Rob Elkins, NYAS Service Manager, discusses why NYAS welcomes the FZW judgment and how it strengthens protections for children and young people facing homelessness, ensuring their rights, voices and welfare remain central to decision-making. This article was published in Children & Young People Now on Monday 17th August, as a comment piece on their own article on the FZW Judgement.
NYAS welcomes the recent High Court judgment in R (FZW) v Bristol City Council as an important reaffirmation of a simple but fundamental principle: children's rights and entitlements are determined by their needs and by the law, not by the labels attached to the support they receive. The Court found that where a local authority was, in substance, providing accommodation under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, it could not avoid the consequences of that duty by characterising the support differently.
For NYAS, this judgment matters because it is not simply about legal definitions. It is about children and young people at some of the most vulnerable points in their lives.
Every year, children and young people across England and Wales find themselves homeless or at risk of homelessness. Many are experiencing family breakdown, instability, safeguarding concerns, exploitation, poor mental health, or a combination of complex challenges. At those moments, they are not thinking about legislation or statutory frameworks. They are thinking about where they will sleep that night, whether they will be safe, who they can trust, and what happens next.
As Kathy Evans, NYAS Director of Policy and Influencing, reflects:
"This judgment is a powerful reminder that children's rights, entitlements and voices must remain at the heart of decision-making. Children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness are often navigating some of the most difficult periods of their lives. They need clear information, meaningful participation and access to independent advocacy so they can understand their rights and make informed choices about their future."
The FZW judgment reinforces exactly that principle. It reminds us that rights do not become any less important when systems come under pressure.
At NYAS, we recognise the very real challenges facing local authorities and partner agencies. Rising demand, shortages of suitable accommodation, workforce pressures and financial constraints create increasingly difficult conditions for those responsible for supporting children and young people. National evidence continues to highlight both the growth in youth homelessness and the pressure on local services responding to it. But while those pressures are real, children's rights remain unchanged.
The protections contained within the Children Act exist precisely because children are vulnerable and because decisions made during adolescence can have profound and lasting consequences. Rights and entitlements cannot be reshaped to fit available resources; they are safeguards established by law to ensure that children receive the support, protection and opportunities to which they are entitled.
This is why independent advocacy is so important.
For many children, advocacy provides the time, space and support needed to understand complex information, explore options, ask questions, and express their wishes and feelings. Advocacy does not determine outcomes, nor should it. Its purpose is to ensure that children are heard, that their participation is meaningful, and that decisions affecting their lives are informed by both their voice and their rights.
Through our services, NYAS sees first-hand the impact that homelessness and housing insecurity can have on children and young people. Between April 2025 and February 2026 alone, NYAS supported more than 200 children and young people through advocacy linked to Homelessness Protocol processes, alongside many more cases involving accommodation, living arrangements, unsuitable housing and access to care concerns. These are not isolated issues. They are recurring themes in the lives of children seeking support and a significant area of advocacy need across the country.
The experiences of the children we work alongside consistently highlight the importance of informed choice, meaningful participation and access to independent support. They also demonstrate that decisions made at sixteen or seventeen can shape opportunities, relationships and support long into adulthood. This is why it is so important that children understand their rights and that statutory duties are applied lawfully, transparently and consistently.
Importantly, the lesson from FZW is not that every child presenting as homeless should receive the same outcome. Every child's circumstances are unique and every situation requires careful assessment. Rather, the judgment reminds us that children's rights must be properly considered, that decisions must be grounded in legal duties rather than administrative labels, and that children themselves must be active participants in decisions that affect their lives.
The FZW judgment does not create new rights. It reaffirms existing ones. It reminds us that when children face uncertainty, crisis and homelessness, the starting point must always be the child: their welfare, their voice, their rights and their future.
At NYAS, we welcome this judgment because it reflects the values that underpin our work every day. We believe that every child deserves to be heard, respected and involved in decisions that affect them. We believe that every child should understand their rights and entitlements. And we believe that independent advocacy plays a vital role in ensuring that, even when systems are under pressure, children's rights remain visible, protected and at the centre of decision-making.
