#KeepCaringto18: High Court hears case to ban unregulated accommodation for over-16s

Children’s rights charity Article 39, which is behind the legal action, will tell the High Court during a two-day hearing beginning today (8 February) that secondary legislation, which came into force in September and bans the use of such settings for children aged 15 and under, “irrationally discriminates against children in care aged 16 and 17”.

Lawyers acting for the charity will argue that the change to the law disproportionately impacts boys and children from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. 

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The court will also be told that young people’s views and experiences were not properly considered by the government before it introduced the legislation.

The charity is calling for such accommodation, which does not provide day-to-day care for teenagers and includes hostels, hotels, tents and caravans, to be banned for all children in care aged up to 18.

Carolyne Willow, Article 39’s director and a registered social worker, said: “It beggars belief that a small charity is having to go to court to argue that all children in care must be cared for where they live. Children of all ages need love, affection, understanding and to be listened to and looked after. I’ve yet to meet a parent of teenagers who believes that none of this is necessary from the age of 16.”

Describing the legislation changes as “institutional neglect”, Willow added that it “effectively reduces the care system for older teenagers to a housing project with intermittent support”.

“It’s no good ministers putting this back to local authorities and saying they are responsible for finding the most suitable home for each child. If the government wants every child in care to be cared for then it must draft legislation and provide the funds to make this happen,” she said.

Last week, a delegation of care leavers, supported by Article 39, delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street, signed by more than 10,600 people, calling for an outright ban on such settings for under-18s.

In a statement, released to CYP Now following the hand-in, a spokesman for the Department for Education said: “Councils have a duty to ensure children in their care have stable, safe accommodation until they reach adulthood, and are held to account by Ofsted where they do not meet this. We have banned the placement of under-16s in supported accommodation which is currently not regulated, so that they are only placed in regulated settings that meet their needs.

“Supported accommodation can be right for some young people aged 16 or 17 where provision is high-quality and young people are ready for it. 

“We are investing over £140m to introduce mandatory national standards, meaning that from 2023 every type of social care placement for children up to the age of 18 will be regulated by Ofsted. We are also ensuring young people in care can keep their support networks as they approach adulthood and are providing councils with billions more in grant funding for vital frontline services, including children’s social care.”