Tag Archive for 'child in need'

N.I.M.A.C.

By chief on 11/02/2011. 1 Comment

R (FZ) v LB Croydon [2011] EWCA Civ 59

-or-

Not In My Admin Court

We have written before about age assessments for those who might be under 18 – see most recently our post on R (CJ) v Cardiff CC and, prior to that, our post on the Supreme Court decision in R (A) v Croydon (which remains our only post to take its title from a Rolf Harris chart topper).

The long and short of Croydon is that an assessment that a young person is over 18 may be challenged by JR in the Admin Court.

In FZ the applicant sought to do exactly that, but was refused … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: , , .

M not G

By NL on 06/05/2010. 3 Comments

TG, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Lambeth [2010] EWHC 907 (Admin)

Or when is a child in need not a child in need?

This was the judicial review of Lambeth’s decision not to support TG as a ‘former relevant child’, he being over 18. The question was, quite simply, had TG been a ‘looked after child’ at any point before he was 18, in particular what functions Lambeth was exercising when it provided TG with accommodation.

TG was living with his mother until March 2006. In 2004 he had come into contact with Lambeth’s Youth Offending team, there followed a sentence of a supervision order in … Read the full post

Posted in Community care, FLW case note, Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .

Each had a wooden horse

By chief on 29/11/2009. 1 Comment

R (A) v Croydon & R (M) v Lambeth UKSC [2009] 8

This was an appeal heard by the House of Lords over the course of four days in July, but with judgment delivered by the new Supreme Court.  We reported the Court of Appeal’s judgment here.  At issue was to what extent the courts could review the decision of a local authority that an individual is over the age of 18.  On one view this case turns on a narrow point about construction of the Children Act 1989 and does not really need a lengthy examination on a housing law blog.  I’m going to suggest that there is … Read the full post

Posted in Community care, FLW case note, Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .

Child in Need, Indeed

By chief on 26/11/2009. 2 Comments

The Supreme Court has handed down judgment in the case of R (A) v Croydon and R (M) v Lambeth [2009] UKSC 8.  This is an important decision about the duty of LAs under s.20(1) of the Children Act 1989 to “provide accommodation for any child in need within their area”.  We will look at this judgment in more detail soon [edit: see here], but for now what you need to know is:

  1. The courts can review whether a person is a “child” for the purposes of the Children Act 1989, this is a separate question to whether they are “in need”;
  2. Ordinary domestic judicial review can be adapted

    3. … Read the full post

Posted in Community care, Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .

Long on principle, short on detail

By NL on 21/10/2009. 0 Comments

S (A Child), R (on the application of) v Plymouth City Council [2009] EWHC 1499 (Admin)

Not sure how we missed this one and thanks to the Legal Action housing updates for the elbow to the ribs.

This was a permission hearing on an application for judicial review of Plymouth Council’s handling of a child in need under s.17 Children Act 1989, specifically how accommodation needs were dealt with.

S was an 11 year old child who was autistic and had behavioural difficulties. He lived with his mother and brother. it was not in issue that he was a child in need for the purposes of the Act. The family … Read the full post

Posted in Community care, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .

Child 'requires accommodation'

By NL on 21/05/2009. 5 Comments

R (G) v Southwark [2009] UKHL 26 was the appeal to the House of Lords of this Court of Appeal judgment. At issue was whether Southwark could effectively avoid its s.20 Children Act duty to accommodate a homeless child by referral to the Housing Department by way of application under Part VII Housing Act 1996. The earlier post gives the factual background, but briefly G was 17 when he approached Southwark Social Services, after being thrown out of his family home and sofa surfing with friends. Southwark assessed him as having primary needs in housing and education, and suggested referrals to the HPU and to other agencies, including social … Read the full post

Posted in Community care, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .

How not to carry out a child in need assessment

By chief on 07/03/2009. 0 Comments

R (MM) v LB of Lewisham [2009] EWHC 416 (Admin)

Slapped wrists all round for Lewisham’s Children’s Social Care Services in another Children Act 1989 “child in need” case, but in this case the issue was not whether the claimant was a child, but whether she was “in need”.

In July 2007 the claimant, then aged 17 and a half, was referred to Lewisham’s Social Services Department by a support worker at the refuge she was staying at.  The support worker told Lewisham that the claimant had come to the refuge fleeing domestic violence, she was vulnerable and lacking life skills.  In the same month Lewisham decided not to support … Read the full post

Posted in Community care, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: , , .
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