EGZ v Hertfordshire County Council and Others

A claim that three local authorities failed to protect an adolescent from child sexual and criminal exploitation has collapsed in the High Court after 3 weeks of evidence. The claimant, who had been accommodated at different times by each of the local authorities under section 20 of the Children Act 1989, alleged that social workers were negligent for not obtaining a care order and/or a secure accommodation order. The local authorities denied that the scope of their duty extended to taking such steps, and also denied that their social workers had been negligent in any event. The claimant also alleged that the local authorities, and the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis, had breached her rights under articles 3 and 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The claim was discontinued against all of the defendants at the conclusion of cross-examination of the claimant’s social care expert, on basis that there was not a sufficient evidential foundation for the allegations of negligence to proceed.

Andrew Warnock KC, instructed by Essex Legal Services, defended the claim on behalf of Essex County Council