AHA, R (on the application of) v The City and County Council of Cardiff [2026] EWHC 2060 (Admin)
[1]Anonymity:(a) Pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) and/or the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and/or s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998: (i) the Claimant’s name is to be withheld from the public and must not be disclosed in any proceedings in public; and (ii) the Claimant is to be referred to orally and in writing as AHA.(b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant or of any matter likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant in any report of, or otherwise in connection with, these proceedings.(c) Pursuant to CPR 5.4C(4): (i) the parties must within 7 days file a redacted copy of any statement of case filed, omitting the name, address and any other information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant; (ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant, a redacted copy omitting that information must be filed at the same time; (iii) unless the Court grants permission under CPR 5.4C(6), no non-party many obtain a copy of any unredacted statement of case.(d) Any person wishing to vary or discharge this Order must make an application, served on each party.[2]Permission: Permission to apply for judicial review is refused.[3]Interim applications: Refused.[4]Costs: No order as to costs.[5]Renewal directions: Where the Claimant makes a valid request for reconsideration (see notes below), the following directions apply:(a) The permission hearing is to be listed with a time estimate of 30 minutes, including submissions by the parties and an oral judgment by the judge. If the Claimant considers that more time should be allowed, the time estimate must be included with the request for reconsideration of permission.(b) Within 21 days of the service of this Order, the Claimant must file and serve an electronic copy of the Permission Hearing Bundle, prepared in accordance with the guidance on the Administrative Court website and containing the following documents: (i) the Claim Form, Statement of Facts and Grounds and any evidence or other documents filed with the Claim Form; (ii) any Acknowledgment of Service, Summary Grounds of Defence and any accompanying documents served by any Defendant and/or Interested Party; (iii) any Reply or other document served by any party to the proceedings at the paper permission stage; (iv) this Order; (v) the renewed application for permission to apply for judicial review (on Form 86B); (vi) any other document the Court would be likely to consider material to its decision on permission to apply for judicial review.(c) If the Claimant fails to comply with sub-paragraph (b), permission will be determined on the basis of the renewal notice and the documents before the Court at the paper stage, unless at the hearing the Court otherwise directs.(d) At least 7 days before the date listed for the hearing, the Claimant must file and serve: (i) a skeleton argument, maximum 10 pages; (ii) an electronic bundle containing any authorities which the Court needs to read at the hearing (the Authorities Bundle: see para. 22.1.2 of the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide); and (iii) if requested by the Court, a hard copy version of the Permission Hearing Bundle and Authorities Bundles.(e) At least 7 days before the date listed for the hearing, any party other than the Claimant intending to participate in the hearing must file and serve any skeleton argument, maximum 10 pages.(f) If a party fails to comply with sub-paragraph (b), (d) and/or (e), the Court may have regard to the failure when considering any question about costs at the hearing. REASONS (1). The Claimant is an asylum seeker. Naming the Claimant may increase the risk they would face if returned to their country of origin. There are accordingly compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1. (2). The age of the Claimant has been independently assessed by two officers in accordance with Home Office Guidance which allows treatment of the Claimant as an adult where two Home Office members of staff, have independently assessed that the claimant is an adult because their physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggests that they are significantly over 18 years of age and there is little or no supporting evidence for their claimed age. (3). The Defendant’s approach was in accordance with Welsh Government Guidance which provides that where there is agreement among the agencies involved that a young person is significantly over the age of 18 there is no requirement on the local authority to assess age. (4). The Defendant was entitled to conclude that the Claimant’s physical appearance and demeanour strongly suggested that he was significantly over 18 years old and that there was no requirement for a full age assessment. (5). The claim was made nearly three months after the challenged decision and was not made promptly. This meant that on his account within three months of making the claim he would reach the age of 18. Accordingly there is no need for a litigation friend. (6). For those reasons there is no justification for interim relief or expedition. (7). The material before the court does not raise a factual case which, taken at its highest, could not properly succeed in a contested factual hearing. (8). The Defendant responded to the pre-action protocol letter, and the claim appears to have been served using the email address provided, but there has been no response to this claim. Nevertheless the response to that letter has been taken into account. Signed: HHJ Jarman KC Date: 10 July 2026 Requests to reconsider permission at a hearing pursuant to CPR 54.12 Where the Claimant wishes to request reconsideration of the refusal of permission at a hearing: (a). The request must be made by completing and filing Form 86B within 7 days after the date of service of this Order. (b). A fee is payable on filing Form 86B. Details of the current fees are at https://www.gov.uk/court-fees-what-they-are. The form to make an application for remission of a court fee can be obtained at https://www.gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees. (c). If the Claimant does not pay the fee or submit a certified application for fee remission, paragraph 1 of this Order is final. 17. For completion by the Administrative Court Office 18. Sent to: 19. The Claimant / The Claimant’s solicitors [ ] 20. The Defendant / The Defendant’s solicitors [ ] 21. The Interested party / The Interested Party’s solicitors [ ] 22. Date: 23. Ref No.