NLB -v- Kent County Council (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case number: AC-2026-LON-003406

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

In the matter of an application for judicial review

30 July 2026

Before:

The Hon. Mr Justice Choudhury

Between:

The King
on the application of
NLB
(by her litigation friend, NMC)
(Claimant)

-v-

Kent County Council
(Defendant)

Order

On an application by the Claimant for urgent consideration

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant

ORDER BY THE HON. MR JUSTICE CHOUDHURY

  1. Anonymity:

(a) Pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) and/or the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and/or s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998:

(i) the Claimant’s name is to be withheld from the public and must not be disclosed in any proceedings in public; and

(ii) the Claimant is to be referred to orally and in writing as ‘NLB’ and her litigation friend as ‘NMC’.

(b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant or of any matter likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant in any report of, or otherwise in connection with, these proceedings.

(c) Pursuant to CPR 5.4C(4):

(i) the parties must within 7 days file a redacted copy of any statement of case filed, omitting the name, address and any other information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant;

(ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant, a redacted copy omitting that information must be filed at the same time;

(iii) unless the Court grants permission under CPR 5.4C(6), no non-party many obtain a copy of any unredacted statement of case.

(d) Any person wishing to vary or discharge this Order must make an application, served on each party.

  1. Abridgement of time and expedition:

(a) The Defendant’s Acknowledgement of Service (CPR 54.8) must be filed and served by 4pm on 5 August 2026.

(b) Any Reply from the Claimant (CPR 54.8A) must be filed and served by 4pm on 7 August 2026.

(c) The papers are to be referred to a Judge or Deputy Judge as soon as possible thereafter.

REASONS

(1) Anonymity: The Claimant is a young person with special educational needs. The claim refers to personal medical information in which the Claimant has a reasonable expectation of privacy. There are accordingly compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1.

(2) Abridgement of time/expedition: The Claimant seeks urgent mandatory relief requiring the Defendant to arrange residence as from 1 September 2026. Whilst there is a response from the Defendant to PAP correspondence, that does not address the latest contentions. It would not be appropriate to order such relief without hearing from the Defendant on the matters now relied by the Claimant upon, including the most recent statement from NMC, dated 16 July 2026. The Judge considering the matters on the papers as soon as possible after the AoS and any Reply can then consider whether relief and/or an urgent hearing ought to be ordered.

Signed: MR JUSTICE CHOUDHURY
Date: 30.7.26