A family had been found to be voluntarily homeless. The family asked the authority to provide housing to the family under the 1989 Act from its duty to care for the children.
Held: The 1989 Act did not change the law in the 1980 Act. The authority had a power to assist and Another child in these circumstances. However, it was not a duty, and the authority had a discretion as to how it might use the power. The 2001 Lambeth case was wrongly decided. The powers of the authority were not to be compartmentalized.
Judges:
Lord Justice Brooke, Lord Justice Laws and Lord Justice Keene
Citations:
Times 23-May-2002, [2002] EWCA Civ 613
Links:
Statutes:
Children Act 1989 17, Child Care Act 1980 1
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina (A) v Lambeth London Borough Council CA 5-Nov-2001
The provisions requiring local authorities to look to the welfare of children within their area was a general one, and was not enforceable to secure the interests of individual children. It was not the case that a ‘target’ duty crystallised into an . .
Cited by:
Cited – Desnousse v London Borough of Newham and others CA 17-May-2006
The occupier had been granted a temporary licence by the authority under the homelessness provisions whilst it made its assessment. The assessment concluded that she had become homeless intentionally, and therefore terminated the licence and set out . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Children, Local Government, Housing
Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.171259
