Tony Harrop-Griffiths represents successful local authority in age assessment judicial review with a twist

01 March 2024

Tony Harrop-Griffiths defended the successful local authority in a judicial review of its age assessment.

The claimant brought judicial review proceedings after the local authority found him to be an adult in his mid-20s, without giving an exact age.

Although he maintained he was a child, he did not challenge that finding. Instead he argued:

  • it meant he could have been found to be under 25 and that the local authority had to consider whether to assess his EHC (education, health and care) needs as a young person under the Children and Families Act 2014.
  • the local authority should have reassessed his age, in order to determine if he was 24 or younger.

Although the assessors explained in witness statements that they had considered him to be at least 28, he persisted in his claim.

Tony successfully argued that the point was academic because the claimant had since moved to another local authority’s area and could seek another age assessment and, if appropriate, an EHC needs assessment from that local authority.

The judge agreed and found there was no good reason to decide the claim.

Read the judgment in full in AOJ, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Islington [2024] EWHC 427 (Admin)