“No common law duty of care owed by councils in child protection investigations”
A child (GN) suffered serious injuries while under a child protection plan managed by Poole Borough Council. The child's mother sued the council, alleging negligence in the investigation and management of the case, claiming the council failed to take adequate steps to protect the child from further harm.
Whether a local authority owes a common law duty of care to children when investigating allegations of abuse and providing child protection services under statutory powers.
The Supreme Court held that no common law duty of care was owed by the local authority to the child in respect of its statutory child protection functions.
This case clarifies that local authorities cannot be sued in negligence for their statutory child protection functions, providing certainty about the scope of public authority liability in this sensitive area.
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OSCOLA Citation
Poole Borough Council v GN [2019] UKSC 25, [2019] 2 WLR 1478
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