GW -v- Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtCivilHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2025-BHM-000088

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

In the matter of an application for judicial review

28 March 2025

Before:

HHJ Tindal
(Sitting as a Judge of the High Court)

Between:

The King
on the application of
GW
(Represented by his Mother and Litigation Friend, RM)

-v-

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

Order

Notification of the Judge’s decision on the application for Interim Relief

After consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant only

ORDER by HHJ Tindal (Sitting as a Judge of the High Court)

  1. The Claimant is granted anonymity under CPR 39.2(4) and shall be known as ‘GW’. There shall be no publication of the name of the Claimant, any member of their family nor of any information that may lead to their identification. Reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the subsequent identification of the Claimant. The Defendant or any non-party affected by this paragraph may apply to have it set aside or varied.
  2. The Defendant to file an Acknowledgement of Service within 7 days, after which interim relief and permission will be considered urgently.
  3. Costs in the case

Reasons

  1. Judicial Review proceedings were issued in 2024 (AC-2024-BHM- 000247) between the parties seeking financial support and accommodation under s.17 Children Act 1989 to the Claimant, a child whose family has no recourse to public funds. They culminated in a consent order withdrawing proceedings on the basis the Defendant would conduct a fresh assessment by 9th January 2025. These new proceedings (in which I anonymise the Claimant and his Litigation Friend wit the same cyphers as before) were issued on 24th March 2025 seeking urgent consideration and directions for a hearing on interim relief on the basis that no such assessment has been done.
  2. However, the preferable approach is to direct an Acknowledgement of Service within 7 days for the Court to review the position, rather than list a hearing which may be redundant if the Defendant either makes the assessment in question, or provides a good reason why it has not done so despite the terms of the previous order. If not, interim relief may be granted without a hearing on the terms that the Defendant will provide suitable accommodation and support pending further order.

Signed: HHJ Tindal