Care for every child in care
Care for every child in care
Latest: Dec. 23, 2022
We have been refused permission to go to the Court of Appeal
We are bitterly disappointed that our application to take our case to the Court of Appeal was refused.
You can read our full statement on our website here.
We remain extremely grateful to every single …
Read moreArticle 39 is a small children's rights charity in England.
We have applied to the High Court for a judicial review of secondary legislation made by the Department for Education. This states that children in care must always live in care settings – but only to the age of 15.
This legal change, due to come into force in September 2021, will leave thousands of children in care aged 16 and 17 without protection.
The government says that councils can continue putting children who are 16 and 17 into unregulated accommodation - shared houses, bedsits, flats and hostels.The Department for Education plans to develop national standards for these types of accommodation. But the standards will omit any requirement to provide care to children. That’s because establishments which provide both care and accommodation to children must register with Ofsted as children’s homes and meet existing quality standards.
This change to the law is discriminatory and an injustice to older children in care.
Boys and children from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are disproportionately put into unregulated accommodation.
It's the first time the law in England has distinguished where children in care can and cannot live on the basis of their age.
We need to raise £5,000 for this first stage. We will put this with the £14,000 we raised last year for another case protecting children in care - that led to the Court of Appeal finding that the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had acted unlawfully.
Article 39 is represented by Oliver Studdert from Irwin Mitchell, Steve Broach from 39 Essex Chambers, and Khatija Hafesji from Monckton Chambers.
We are very grateful for any help you can give - by making a small donation and/or letting people know about this appeal. THANK YOU.
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Carolyne Willow
Dec. 23, 2022
We have been refused permission to go to the Court of Appeal
We are bitterly disappointed that our application to take our case to the Court of Appeal was refused.
You can read our full statement on our website here.
We remain extremely grateful to every single person who donated to our appeal. We could not have done any of this without you. Thank you so much for your kindness and solidarity.
Our #KeepCaringTo18 campaign continues. If you are not already a supporter, you can sign up here.
Carolyne Willow
March 23, 2022
We are appealing to the Court of Appeal
We are bitterly disappointed to have lost our case in the High Court. You can read our full statement, and access the judgment, on our website here.
Thank you so much to the 400+ people who have very kindly donated to our appeal, and got us this far.
We are now preparing to apply for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Please continue to share our case. We need to raise around £35,000 to cover our own legal costs and fees, and to have the necessary funds to pay government legal costs should we lose.
*Should we succeed in this case, everything raised here will be kept for future litigation defending the rights of children.
Carolyne Willow
Dec. 16, 2021
We'll be in the High Court 8-9 February 2022!
We're delighted the High Court has agreed a longer, two day hearing - so our case will now be heard 8-9 February 2022.
Carolyne Willow
Aug. 17, 2021
High Court gives permission for case to be be heard!
Excellent news! The High Court has today (17 August 2021) agreed that the grounds of the judicial review case are arguable.
Those grounds are:
- That The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (Statutory Instrument 161) irrationally discriminate between children aged 15 and under, and those aged 16 and 17;
- That Statutory Instrument 161 fails to have regard to specified equality needs. It discriminates against 16- and 17-year-olds on the basis of their age, and disproportionately impacts upon boys and children from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities (who make up over half of children in unregulated placements, despite comprising 26% of the care population); and
- Although the government did carry out a consultation, this was unfair as its focus was the provision of care for under 16s only.
THANK YOU everyone for your support. We couldn't do this without you. Please keep circulating our appeal. As soon as we know the date of the hearing, we'll post it here.
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