21.68R (AW) v Croydon LBC [2007] EWCA Civ 266, (2007) 10 CCLR 225
Local authorities, not the Secretary of State for the Home Department, were responsible for accommodating failed asylum-seekers with a need for ‘care and attention’
Facts: the claimants were failed asylum-seekers who were unlawfully present in the UK but had made fresh representations and may have been eligible for residential accommodation under section 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948.
Judgment: the Court of Appeal (Sir Igor Judge, President, Laws and Scott Baker LJJ) held:
A failed asylum-seeker who satisfies the criteria for section 21(1) and (1A) of the National Assistance Act 1948 is not destitute within the meaning of regulation 3 of the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) Regulations 2005 and therefore is not entitled to support from the Secretary of State under section 4 of the 1999 Act. Where the provision of support to a person in that position is necessary for the purpose of avoiding a breach of Convention rights, that provision is to be made by a local authority pursuant to section 21 of the 1948 Act. Therefore the appeals are dismissed.