THE government's failure to properly consult on the rights of children in care during the Covid-19 pandemic was unlawful, a court ruled today.

Judges at the Court of Appeal in London ruled it was “conspicuously unfair” for the government not to include groups representing vulnerable children in discussions about changes to their protections as a result of the coronavirus.

They found that the Department for Education (DfE) acted unlawfully in failing to consult the children’s commissioner for England and others representing the rights of children in care before amending rules for children’s social-care services.

The judges said that if these bodies had been included, the department would have “unquestionably been better informed” about the impact the planned changes would have on the youngsters who would be most affected.

Amendments covered areas such as independent scrutiny of children’s homes, social-worker visits, care reviews and oversight of youngsters being considered for adoption.

Article 39, the children’s rights charity that brought the challenge, argued the changes were unlawful as the DfE had failed to properly consult before making them.

The DfE said it was disappointed by the ruling and was considering its next steps.