JL (by EA) v Somerset County Council [2021] UKUT 324 (AAC) (25 August 2021)
While in order to be a "young person" for the purposes of the Children and Families Act 2014 a person has to be under 25, s.46 permits an Education Health Care Plan to be maintained until the end of an academic year in which a young person turns 25. What is meant by "the academic year" in this context is determined by reg.46 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014/1530: it differs according to the type of provision a young person has been receiving and may in some circumstances extend to the day before the young person turns 26. Whether an EHC Plan should continue after a person's 25th birthday is a matter for the lawful exercise of the local authority's discretion; the First-tier Tribunal lacks the power to make an order compelling a local authority to continue the Plan in such circumstances. The existence of the s.46 power may however be a material factor for the FtT to consider when deciding what special educational provision it should specify in an EHC Plan.
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