Court Report: Personal adviser may not prepare pathway plan
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Case name: R (A) v. London Borough of Lambeth; Case number: [2010] EWHC 1652; Judge: Mr Justice Parker; Location: High Court of Justice
A request for judicial review was brought against a local authority by an 18-year-old boy known as A.
A had previously been involved in gang activity, including being attacked and witnessing the murders of two friends by rival gang members. So it was deemed unsafe for him to return to the estate where his family lived.
Subsequently, an antisocial behaviour order was made, forbidding A from entering the Stockwell estate where his mother and family lived.
A was recognised as a "child in need" and was accommodated by social services under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989.
The claimant (A) argued the London Borough of Lambeth had failed to assess his needs and to produce a pathway plan as required by the Children (Leaving Care) Regulations 2001.
Plan or review
The preliminary issues addressed by the court were whether the pathway plan was a "plan" or a "review" and whether a "personal adviser" could draft such a plan.
The court held that the document was a "plan". It also found that the vital role of a personal adviser was likely to be compromised if he or she were also to function as the author of the local authority's pathway plan.
Therefore, the court held that the plan had not been lawfully prepared and ordered Lambeth to produce a new plan.