The local authority disputed the claimant's age and carried out an age assessment.
The social workers that had undertaken the assessment held that he was two years older than he claimed to be. FZ applied to bring judicial review proceedings to claim that the local authority had wrongly determined his age. His application was refused by the High Court. FZ then appealed to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal held that the local authority had failed to follow the proper procedure when interviewing FZ. Lady Justice Smith explained that when undertaking age assessments, local authorities must give applicants the opportunity to respond to any points that the interviewers believe weaken the applicant's case, and must offer applicants the opportunity to have an appropriate adult present at interviews.
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