Another Ridley and Hall success.

[Robin D]

See http://www.standard.co.uk/news/benefits ... 29394.html for the full story. Well done to the aunt and well done to R & H for getting what clearly is the just and right result.

[David Roth]

Thank you for posting this story, Robin. This is an important success, particularly for any family and friends foster carers who are not being paid a big enough fostering allowance.

You may remember the recent Tower Hamlets case, where the court supported an aunt raising three extremely damaged or disabled children, who was not being paid the same as she would have been paid if she was unrelated to the children. This is the same case: the council took the case to the court of appeal, and the appeal court has upheld the original judgment.

Because the appeal court deals with points of law, rather than re-hearing the original case, the appeal court judgment is very legalistic, but anybody who is interested can read it here: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2013/904.html

What is interesting is that the aunt's success derived mainly from the 2011 family and friends care statutory guidance, which states that allowances paid to family and friends should be calculated in the same way as allowances for unrelated foster carers are. It was judged to be this, rather than the 2002 Manchester (Munby) judgment, that supported the aunt's case.