— The defendant local authority decided that it was not responsible for s117 aftercare services because the claimant, a s37/41 patient, had been living in another borough when recalled to hospital. (1) Permission to seek judicial review was granted, as the grounds were arguable, particularly in light of R (Wiltshire Council) v Hertfordshire CC [2014] EWCA Civ 712. The judge noted that there is no mandatory timetable for resolution of a dispute over responsibility under the Care and Support (Disputes between Local Authorities) Regulations 2014 and that it was not appropriate for the claimant to be expected to wait for mechanisms over which he has no agency, especially as responsibility has been disputed for around six months: in the absence of a prompt determination by the Secretary of State the court would have to resolve the question. (2) An interim injunction was made obliging the defendant to assess, fund and put in place s117 services pending the outcome of the judicial review. This was in the hope that the claimant would be discharged before the hearing: the defendant appeared to accept that it was certain or highly likely that the patient would have been conditionally discharged if some local authority had taken responsibility for aftercare services. (3) The defendant's request that the other local authority be joined as a defendant, rather than an interested party, was refused as the claimant was not alleging that the interested party was acting unlawfully. (4) An extension of time was granted as there were good reasons for the claim not being issued within three months of the original decision, and it would be artificial not to examine the original decision when considering the claimed continuing failure. Abridgement of time and expedition of the hearing were appropriate as the steps taken in response to the interim order would affect the claimant's ongoing detention. (5) Anonymity was ordered given the sensitive medical information relied on by the claimant.
Full details available at: https://www.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/R_(WLT)_v_London_Borough_of_Islington_(2025)_MHLO_19_(KB)?id=160426-2147