"As for a review of your clients' pathway plans, the plans are being addressed with both brothers to incorporate timescales and tasks. Opportunity was given and arrangements made to meet on May 22 and June 20 & 25 to discuss and review the pathway plans. Understandably both Abiy and Yonas' focus was on educational matters and limited progress was made, but this is ongoing. It is acknowledged that a Pathway Plan is a working document that should reflect the changes within a young person's life in [his] transition to adulthood and independence, and which should be reviewed every six months. Unfortunately I am unable to provide you with a satisfactory explanation as to why this task has not been undertaken by the 16+ Team. As for the appointment of personal advisers, it is recorded in the notes of the meeting held on20 June 2012 that both brothers were informed they have an allocated social worker and also have a Personal Advisor, Linda Brown. Both brothers liaise with the service, Abiy on a regular weekly and Yonas monthly, and at their discretion. The task of approaching organisations which could offer financial support to Abiy and Yonas was undertaken jointly with the Connexions Service and Children's Society, as was also noted in the meeting held on20/06/2012 , without success. Representation was therefore made by telephone calls and letters to their respective universities, Buckinghamshire and Manchester. Buckinghamshire responded directly to Yonas with a copy provided to the 16+ Team, however no direct correspondence has been received by my client department in relation to Abiy as yet. For the avoidance of doubt Yonas and Abiy are entitled to one off bursary of£2,000 which may be paid in a lump sum or instalments. The Local Authority would pay for reasonable accommodation and travel costs and provide£30 , which is not in addition to the current£52 weekly maintenance. Assistance would also be given with accommodation during holiday periods if required."
"The statutory duty was to arrange certain benefits to meet the 'needs' of the disabled persons but the lack of certain of the benefits enumerated in the section could not possibly give rise to 'need' in any stringent sense of the word. Thus it is difficult to talk about the lack of a radio or a holiday or a recreational activity as giving rise to a need: they may be desirable but they are not in any ordinary sense necessities. Yet, according to the section the disabled person's needs were to be capable of being met by the provision of such benefits. The statute provided no guidance as to what were the criteria by which a need of that unusual kind was to be assessed. There was no definition of need beyond the instances of the possible benefits. In those circumstances, it is perhaps not surprising that the majority of your Lordships looked for some other more stringent criteria enabling the local authority to determine what was to be treated as a need by reference to the resources available to it."
"Under s 298 the [Local Education Authority] is not required to make any prior determination of Beth's need for education nor of the necessity for making provision for such education. The statute imposes an immediate obligation to make arrangements to provide suitable education. Moreover it then expressly defines what is meant by 'suitable education' by reference to wholly objective educational criteria. For these reasons, in my judgment the decision in Ex p Barry does not affect the present case."