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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> S, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Lewisham & Ors [2008] EWHC 1290 (Admin) (15 May 2008) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2008/1290.html Cite as: [2008] EWHC 1290 (Admin) |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Strand London WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
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THE QUEEN ON THE APPLICATION OF S | Claimant | |
v | ||
LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM | First Defendant | |
LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH | Second Defendant | |
LONDON BOROUGH OF HACKNEY | Third Defendant |
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The Claimant was not represented and did not attend
The Second Defendant was not represented and did not attend
Mr Jonathan Cowen (instructed by London Borough of Hackney) appeared on behalf of the Third Defendant
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Introduction
Background Facts
"I am sorry to have to grant permission since it is clear that one or other of the defendants must be responsible and litigation is not a sensible solution. One should take on the responsibility and some costs sharing arrangement made. If they are adamant that they want to fight, let it not be at the expense of the claimant and to more public funds.
She is still here unlawfully - perhaps removal might be the answer, but that is for the Home Office.
Interim order to continue."
Statutory Provisions
"(1) Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Act, a local authority may with the approval of the Secretary of State, and to such extent as he may direct shall, make arrangements for providing -
(a) residential accommodation for persons aged 18 or over who by reason of age, illness, disability or any other circumstances are in need of care and attention not otherwise available to them; and
(aa) residential accommodation to expectant and nursing mothers who are in need of care and attention which is not otherwise available to them."
Passing to sub-section (1A), it reads:
"(1A) A person to whom Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (exclusion from benefits) applies may not be provided with residential accommodation under sub-section (1) (a) if his need for care and attention has arisen solely -
(a) because he is destitute; or
(b) because of the physical effects, or anticipated physical effects, of his being destitute."
I should add that it was common ground that, by reason of the mental and physical condition of S, she was not someone who could be described as needing care and attention solely because she was destitute.
"(1) The local authority empowered under this Part of this Act to provide residential accommodation for any person shall subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act be the authority in whose area the person is ordinarily resident.
.....
(3) Where a person in the area of a local authority -
(a) is a person with no settled residence, or
(b) not being ordinarily resident in the area of the local authority, is in urgent need of residential accommodation under this Part of this Act,
the authority shall have the like power to provide residential accommodation for him as if he were ordinarily resident in their area.
.....
(5) Where a person is provided with residential accommodation under this Part of this Act, he shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to continue to be ordinarily resident in the area in which he was ordinarily resident immediately before the residential accommodation was provided for him."
I need not read more of that section.
"(1) Any expenditure which apart from this section falls to be borne by a local authority to pay for provision under this Part of this Act for accommodation for a person ordinarily resident in the area of another local authority ..... shall be recoverable from the said other local authority and in this sub-section any reference to another local authority includes a reference to a local authority in Scotland.
.....
(3) Any question arising under this Part of the Act as to the ordinary residence of a person shall be determined by the Minister."
"The Secretary of State hereby -
(a) approves the making by local authorities of arrangements under Section 21 (1) (a) of the Act in relation to persons with no settled residence and, to such extent as the authority may consider desirable, in relation to persons who are ordinarily resident in the area of another local authority, with the consent of that other authority; and
(b) directs local authorities to make arrangements under Section 21 (1) (a) of the Act in relation to persons who are ordinarily resident in their area and other persons who are in urgent need thereof,
to provide residential accommodation to persons aged 18 or over who by reason of age, illness, disability or any other circumstances are in need of care and attention not otherwise available to them."
"The purpose of the Circular is to clarify where possible where responsibility lies between social services authorities, so that the scope for disputes is reduced. Authorities should note in particular that the provision of services for individuals requiring social services should not be delayed because of uncertainty about which authority is responsible, and that when an individual does not appear to have any settled residence, it is the responsibility of the authority of the moment to provide any residential care required to meet their needs. The Circular also sets out in Part II the procedure for referring to the Secretary of State for determination any disputes that cannot be resolved between the local authorities concerned."
"3 If a person comes within the terms of Section 24 (3) it is the responsibility of the local authority of the moment to make a care assessment if it appears to the authority that he may be in need of services. For example an urgent need might arise in the case of someone ordinarily resident elsewhere who is visiting or on holiday. The local authority where the person is ordinarily resident can arrange for the assessment and the provision of services to be carried out on its behalf by the local authority of the moment. A person who arrives in a local authority's area from abroad (including for example a person returning to this country after a period when they have been resident abroad and who had given up their previous home here) who appears to the authority to be in need of social services assistance may come within the terms of Section 24 (3). If the person does not come with[in] the terms of Section 24 (3) then it is the local authority where [he] has his settled residence that should carry out the care assessment. If there is a dispute about the ordinary residence of a person in need of services it should be debated after the care assessment and any provision of service.
4 Section 32 (3) of the NA Act gives the Secretary of State the responsibility to determine disputes about ordinary residence where such disputes arise between local authorities and the authorities concerned cannot resolve the issue themselves. A determination by the Secretary of State should only be sought as a last resort, and local authorities are expected normally to resolve disputes themselves. Further information about referrals to the Secretary of State for decision is in Part II."
"16 The test of 'ordinary residence' is not the same as that of 'local connection' used in the homelessness legislation for establishing which housing authority has the responsibility for securing accommodation for homeless applicants in priority need. When a person states that he has no settled residence or describes himself as NFA (no fixed abode) the social services authority where he presents himself should normally accept responsibility. For a person in urgent need, the social services authority of the moment cannot argue that the possible existence of a 'local connection' elsewhere excuses it from the duty to assess and provide any necessary social services; decisions on where the responsibility for the funding of such services rests, based on ordinary residence, should be decided subsequently. Rules for determining responsibility under Housing Acts should not be used to identify ordinary residence for social services purposes. Any outstanding ordinary residence questions should be clearly recorded in social services records at the time they arise. Failure to do this may prejudice subsequent consideration."
Submissions
"Having determined that Ms S was of no settled residence on the relevant date, it is not for the Secretary of State to determine which local authority is responsible for providing services pursuant to that provision. However noting that Ms S was residing in Hackney on 26 May 2004 (the date she presented to Lewisham) and the 14 days or so preceding this, I would draw the parties' attention to the case of Mohammed where the court gave a clear interpretation of what is meant by 'in the area of a local authority' under Section 24 (5) [meaning, I think, Section 24 (3)] of the 1948 Act. I note in particular Stanley Burnton J's remarks that a person claiming Part III services should not be able to 'choose which local authority he is to make liable and possibly in whose area he will live'."
This remark may have given some momentum to the London Borough of Lewisham in what it was already arguing.
"40 ..... In my judgment, it is clear beyond argument that the claimant and his wife were not 'ordinarily resident' in Redbridge at the beginning of October 2003. They did not live there; they had no home there; their only hope of returning to live there depended on the acceptance of Redbridge of an obligation to provide accommodation within its area, or provision of accommodation in their area by NASS. It is true they had previously lived there. I doubt whether they were 'ordinarily resident' in Redbridge at any time however. The words 'ordinarily resident' in Section 24 must have the same meaning as 'settled residence' in Section 24 (3) (a). Paragraphs (a) and (b) of that sub-section are clearly alternatives. A person of unsettled immigration status, whose residence is dependent on the allocation of accommodation by NASS, may well not be ordinarily resident anywhere. That is a conclusion which is consonant with the provisions of Section 24 (5). But in any event, as of 1 October 2003, it would have been perverse to have described the claimant and his wife as having a settled residence in Redbridge. Furthermore they were not persons 'in the area' of Redbridge. It is not suggested that sub-section (4) of Section 24 applies in the present circumstances. Accordingly Redbridge were not under a duty to provide accommodation under Section 21 and Section 24."
"41 This is a conclusion which I reach without regret, despite the claimant's strong community ties to the area of Redbridge. The practical effect of the claimant's submissions, as has been seen in this case, is to enable an applicant in arguable need for residential accommodation under Part III of the 1948 Act to choose which local authority he is to make liable, and possibly in whose area he will live. In asylum cases, applications for residential accommodation under the 1948 Act are often made in order to avoid dispersal by NASS, as Camden has pointed out. In many cases, and this may be one, the objection to dispersal is meritorious. In the present case, there is no suggestion that it was unreasonable for the claimant to be accommodated in Camden, where he was living at the relevant time. It would be curious if an applicant in urgent need can choose any local authority from which to obtain accommodation, whether or not he has a connection with it. The requirement of presence may well be important to local authorities who are already under pressure on their stock of accommodation."
"While there is room for argument in many cases as to where a person is ordinarily resident, it seems to me that it is unlikely that there would be argument in many, if any, cases as to the local authority in whose area a person is within the meaning of Section 24 (3). It is difficult therefore to see that a person in urgent need of accommodation would be left without an authority to which he could turn."
Disposition
The application of section 21 and section 24, taken together with LAC (93) 10, is premised on the basis that applicants are assessed as potentially in urgent need of accommodation or support. In the present case, for example, it has not been disputed that S was properly so to be assessed. Yet she only achieved the accommodation to which she was entitled after a lapse of several days - and even then only because a court order was made - just because local authorities were disputing responsibility. That, in my view, is a mischief which Parliament can reasonably be taken to have wanted to avoid; and also, in my view, accords with the ordinary and literal wording of the words "a person in the area of".
Conclusion