Unregulated placements are lawful for young people aged 16 and 17 (R (Article 39) v Secretary of State for Education)

Article summary

Local Government analysis: The court held that the regulations permitting a local authority to place a young person aged 16 or 17 in unregulated independent or semi-independent placements were lawful. Until September 2021, it was permissible for a child being looked after by a local authority to be placed in an unregulated setting; typically, this will be accommodation with limited support intended to assist the child to live independently. As a result of concerns about the suitability and quality of this type of accommodation, the government enacted the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (‘the Regulations’), the effect of which was to prohibit a child aged under 16 being placed in this type of accommodation. The claimant contended that the Regulations were unlawful because the difference in treatment between children who were under 16 years old and those who were above was irrational and not based on...