Councils may have to provide thousands of young people with more
extensive support following a
Law Lords judgement today in the case of a
homeless teenager.
The ruling could mean that many more homeless 16 and
17-year-olds receive social care support, and not just
accommodation, from councils, and a number of 18- to 21-year-olds
become entitled to leaving care support.
That was the
claim from solicitors firm Fisher Meredith,
which represented a young man, known as G, in the case against
Southwark Council.
Evicted at age 17
In 2007, aged 17, he was evicted from home by his mother, and
made effectively homeless.
However, following an assessment, Southwark children's services
deemed that he was not eligible to be looked-after under section 20
of the
Children Act 1989, and referred him to the
council's housing department.
It said his primary needs were for housing and education and he
did not have "any additional needs or vulnerabilities" that would
suggest the need to be accommodated under the Children Act.
Met looked-after criteria
However, the Law Lords ruled that G fulfilled all the criteria
required to be accommodated under councils' section 20 duty to look
after children whose parents or carers cannot accommodate
them:-
- He was a child "in need" by virtue of being homeless.
- He needed accommodation, and not just "help with
accommodation", a category which triggers local authorities' lesser
duty under section 17 to safeguard children in need. The Court of
Appeal had concluded that G only needed help with accommodation,
hence it was appropriate to refer him to the housing
department.
- His parents or carers were "prevented" from providing suitable
accommodation for him, a category which includes cases where
children have been evicted from home.
- He wanted to be accommodated under section 20.
Leaving care support triggered
This means he will be entitled to leaving care support,
including a pathway plan and a personal adviser, until the age of
21, or 24, if he is then receiving education or training.
Following the judgement, Oliver Studdert, the solicitor who
represented G, said “The effect of the judgement is going to really
open the door for 16- and 17-year-olds to be provided with support
and accommodation by local authority social services.
"There are a number of 16- and 17-year-olds who are being
accommodated by social services but statistics show that
considerably more are being accommodated by housing departments
which means they won’t be entitled to any support beyond
housing.”
Support for over-18s
He said a number of 18- to 21-year-olds who were dealt with
under homelessness legislation but should have been treated as
looked-after children should now become entitled to leaving care
support.
A spokesperson for Southwark Council said: "As a borough we’re
very committed to looking after young people in need and this
judgement means we, and many other boroughs, will need to review
and in some ways change the ways in which we provide these
services.
"We are reviewing in detail the judgement and its implications.
At this stage it’s too early to say what these implications will
mean for service delivery and resources."
Need for guidance
Studdert said that if local authorities did not act on the back
of the judgement, Fisher Meredith may have to call on the
Department for Children, Schools and Families to produce guidance
on the issue.
A spokesperson for the DCSF, which intervened in the case, said:
“The department notes the judgement in this case which supports our
view that local authorities should presume, in the case of any
homeless child, that the child should be accommodated under section
20(1) of the Children Act 1989 and be looked after by the local
authority.”
Related articles
Accommodation and vulnerable 16- and
17-year-olds
Law Lords: Council should have assessed teen
under Children Act
More information
Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000