Council withdraws controversial housing advice for teenagers following legal threat

The teenager was concerned that the council appeared to assume that 16- and 17-year-olds leaving care did not want further support from social workers and were instead homeless.

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The council’s now withdrawn advice to 16-and 17-year-olds looking for housing support saw them referred to its adult homeless housing team “for them to prepare for the transition to their service”, a legal team representing the teenager said.

Milton Keynes Council has withdrawn the advice following the settling of a legal challenge brought by a teenager who had been turned down for additional help.

One of the documents recieved by the teenager entitled “info about your assessment” asks teenagers to provide information of what has led to them "being at risk of homelessness or being homeless”.

Another document “procedure for the assessment of need for homeless 16-17 year olds” has also been withdrawn.

The girl had sought a judicial review into Milton Keynes' housing advice after she was living in a hostel and applied for housing support as a looked-after child.

However, this application was turned down with the council claiming that she was not a child in need and that she had chosen not to be accommodated.

According to her legal team Simpson Millar, the teenager had been told by the council that “the assessment of her needs did not meet the threshold to become a child looked after”.

The teenager decided to drop the review after the council withdrew its previous advice and accepted that she is classed as a "former relevant child" eligible for support.

Under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 councils have a duty to provide accommodation for children under the age of 18 who are unable to live with their families. This takes precedence over housing legislation and means that children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness are the responsibility of children’s social care not housing services, according to the charity Coram Voice.

Simpson Millar added that “persuading vulnerable children to ‘choose’ not to be accommodated”  under section 20 of “is a fairly endemic problem”.  

“The choices are set out in such a way that vulnerable 16-17 year olds are encouraged to ‘choose’ not to be accommodated” under the section, it added.

Linda Briheim-Crookall, head of policy and practice development at Coram Voice said: “No child should be homeless. Yet, as this case shows, there are still children who find themselves with nowhere safe to live and no one in their lives who can look after them.

"Coram Voice’s Homeless Outreach service sadly continues to see too many of cases of homeless 16-and 17-year-olds who should be supported by children’s services, but are not. This case shows the importance of supporting young people to challenge poor practice through advocacy and, where needed, legal challenges so that local authorities' policies and procedures are brought in line with their statutory duties to provide care for those children and young people who need it.“

Milton Keynes council has been contacted for comment.