement gaps.
| Tort Liability | Description and Relevance | Liable Parties | How to Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negligence | Breach of duty of care causing foreseeable harm, e.g., operational failures in oversight leading to delayed repairs or pollution damage. | Local Authorities (LAs) under Highways Act 1980 for negligent road maintenance delaying church access; Historic England (HE) and Environment Agency (EA) for negligent heritage/pollution duties. | Collect site-specific reports (e.g., highways defect logs, pollution incident records from EA databases), expert assessments on causation (e.g., corrosion from spills), and financial records showing losses (e.g., £250,000 repair escalations). Use pre-action disclosures to obtain internal memos on known risks. |
| Nuisance | Unlawful interference with land enjoyment, e.g., pollution or infrastructure harms reducing church usability. | Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat for failing to prevent regulated sewage spills; Local Authorities (LAs) for public nuisance from poor infrastructure near sites. | Gather environmental data (e.g., EA discharge permits and spill records showing 700-year network replacement cycles), photographic/site surveys of damage (e.g., flooding), and community impact statements. Reference CMA FOI on utilities' dominance to show systemic under-enforcement. |
| Breach of Statutory Duty | Failure to comply with statutes intending private remedies, e.g., ignoring environmental or heritage protections. | Environment Agency (EA) under Environmental Permitting Regulations for pollution breaches; Historic England (HE) and Local Authorities (LAs) under Planning (Listed Buildings) Act 1990 for heritage failures. | Obtain statutory compliance records via FOI (e.g., EA enforcement logs, HE advice on LPOW sites), equality impact assessments (EIAs) showing PSED lapses under Equality Act 2010, and victim affidavits linking breaches to harms (e.g., halted restorations). Use NAO 2025 report excerpts on governance risks to demonstrate irrationality in duties. |
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GROK REPORT: FTM, FOIS, FOIGS, COAS, MEMBERS, MATOIPOS ;
GROK UK CHURCHES - FTM FOIS FOIGS USPS COAS.txt
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**COMMUNICATIONS**
lessons:
11dec - UK CHURCHES - FOI LESSONS.txt
10nov UKCHURCHES foirequests@hmtreasury.gov.uk.pdf
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17nov i sent a follow-up foi requesting the missing requested docs:
17NOV -UKCHURCHES- followup FOI TO HERTFORDSHIRE.txt
lessons: