[2025] UKUT 010 (AAC)

Ms Long’s report of 22 April 2022 was admitted into evidence by the First-tier Tribunal. By admitting the report, the Tribunal accepted its relevance and is therefore likely, submit the local authority, to have considered it.

A tribunal is not required, in its reasons, to refer to each and every piece of evidence considered. The standard required was described by the Court of Appeal in H v East Sussex CC [2009] EWCA Civ 249, at [16-17], in which it said that:

“[the Tribunal’s reasons are] not required to be an elaborate formalistic product of refined legal draftsmanship, but…must contain an outline of the story which has given rise to the complaint and a summary of the Tribunal's basic factual conclusions and a statement of the reasons which have led them to reach the conclusion which they do on those basic facts.”

The present Tribunal’s reasons met that standard. In any event, the parental amendments to WD16 did not refer to Ms Long’s report. If there was a procedural error, it was immaterial.

The authority also “denies that the Upper Tribunal has jurisdiction to determine an appeal in relation to FtT’s recommendation power under the National Trial”. The authority’s written submissions do not explain why.