Month: November 2020

COURT OF APPEAL RULES EDUCATION SECRETARY ACTED UNLAWFULLY IN REMOVING SAFEGUARDS FOR CHILDREN IN CARE

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In a judgment given today (24 November), the Court of Appeal has unanimously declared that the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, acted unlawfully in failing to consult the Children’s Commissioner for England and other children’s rights organisations before making “substantial and wide-ranging” [79] changes to legal protections for England’s 78,000 children in care. Giving the leading judgment, Lord … Read more

New report calls for urgent action to protect children’s rights in mental health settings

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The number of children with a significant mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety or an eating disorder, has increased dramatically over the past three years, and for many this has worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year over 3,500 children go to hospital because they do not receive the care they … Read more

Children’s rights legal digest – November 2020

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In late October, a High Court judge granted permission for a judicial review concerning the duties of local authorities towards children who are awaiting an age assessment. The case, brought on behalf of three children, centres on whether the local authority in question was trying to “side-step their duties” by failing to accommodate them under … Read more