British Oxygen Co Ltd v Minister of Technology [1970] UKHL 4[1] is a UK constitutional law case, concerning judicial review.

The Board had a discretionary power to give grants to help firms with capital expenditure under the Industrial Development Act 1966 s 13(1).

The House of Lords accepted that the department was entitled to make a rule or policy, if it was prepared to listen to arguments for the exercise of individual discretion.

Lord Reid said the following: There may be cases where an officer or authority ought to listen to a substantial argument reasonably presented urging a change of policy.

But a Ministry or large authority may have had to deal already with a multitude of similar applications and then they will almost certainly have evolved a policy so precise that it could well be called a rule.