ZB & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Croydon (Rev1)

Jason Coppel KC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) ____________________

James Presland (instructed by TV Edwards) for the Claimants Hilton Harrop-Griffiths (instructed by London Borough of Croydon Legal Services) for the Defendant Hearing date: 18 January 2023 ____________________

The Claimant is a single parent living with her 3 children, a boy currently aged 14, a girl currently aged 12 and a boy currently aged 2. She has been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression and anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and asthma.

The Claimant's older son [DB] and her daughter [ZB] have significant and profound disabilities. Both have neurological conditions, global developmental delay, learning disabilities, four limb motor disorder, epilepsy, variable heart block, the heart condition long QT syndrome and low muscle tone. They are both registered blind, use non-verbal communication, are incontinent, fed by tube and use wheelchairs. Each of them has respiratory vulnerabilities and sleep disturbance patterns.

[DB] has kyphosis (a curvature of the upper spine) and 50% migration in his right hip. This causes him considerable pain as he cannot lie on his right side and has difficulties being placed in a sitting position.