Court considers local authority’s housing duty to trafficking victim (XPQ v London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham)

Table of contents

• What are the practical implications of the decision?
• What was the background?
• The legal framework for protection of victims of human trafficking
• The duty of local authorities in homelessness cases
• The facts
• The issue
• What did the court decide?

Article summary

Local Government analysis: Nicholas Grundy QC and Millie Polimac, of Five Paper, examine a Queen’s Bench Division decision that the claimant, a victim of human trafficking, was not entitled to an award of damages from the defendant local authority for alleged breaches of the EU Trafficking Directive, and of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and its common law duty of care, when it provided her with temporary accommodation which she maintained was unsuitable.