LR -v- Coventry City Council (anonymity order and application for judicial review)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim Number: AC-2024-BHM-000193

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

In the matter of an application for judicial review

18 July 2024

Before:
HHJ Tindal
(sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge)

Between:
The King on the application of
LR
(a child, by her Litigation Friend LC)
-v-
Coventry City 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 Deputy High Court Judge)

  1. As the Claimant is a child, her mother is appointed as Litigation Friend.
  2. Pursuant to CPR 39.2(4)) and the Court’s inherent jurisdiction:
    a. No person shall identify the Claimant in connection with these proceedings. The Claimant shall be referred to as LR and the Claimant’s mother and litigation friend shall be referred to as LC.
    b. A non-party may not obtain or inspect a copy of any Statement of Case or any other document filed with the Court and to which a non-party may have access pursuant to CPR 5.4A-D or otherwise, unless it has been produced or edited so as to comply with para.1 of this Order and/or any subsequent direction made by the Court.
    c. Anyone affected by the terms of this Order shall have permission to apply to vary or set aside any part of it, on 3 working days’ notice to the Claimant’s solicitors.
  3. Time for the Defendant to file an Acknowledgment of Service is abridged to 4pm on 25th July 2024.
  4. The application for interim relief and for permission to claim judicial review shall then be considered urgently on the papers by HHJ Tindal.
  5. Costs in the case.

Reasons

  1. This is a claim for judicial review and interim relief by the Claimant, a child by her mother and Litigation Friend. It is appropriate to grant them both anonymity on the usual basis under CPR 39.2(4). The Claimant will be known as ‘LR’ and the Litigation Friend as ‘LC’.
  2. The Claimant and her family are Nigerian nationals and have been in the UK since 2012. In 2023, they separated from the father of the family alleging domestic abuse. They currently have no leave to remain in the UK, but they do have a pending application for it which is likely to take some time to be determined by the Home Office.
  3. The Claimant and her siblings have been assessed by the Defendant as ‘children in need’ under s.17 Children Act 1989 (‘CA’) and are in receipt of financial support. That has been adjusted but is currently at the ‘subsistence’ rate of £196.72 pw equivalent to Home Office asylum seeker support, following a needs assessment in April 2024.
  4. The Claimant contends that level of support is unlawful under s.17 CA having regard to that assessment. She relies on various authorities (including my judgment in R(BCD) v BCT [2023] EWHC 137 (Admin)). She also seeks interim relief on the basis of financial hardship.
  5. Since the Claimant and her family appear to be in a different ‘statutory category’ than in R(BCD), which involved British Citizen children, the same result as in that case does not necessarily follow. So, it would be preferable to have the Defendant’s substantive response before considering not only permission but also interim relief. However, as the case is urgent, the Defendant’s time to respond should be abridged to Thursday 25th July 2024 and I will consider it urgently thereafter.