A -v- London Borough of Wandsworth (anonymity order)
Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order
Claim number: AC-2024-LON-003514
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court
9 December 2024
Before:
Timothy Corner KC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge
Between:
The King on the application of
A (by their litigation friend O)
-v-
London Borough of Wandsworth
Order
Notification of the Judge’s decision on the application for permission to apply for judicial review (CPR 54.11, 54.12)
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant and the Acknowledgement of Service filed by the Defendant
ORDER by Timothy Corner KC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge
1. Pursuant to CPR r.39.2, the identity of the Claimant shall not be directly or indirectly disclosed, and these proceedings shall be known as R (A by their litigation friend O) v the London Borough of Wandsworth.
2. Pursuant to CPR Rule 5.4C a person who is not a party to these proceedings may only obtain a copy of a statement of case, judgment, order or other document from the court records if the document has been anonymised such that: (a) the Claimant is referred to as A and (b) the address of the Claimant has been deleted.
3. Insofar as any statement of case, judgment, order or other document to which anyone might have access pursuant to CPR Rule 5.4A-D has not been anonymised in accordance with paragraph 5 (c) above, the Claimant has permission to file with the court an anonymised copy of that document, which is to be treated for all purposes as being in substitution for the relevant original, with the original being retained by the court in a sealed envelope marked “not to be opened without the permission of a Judge or Master of the King’s Bench Division.”
4. Any interested party, whether or not a party to these proceedings, may apply to the court for an order setting aside, varying or discharging paragraphs 1 – 4 of this Order, provided that any such application is made on 7 working days’ notice to the Claimant.
5. The Claimant’s mother is appointed as the Claimant’s litigation friend pursuant to CPR 21.6.
6. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is refused.
7. The costs of preparing the Acknowledgement of Service are to be paid by the Claimant to the Defendant, summarily assessed in the sum of £6940.
8. The Claimant has the benefit of cost protection under section 26 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The amount of costs that the Claimant shall pay shall be determined on an application by the Defendant under regulation 16 of the Civil Legal Aid (Costs) Regulations 2013. Any objection by the Claimant to the amount of costs claimed shall be dealt with on that occasion.
Reasons
1. Permission is refused for the reasons set out in the Defendant’s Summary Grounds of Defence. This a challenge to the merits of the Defendant’s decision as to provision which would be made for the Claimant in his care package and for the reasons given in the Summary Grounds of Defence it is not arguable that the Defendant’s decision was irrational.
2. Furthermore, it appears that there are alternative remedies open to the Claimant, namely the statutory complaints procedure under the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, as well as appeal to the First Tier Tribunal in respect of the Claimant’s EHCP.