R (Kebede and Another) v Newcastle City Council
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 31 July 2013 |
| Date | 31 July 2013 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |
Court of Appeal
Before Lord Justice Laws, Lord Justice McCombe and Sir Stanley Burnton
A local authority had a duty to meet expenses connected with the education of a child it had looked after up to the age of 18 (a "former relevant child" for the purposes of the Children Act 1989) including the expense of university tuition fees.
The Court of Appeal so stated when dismissing the appeal of Newcastle City Council against a decision of Mr Timothy Straker, QC, sitting as a deputy High Court judgeUNK ([2013] EWHC 355 (Admin)). The judge allowed an application for judicial review by Yonas Admasu Kebede and Abiy Admasu Kebed e, former relevant children for the purposes of the Children Act 1989, against a decision of the council on August 8, 2012, refusing to provide funding for university.
Mr Hilton Harrop-Griffiths for the council; Ms Shazia Akhtar for the claimants.
SIR STANLEY BURNTON said that it could be seen that in the case of a former relevant child, by virtue of section 23C(4) of the Children Act 1989 (as inserted by section 2(4) of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000), what would otherwise be a discretion to provide the assistance speci fied in section 24B(2) of the 1989 Act (as substituted by section 4(1) of the 2000 Act) was a duty.
His Lordship agreed with the judge that the natural meaning of "expenses connected with his education" in section 24B(2) of the 1989 Act included the major expense of tuition fees.
His Lordship could understand why Parliament imposed a duty in relation to former relevant children where otherwise there was a discretion. It was highly unlikely that a former relevant child, who by definition was looked after by his local authority until the age of 18, could have the resources to pay any of the costs of tertiary education, or any fees or other costs of training.
Parliament had prescribed what was to be taken into account in assessing need and the duty to make provision. The assistance was to be given "to the extent that [the former relevant child's] welfare and his educational or training needs require...
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