QQ -v- Sheffield City Council and other (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtAnonymity Order

AC-2024-LDS-000093

In the High Court of Justice
Administrative Court

7 May 2024

Before:
HHJ Belcher

Between:
THE KING on the application of
QQ
(a child, by her mother and litigation friend, MQ)

-V-

(1) Sheffield City Council
(2) South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board

and

School X
(Interested Party)

Anonymity Order

BEFORE HHJ Belcher sitting as a High Court Judge

DATED 7 May 2024

UPON READING the documents lodged by the Claimant with the claim form and identified as essential reading

AND UPON the Court being satisfied it is necessary to make an anonymity order in the following terms

IT IS ORDERED THAT:

  1. There be substituted for all purposes in these proceedings, including on the Court’s Register of Claims, and whether orally or in writing:
    In place of references to the Claimant’s name, references to “QQ”;
    In place of references to her mother’s name, references to “MQ”;
    In place of references to her father’s name, references to “FQ”;
  2. To the extent necessary to prevent the identification of the Claimant, other references, whether to persons, places or otherwise, be adjusted appropriately, with permission to the parties to apply in default of agreement as to the manner of any such adjustment. For the avoidance of doubt, the schools named in the Statement of Facts and Grounds shall be anonymised and references to the Interested Party shall be to School X.
  3. Until further order, the publication of the names of the Claimant, or any particulars or details which may lead to her identification in connection with these proceedings, is prohibited.
  4. In respect of a non-party:
    A non-party may not obtain or inspect any document from the Court records, pursuant to CPR 5.4A-D or otherwise, without further order of the Court.
    Any non-party wishing to obtain or inspect any document from the Court records pursuant to CPR 5.4A-D must apply for permission to do so.
    If and insofar as permission is granted to a non-party to obtain any document or inspect any document from the Court records, that document must be edited/adjusted in accordance with the above paragraphs of this order.
  5. The Claimant shall provide a suitably anonymised Claim Form and Supporting Bundle to the Administrative Court Office in Leeds for its use pursuant to any application under Paragraph 4, the same to be provided by 4.00pm on Friday 24 May 2024.
  6. Any party affected by paragraphs 1-4 above may apply on notice to vary or set aside the relevant parts of the Order.
  7. The time for service of Acknowledgments of Service in this matter, and for responses to the Application for Interim Relief is abridged to 4.00pm on Wednesday 15 May 2024.
  8. The Claimant’s Applications for Permission to apply for judicial Review and for Interim Relief to be referred back to a Judge of the Administrative Court on 16 May 2024 for urgent consideration on the papers.
  9. Costs reserved.

Reasons:

  1. I am not prepared to order interim relief without giving the Defendants the chance to respond to the application and to consider, if granted, which of the Defendants (or possibly both) any such order should be made against.
  2. Without input from the Defendants the court cannot sensibly conduct the appropriate balancing exercise of the competing parties interests when deciding whether or not to grant interim relief.
  3. The Judge seized of the matters on or after 16 May 2024 may consider expedition to be appropriate, but that is a decision better left until the Judge has input from the Defendants and Interested Party, (if the latter wishes to make submissions).
  4. I have ordered provision of an anonymised bundle as it is not for the Court staff to undertake the anonymisation, save in respect of any Court orders or documents emanating from the Court.