Oxon must provide for Jamaican family

Oxfordshire Council must rethink its decision to offer a Jamaican
family a ticket home rather than housing and financial
support.

It follows a High Court case in which Mr Justice Kay said the
council had only a “flimsy basis” for saying that the woman – a
victim of domestic violence – and her two teenage daughters would
be better off in Jamaica.

He described the council’s view that the family would find
permanency and security in the Caribbean as “speculative”.

The decision forces the council to continue providing the family
with interim accommodation and support and reconsider their
application for support under the National Assistance Act
1948.

The family moved to Britain after the mother married a British
citizen. The woman and her eldest daughter suffered “verbal and
physical abuse” at the hands of the husband, which resulted in the
girl having a nervous breakdown and being treated for mental health
problems.

After the marriage collapsed, the mother and her daughters moved to
a refuge in Oxford and applied to the council for support.