Decision - UASC Judgement

Brighton and Hove Children, Families & Schools Committee Decided 6 Nov 2023 approved GET /api/coverage

Decision maker

Children, Families & Schools Committee

Report author

Deb Austin

Published

6 Nov 2023

Reference

7072

As published

the council's own words, unedited

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children and Use of Hotels

RESOLVED: (1) That committee noted that the systematic use of hotels to accommodate UAS children was declared unlawful in a judgement handed down by Mr Justice Chamberlain on 27.07.23.

Parsed from the document

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Everything below was read out of a PDF by a model It is useful and it is not authoritative. The document it came from is linked in the rail, and where the two disagree the document is right.

The report updated the committee on Brighton & Hove City Council’s successful legal challenge to the Home Office’s systematic use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The court declared that practice unlawful and confirmed that children must be accommodated by local authorities under the National Transfer Scheme, with no children currently housed in hotels.

Recommendation

For the committee to note that the systematic use of hotels to accommodate unaccompanied asylum-seeking children was declared unlawful in a judgment handed down by Mr Justice Chamberlain on 27 July 2023.

Financial impact

The costs of the judicial review claim regarding the use of hotels were awarded to Brighton and Hove City Council; the contract cost for Langfords Hotel was not revealed.

Ward affected

city-wide

Decision maker

Children, Families and Schools Committee

Date in document

6 Nov 2023

Stakeholders named

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Unaccompanied asylum-seeking childrenBrighton & Hove City CouncilHome OfficeKent County CouncilDepartment for EducationEvery Child Protected Against TraffickingEast Sussex County Council

Next steps

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The Home Office must transfer unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from hotels into local authority care within the National Transfer Scheme timescales.
A further hearing is anticipated after judgment in the Kent County Council claim, when final declarations and orders in the hotels claim will be made.
Brighton & Hove City Council will remain an interested party in the judicial review concerning the operation of the National Transfer Scheme.
The council may pursue further litigation if the Home Office attempts to place children in hotels again in the Brighton and Hove area.

Precedents

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