Ruling Against Derbyshire County Council/

[Ryan Toca]

Hi,
I have recently obtained an SGO for my Grandson and he is currently living with me. I am a single person, so my finances are currently really stretched! I have been told of an article in the Sunday Express for a similar case in Derbyshire. The Derbyshire council have to pay the Grandparent the same money as a carer which is 58% more than is currently offered. This ruling is said to enable other Grandparents the right to the same payments. Due my Grandsons situation he needs constant attention and I may have to give up work, and this payment would enable me to care for him. Does anyone know anything about this ruling? Dorset council are basically leaving me out to dry, after asking me to give up work to care for him, but offering no support! I am at the moment making contact with a solicitor to discuss this, but if anyone here can help, I'd be thankful!

Thanks Ryan

[David Roth]

Ryan

There are a couple of reasons why what has happened in Derbyshire may not be helpful for you:

• 1. The carers in Derbyshire are raising the children under a different legal arrangement to you. They have residence orders for the children, whereas you are a special guardian.
  2. The council gave way before the judicial review hearing could take place. Although this probably means that they were not confident of winning, it also means that no court judgment was made, and therefore no case law precedent was set.

However, that is not the end of the story. There was an earlier judgment that could be helpful for you.

In 2008, the high court upheld a judicial review decision against the London Borough of Lewisham, over the level of special guardianship allowance they should be paying. In the government's Special Guardianship Guidance, it states that the level of allowance paid to special guardians should be based on what they would receive if they were fostering the child, but subject to means testing for special guardians, and minus the amount which the special guardians receive in child benefit and child tax credit payments. The court upheld the Lewisham ought to have been paying an allowance to the family and friends carer based on the fostering allowance.

The reference for this judgment is B V London Borough of Lewisham [2008] EWHC 738 (Admin). Anybody interested in reading the full text of the judgment can do so here:
http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed1173