Permission was refused in this application for judicial review relating to the issue of whether the police and local authority were in breach of section 38(1) PACE 1984, section 11 of the Children Act 2004 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by failing to transfer BG to secure accommodation whilst detained in police custody.
The court recognised that the case raised important issues from an objective viewpoint, but on the facts the renewed application for permission was refused.
Commentary
The case contains a useful discussion of the police and local authorities’ responsibilities when detaining children and the duty to provide local authority accommodation.
The judges’ comments have perhaps been superseded by the joint letter sent to Local Authorities by the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Education on 20th January 2015.