Travelling families win right to support throughout England and Wales

A High Court determination in the situation of a boy whose loved ones travels around the country in funfair season sets a precedent for other itinerant families. Photograph: Alamy

Youngsters of travelling households are entitled to support wherever they move in England and Wales, the high court ruled on Tuesday.

A decision in a case brought on behalf of a three 12 months old boy with Down’s Syndrome towards Worcestershire County Council has established a precedent that regional authorities have a duty of care to itinerant households even if they move away.

The ruling by Mr Justice Holman, above the that means of the 1989 Children’s Act, comes down strongly in favour of the rights of the household who are “seventh generation fairground” travellers – descended from Romany Gypsies and circus staff.

“Everybody loves a funfair,” Holman declared opening his judgment. “They are part of the tapestry of our national daily life. But there would be no funfairs without the travelling households who very own the rides and amusements, erect them, guy them, and then consider them on to the up coming web site or pitch.

“This case considerations a single this kind of family members, but … the issue which arises is a single of widespread and basic value to all nearby authorities and many travelling or itinerant households.”

The boy’s father runs a helter skelter and a bungee trampoline organization but parks his caravan on loved ones-owned land during the winter break. During the funfair season, he and his household travel close to the country.

“They live in their caravan and are usually on the move. It must be a challenging life and a difficult functioning one particular, but it is a great life and an honourable one particular, which brings exciting and joy to several people. And it is the existence of the family’s culture and picking,” the judge explained.

Worcestershire County Council had advised the loved ones that as quickly as the child travelled beyond its borders nursery and social services support would cease. The council advised that the little one could apply for a fresh assessment in each region to which the family moved but the court rejected this as impractical accepting that each and every fresh evaluation by a new regional authority could take up to 45 working days.

The judge for that reason concluded that: “Worcestershire County Council do have the energy, for so long as he remains a youngster who is a child in need, to give a assortment and degree of solutions suitable to his wants each inside and outdoors their location, and at occasions when the claimant is not physically inside their area but is inside England and Wales.”

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission had intervened to help the application. Gwendolen Morgan of the law firm Bindmans, who respresented the family said: “The council’s position would have meant that an ‘iron curtain’ fell on service provision the minute a youngster stepped foot outside the authority boundary.

“This would of course have meant vulnerable children falling among the cracks, which runs contrary to what Parliament intended with the Young children Act and 2013 statutory advice ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, which the judge examined for the first time.”

Travelling families win right to support throughout England and Wales