EOA, Re [2021] EWCOP 20

The court made declarations that the P ​lacks capacity to make decisions regarding foreign travel, contact with his family and others and social media and internet usage.

The P, age 19, and his twin brother were removed from the care of their parents in December 2015 and were made the subject of full care orders on 21 June 2016, together with their two other siblings. They were removed from their parents' care as a result of ongoing concerns about the parents' treatment of the children, which included keeping them isolated from the rest of society, not allowing them to attend school or receive any medical treatment and subjecting them to extreme religious and anti-social indoctrination as well as emotional and physical abuse. When the P reached the age of 18, the court directed that he should move to live from his foster placement in a residential placement. The nature of the P's life at that placement was such that it amounted to a deprivation of his liberty and the court made further interim declarations and a deprivation of liberty order. This hearing was to determine his capacity in relation to foreign travel, contact with his family and others and social media and internet usage.

The court concluded that the P lacked capacity in the three areas. In relation to social media and Internet usage this was an interim declaration. It was in the P's best interests for the care support and treatment plan to be implemented which would need to be amended and the treatment plan would need to be set out in black-and-white following the professionals meeting. The final order would not be made until the amended care and support plan and the treatment plan had been finally agreed and the court allowed a period of six weeks for this to be finalised.

Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii