July 2014 Children Act & Duty to Accommodate Parents

They became homeless and applied for assistance under Section 17 of the Children Act to Harrow Council. The council maintained that they only had a duty to maintain the children under Section 20.

The court found that the obligation which the council owed to the applicant by virtue of R (G) v Barnet LBC 2003 engaged Article 8 of the Human Rights Act (right to family life). As a result the assessment was unlawful for failing to take into account the applicant’s Article 8 rights (R {PK} v Harrow Council 2014).

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