Cambridge House began life in 1889 as part of the
Settlement Movement. Founded by graduates and undergraduates from
Trinity College, Cambridge and
Magdalene College, Cambridge, it was set up to tackle poverty and deprivation in the poorest parts of South London. By 1897
Cambridge University as a whole was involved. University graduates and undergraduates lived at Cambridge House and performed voluntary work for the local Southwark community. Settlement residents were involved with the direct relief of poverty, including "the provision of country holidays for city children; the organisation of boys clubs; educational and recreational activities; a free legal service; involvement in a range of public bodies." In 1900 a women's settlement called Talbot was established nearby, focussed on helping women and children. The organisations merged in 1972, becoming Cambridge House and Talbot. In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Cambridge House Law Centre's client in Kanu (Appellant) v Southwark London Borough Council. The case was significant regarding the rights of vulnerable homeless people to housing. The Court overturned previous case law and guidance and established that: • An authority’s duty to the homeless under Part VII Housing Act 1996 is not to be influenced or affected by the resources available to the authority. • The correct comparator when assessing whether someone is vulnerable for the reasons in s189 (1)(c ) is an ordinary person if made homeless. • Support from a third party can be taken into account when assessing whether a person is vulnerable but that needs to be applied with “considerable circumspection” and that the fact of support in itself is not enough. • In the case of an applicant who has or may have a disability then at each stage of the decision making process the decision maker must have due regard to the need to achieve the goals of the
Equality Act 2010 which include the need to eliminate discrimination, advance the equality of opportunity between those that have a disability and those that do not and to take active steps to meet the needs of those with a disability. S149 (1) (a)- ( c) Equality Act 2010. • That the consideration of the public sector equality duty must be exercised “in substance, with rigour and with an open mind”. == Services & Activities ==