Mr. Lewis Mooney:

I think Chairman's question was about whether a best interest assessment would displace others on the housing list. The simple answer is "No". The statutory mechanism would remain in place for assessment of people on the housing list and it would not be legally possible to displace individuals already on the housing lists. The best interest assessment would look at where children should be placed. As outlined already, hotels and emergency accommodation hubs are having a profound impact on children's education. It has been seen through childcare cases in courts that parents are finding it increasingly difficult to parent young children in emergency accommodation, which is leading to major problems. The best interest analysis would seek to assess what is in the best interest of that child's well-being, such as the facilities that the child requires in the accommodation to be able to develop and being as close as possible to the community the child is leaving and the educational establishment or school that he or she is in.

Through the Children's Rights Alliance "Access to Justice" helpline, numerous children as young as nine and ten have contacted the Children's Rights Alliance to try to find information on their rights. They have outlined profound issues about having to travel to school and the conditions that they are living in. That is why we think it is crucial that children are heard through the process and that their views are taken into account in this best interest analysis. There is an argument to be made that Article 42A already mandates this. That remains to be seen through testing Article 42A, which is obviously in its infancy as a constitutional provision. It is arguably legally mandated apart from what we in the Children's Rights Alliance are advocating for.