BH -v- London Borough of Newham (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: CO/804/2023

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

20 April 2023

Before:

Deputy High Court Judge Clare Padley

Between:

The King on the application of
BH

-v-

London Borough of Newham

Order

Notification of the Judge’s decision on the application for permission to apply for judicial review (CPR 54.11, 54.12) and on the Claimant’s applications for anonymity and interim relief.
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant and the Acknowledgement of service and summary grounds filed by the Defendant.
ORDER by Deputy High Court Judge Clare Padley

  1. Pursuant to CPR rule 39.2 and/or the Court’s inherent jurisdiction, the Claimant is granted anonymity and the matter be known as R (BH) v London Borough of Newham. There be no publication of the name of the Claimant nor of any information that may lead to the identification of the Claimant.
  2. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is granted.
  3. The application for interim relief is to be listed for an oral hearing with a time estimate of 2 hours on the first available date after 1 May 2023. Directions for this hearing are set out below.
  4. Thereafter, the case is to be transferred to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) under s31A(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981.
  5. The parties are to provide a written estimate within 3 working days of service of this Order if they disagree with the estimate at 3 above.

Observations and reasons

  1. The Claimant is seeking to challenge the Defendant’s decision of 29 November 2022 to treat him not as a child aged 17, but as an adult with a purported date of birth of 25 February 2000 and the age assessment process underpinning that decision.
  2. An order for anonymity is appropriate in this case in light of the Claimant’s status as an asylum seeker.
  3. The Claimant seeks interim relief in the form of a mandatory order that the Defendant must treat the Claimant as a care leaver of his claimed age (date of birth 25.02.2005) and maintain the provision of suitable support for a care leaver of that age.
  4. The Claimant accepts that he is now aged over 18, but it is submitted that, given the previous duties that would have been owed to him under the Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) as a relevant person, support would continue to be provided to him under that Act.
  5. The application for such a mandatory order would be best determined at a hearing at which the court can hear up to date submissions from both sides about the Claimant’s current circumstances, and full arguments about the strength of his case and the balance of convenience.

Directions for interim relief hearing

  1. The parties shall agree the contents of the interim relief hearing bundle and must file it with the Court not less than 5 days before the date of the interim relief hearing. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared and lodged in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website.
  2. The parties must file and serve Skeleton Argument not less than 3 days before the date of the interim relief hearing.
  3. The parties shall agree the contents of a bundle containing the authorities to be referred to at the hearing. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall if requested by the Court, prepare a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle. The
    electronic version of the bundle and if requested, the hard copy version of the bundle, shall be lodged with the Court not less than [3] days before the date of the interim relief hearing.