Council must house ‘child’ refugee thought to be over 18

A HOUSING authority that refused to provide an Iraqi asylum seeker with accommodation because he appeared to be aged over 18 has been told by High Court judges that it must shelter him.

The Iraqi, referred to as S, claimed he was 15 years old and had been born in 2000 when he arrived in the UK unaccompanied in September 2016 and asked for asylum.

He was detained overnight and then accommodated by the Home Office at Brigstock House in Croydon.

The judge said it appeared the Home Office did not accept that he was 15, but instead formed the view that his physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggested that he was significantly over 18 years of age.

Croydon council consequently refused to provide S with accommodation and support until the conclusion of an age assessment and it was clear that S was entitled to support as a child.

But, in a ruling that could affect similar immigration cases, Mr Justice Lavender, sitting in London, has found that the council is under a legal duty to help.

The judge said: “A local authority is exercising its social services function of providing support for children not merely when it actually provides that support, but also when it carries out ancillary functions such as determining which individuals are and are not children, and dealing with individuals whose age is yet to be determined.”

He added: “In my judgment, it is unlawful for the defendant not to observe the statutory guidance and not to treat the claimant as a child pending the determination of his age assessment.”

S’s application for judicial review was backed by the Refugee Council and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.