Charities warn social services: stop passing buck on young people

The warning comes after two high profile cases in the past 18 months.

The House of Lords granted an appeal on behalf of a 17-year-old Somali refugee in the latest ruling in May. Southwark Council had ruled that the teenager, who had been thrown out of his family home, did not qualify for care under section 20 of the Children’s Act 1989. It said his needs could be met through housing and referrals to support agencies.

John Gallagher, principal solicitor at homeless charity Shelter, urged social services and housing departments to work together. ‘Housing departments will be conscious of this decision and will want to refer people to social services,’ he said. ‘Sixteen and 17-year-olds will be shunted back and forth.’

In a case last year, the Lords said Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s social services department should have provided care for a 16-year-old girl instead of housing her in a string of temporary hostels and hotels.

Chris Callender, assistant director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said he was ‘extremely worried’ because he felt social services departments were not taking note of the decisions. ‘We need the Department for Children, Schools and Families to get behind this judgement,’

More than 20,000 young people between the ages of 16 to 24 were accepted as being homeless last year.

A Southwark Council spokesperson said ‘this judgement means we… will need to review, and in some ways change, the ways in which we provide these services.’

At the time of last year’s case Hammersmith & Fulham said it was disappointed the Howard League had used the girl ‘to promote its own agenda’.