9.83R v South Lanarkshire Council ex p MacGregor (2000) 4 CCLR 188, CSOH
Some waiting lists might be lawful but this waiting list was not as it did not prioritise applicants according to their needs and was a plain attempt to avoid meeting statutory duties
Facts: South Lanarkshire had assessed Mr MacGregor as requiring a nursing care home and had placed him on a waiting list, informing him that he would have to wait for several months until funding was available for his placement.
Judgment: Lord Hardie held that although the use of waiting lists could be lawful, in order to help local authorities utilise their resources effectively, in this case it was unlawful as there had been no attempt to prioritise those on the waiting list in relation to their needs and it amounted to an illegitimate attempt to use a shortage of financial resources as a reason for not discharging a statutory duty.
Comment: this case turned on the provisions of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, but the principle that a shortage of financial resources cannot justify delaying the discharge of a statutory duty ought to hold good in the rest of Britain.