R (on the application of Copson) v Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust [2013] EWHC 732 (Admin), [2013] All ER (D) 24 (Apr)
It was established law that the burden was on the claimant to establish a failure to comply with s 149(1) of the Equality Act 2008. It was not on the defendant to prove that it had complied with that provision (see [57] of the judgment). In the instant case, it was obvious that the defendant had had the public sector equality duty well in mind. That was apparent from the fact that an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) had been procured and repeatedly reviewed. Further, the instant case had concerned the provision of services to persons with a relevant protected characteristic, and the relevant protected characteristic was the reason for the provision of services to them.
