In this issue, we share an October 2022 judgment in which the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court was used to authorise the deprivation of liberty of a 13 year-old child for the eighth time, after continued deprivation of her liberty in a hospital due to a lack of suitable, secure accommodation. The judgment contains … Read more
On Monday night (28 February), the government refused to accept a Lords’ amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which would have allowed local authorities to run a new type of secure children’s home. Labour pushed the matter to a vote at around 10pm; the government succeeded 314 to 190 votes. Secure 16 … Read more
In late July, the Supreme Court ruled on the use of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in cases where a local authority seeks authorisation to deprive a child of their liberty in accommodation that has not been approved for this purpose. The case was brought by T, a young woman whose deprivation of … Read more
Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which has been incorporated into English law under the Human Rights Act 1998, states that everyone has the right to liberty and can only be deprived of this in limited circumstances and subject to strict legal procedures. Not having arbitrary restrictions placed on your movement is … Read more
We look at the ‘public sector equality duty’ by referencing two recent cases where failure to adequately consider and monitor the impact of policies was challenges as discriminatory against people with protected characteristics. We also zoom in on a case which drew attention to the nationwide shortage of secure accommodation for children and young people. High Court judgment shines … Read more