Insights
Case-note commentary on recent public law and safeguarding judgments; briefing notes on legislative change; and longer essays on practice. Output cadence: one substantive piece every four to six weeks.
The NAAB, the two referral routes, and what local authorities need to know before they choose
The National Age Assessment Board operates under two distinct statutory powers, and the distinction carries significant legal consequences. This piece examines the section 50 and section 51 routes, the defendant and Interested Party dynamics in litigation, and what R (SS) and R (NXP and NAN) add to the picture for local authorities.
Read article →The Upper Tribunal Has Started Answering the Questions the Home Office Hasn't
The Upper Tribunal quashed a NAAB age assessment in R (SS) v SSHD and settled the procedural framework for challenges in R (NXP and NAN). This piece examines what the facts of SS's case reveal about assessment practice, what the decisions mean for local authorities, and how the chain from FAE to NAAB to Upper Tribunal challenge is shorter than the governance documents imply.
Read article →Estimating the age of a child: Facial age estimation at the border, and the public law architecture the Home Office is about to meet
The Home Office has published its guidance on Facial Age Estimation. This piece examines the six public law anchors — section 55, Tameside, fettering, the PSED, Merton and Article 8, and the post-DUAA Article 22 framework — that the deployment must meet.
Read article →Examining short form age assessment against the principles articulated in R (B) v Merton LBC [2003] EWHC 1689 (Admin), as developed in R (AM) v Solihull MBC [2012] UKUT 118 (IAC) and most recently restated in R (HAM) v London Borough of Brent [2022] EWHC 1924 (Admin).
Short form age assessments are lawful where the case allows. This article explains what Merton, AM and HAM actually require of local authorities, how to conduct a defensible assessment, and where practice most commonly goes wrong.
Read article →Judicial Review Risk in EHCP Refusal Decisions
What the recent Upper Tribunal and Administrative Court decisions tell SEN teams about where refusal reasoning fails.
Read article →Section 20 Accommodation: Consent, Capacity and the Limits of the Voluntary Framework
A briefing note on the case law developments following Williams v Hackney and their operational implications for children's legal services teams.
Read article →Deep Dive
Extended audio discussions on key cases, statutory duties, and practice issues. Each episode accompanies a written piece or stands alone as a practitioner briefing.
AI in the Casefile: Magic Notes, Transcription Tools and the Legal Risks Local Authorities Cannot Afford to Ignore
Social workers are increasingly using AI transcription tools like Magic Notes to record visits and meetings. This discussion examines the data protection, disclosure and human rights risks that follow, and what legal and practice leads need to put in place before a challenge arrives.
Deep Dive: Age Assessment
An extended audio discussion on age assessment practice, covering the Merton principles, the AM and HAM developments, and what local authorities need to do to conduct defensible assessments.
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