Council failed to provide asylum-seeker with an independent advocate
R (SG) v Haringey LBC and SSHD
The claimant was a destitute asylum seeker with mental health problems who argued that she had a need for accommodation related to care and support. As such she maintained that she should be accommodated by Haringey Council under the Care Act rather than by the Secretary of State under the asylum support regime.
Haringey argued that it no longer had a duty to accommodate asylum seekers following the repeal of section 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948.
Judge Bowers quashed Haringey’s decision and ordered them to retake it on the grounds that an independent advocate had not been appointed and because Haringey had not disregarded the provision of asylum support by the Secretary of State when deciding if it had to provide the claimant with accommodation in order to meet her needs.
You can read more about the decision on the Doughty Street Chambers website and in Community Care