A County Council v LW & Anor [2020] EWCOP 50

Application in relation to the P's capacity to decide where she should live and whether she should continue to have contact with her abusive partner.

The P was admitted to a unit 3 years ago after she was found in an emaciated state due to being denied food by her abusive partner. The judge described the relationship as being abusive, exploitative, coercive and wholly inimical to the P's welfare. The partner was still living in the P's house while she was in the unit and the house was falling into disrepair. The entire team surrounding the P was now of the clear view that she would benefit very considerably from a total cessation of contact with the partner.

The court agreed that contact should be stopped. If she was permitted to return to her flat with the partner, the court would be exposing her to a regime of insidious controlling and abusive behaviour which was both corrosive of her personal autonomy and entirely irreconcilable with her best interests. The LA and Property and Affairs Deputy would now take steps to evict the partner from the P's home.

Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii