Mensah v Salford City Council
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
- MR JUSTICE LEWIS
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Immigration Law
- Family Law
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Salford City Council's policy to calculate financial assistance for destitute non-British families by reference to support for failed asylum seekers was challenged. The court upheld the council's policy as rational and lawful, allowing public bodies to reference subsistence payments fixed by other public bodies and confirmed that the Council’s support levels were appropriately calculated to avoid destitution. Any error regarding immigration status did not materially affect the lawful provision of support.
Judgment
Mr Justice Lewis:
INTRODUCTION
This is a claim for judicial review of the policy adopted by Salford City Council (“the Council”) for calculating the amount of financial assistance to be provided under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 (“ the 1989 Act ”) to meet the needs of children and their parents who are destitute as they had no accommodation and no means of providing for their living requirements, in circumstances where the parents are non-British nationals who, by reason of their immigration status, are not eligible to claim social security benefits or housing benefits.
The Council’s policy is to provide each family with accommodation and to pay the utility bills and council tax for the property. In addition, each family also receives a sum of money by way of financial assistance. The Council has a policy of calculating the basic amount of financial assistance to be provided by reference to the amount that the Secretary of State would provide to a failed asylum seeker and his or her dependants to enable them to purchase food and essential toiletries, pursuant to section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (“ the 1999 Act ”). The policy has a degree of flexibility within it and the Council may provide assistance in excess of this level if it is needed.
The claimants contend that this approach to calculating the level of assistance is unlawful. They contended that it is not lawful to use a level of support calculated for one statutory purpose, the provision of subsistence for failed asylum seekers, for a different statutory purpose namely the performance of a duty intended to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need, or that it is irrational to do so.
THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Ms Mensah
Ms Mensah is a national of Ghana. She came to the UK on 19 May 2010 on a visitor’s visa. She met and formed a relationship with a man and became pregnant by him. Ms Mensah gave birth to a child, Edwin, in March 2011. He is now 3 years old. The relationship between Ms Mensah and the father broke down. Ms Mensah first stayed with friends, and then the pastor of her church for a period of some five or six months. It was not feasible for Ms Mensah and Edwin to remain there after August 2013. Ms Mensah therefore approached the Council in July 2013 for assistance under section 17 of the 1989 Act .
The Council carried out an initial assessment of Edwin’s needs. The initial assessment noted that the main factor which prevented Ms Mensah from m