In Smith & Anor v Manchester City Council [2025] EWHC 2987 (KB) the claimants, a married couple with strong evangelical Christian beliefs, wanted to foster children; however, their application did not progress beyond the first stage of the Council’s suitability assessment. One reason was that the social workers examining it concluded that they would find it “quite difficult to be proactive in promoting a diverse view of the world” [1]. They were particularly concerned about the claimants’ belief that homosexuality and abortion were wrong and their gender-critical views, and the possibility that they might express such views to any children entrusted to their care [2]. The couple took proceedings in the Manchester County Court claiming remedies under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010, but were unsuccessful [3 & 4], and appealed. Continue reading →