The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in a significant decision on the obligations of local authorities to children who may be children in need under the Children Act 1989. In R (TW) v Essex CC [2025] EWCA Civ 4, the Council succeeded in arguing that it did not owe ongoing obligations to a young person as a ‘former relevant child’. The Appellant had argued that he had been a child in need who had been accommodated by the Council under s 20 of the Children Act 1989. The Court of Appeal accepted the Council’s argument that, even though it had helped the Appellant to obtain accommodation through a third party provider, it was not to be treated as having treated him as a child in need or provided him with accommodation under s 20 of the Act (which would have triggered the ongoing obligations), because the Council had acted rationally in considering that he was not a child in need within the meaning of s 17(10) of the Children Act 1989.
The case underlines the primacy of the decision-making by social workers, rather than the courts, in what are frequently are frequently difficult and fact-sensitive circumstances. For local authorities, it is an important reminder of the crucial benefits of detailed documentation of social work decisions.
Jonathan Moffett KC and Ben Mitchell acted for Essex County Council.
The Court of Appeal’s judgment is available here.
