Zarzour, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Hillingdon

Under section 21(1)(a) of the National Assistance Act 1948, accommodation may be required where a person needs some care and attention, meaning that the person needs to be looked after beyond the mere provision of housing and subsistence. The need need not involve nursing, personal care, a full-time carer or 24-hour residential care. It may include help with household tasks, shopping, navigation, safety or food.

The statutory question concerns the applicant’s present needs. Likely improvement after accommodation has been provided does not remove a present need. Informal assistance from friends is not necessarily care and attention which is otherwise available, particularly where it depends on stressful arrangements that cannot reasonably be assumed to continue.

The claimant, an asylum seeker who was totally blind, challenged Hillingdon’s refusal to provide accommodation under section 21(1)(a) of the National Assistance Act 1948. Hillingdon accepted that he required various forms of practical assistance but considered that his needs could be met under section 29 of that Act and section 2(1) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, while accommodation was provided through the National Asylum Support Service.

The central issues were whether the claimant was in need of care and attention, whether that care and attention was otherwise available through friends or other services, and whether it could be provided without stable accommodation.

1. Permission and outcome. Permission to apply for judicial review was granted. The application succeeded. Hillingdon was required to provide accommodation under section 21(1)(a) of the National Assistance Act 1948.
2. Meaning of care and attention. The principles in R (M) v Slough Borough Council [2008] UKHL 52 required the claimant to need some care and attention in the sense of being looked after. Accommodation alone was insufficient. However, the need did not have to involve nursing, personal care, a full-time carer or 24-hour residential care. Assistance with tasks that a person could not or should not reasonably be expected to undertake alone could qualify.
3. The claimant’s needs included tuition in navigating his accommodation and locality, help with dressing, laundry and shopping, assistance to remain safe outside, and continuing help with meals. These needs amounted to care and attention. The description of possible forms of care in R (M) v Slough Borough Council was not exhaustive.
4. Present need and accommodation. The issue was the claimant’s current need, even if relatively small, rather than needs that might arise after his position improved. The relevant care and attention could not practically be provided without stable accommodation. The likely reduction in need after accommodation was secured was therefore irrelevant.
5. Assistance from friends was not care and attention which was otherwise available. Their help was time-consuming and stressful, and it could not reasonably be assumed that they would continue indefinitely. Hillingdon’s willingness to provide meals and other services under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 and section 2(1) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 supported the conclusion that the claimant had identified needs, although the exercise of one statutory power did not automatically require the exercise of another.