High Court quashes Hackney’s social care decisions on disabled teenager’s care

The High Court (Jonathan Glasson KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge) has found that the London Borough of Hackney failed to complete a lawful assessment of a disabled teenager’s needs and made an unlawful service provision decision in her case.

Steve Broach and Ella Grodzinski represented TS, a 13 year old girl from the Orthodox Jewish community with a constellation of complex needs. Her family had repeatedly told the Defendant that they were at ‘crisis point’, but the Defendant was not willing to provide anything close to the level of care the family considered to be required.

The Deputy Judge quashed Hackney’s assessment of TS because of multiple public law errors, including a failure to analyse her needs properly. The Deputy Judge also held that Hackney had failed to consider its duty under section 20(1)(c) of the Children Act 1989 to provide TS with accommodation, and had reached an unlawful service provision decision in her case.

It is notable that permission to apply for judicial review was refused at first instance on the basis the claim was unarguable; however, at final hearing it was allowed on all three grounds (albeit to a limited extent only on ground B). 

Steve and Ella were instructed by Alex Rook, partner at Rook Irwin Sweeney, in his capacity as a Consultant Solicitor at Scott-Moncreiff and Associates, working with his colleague Rosie Campbell. Further information and a link to the judgment is available on the Rook Irwin Sweeney website: here.