Benjamin Nelson-Roux

The Rt Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom DBE MP
  Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care 

39 Victoria Street
  London
  SW1H 0EU

Jon Heath 
Senior Coroner for the coroner area of 
North Yorkshire and York 
HM Coroner's Office 
The Old Courthouse 
3 Racecourse Lane 
Northallerton DL7 8QZ 

23 May 2023 

Dear Mr Heath, 

Thank you for your correspondence of 23 March 2023 about the death of Benjamin 
Nelson-Roux.  I  am  replying  as  Minister  with  responsibility  for  the  Office  for  Health 
Improvement  and  Disparities  (OHID)  at  the  Department  of  Health  and  Social  Care. 
Please  accept  my  sincere  apologies  for  the  significant  delay  in  responding  to  this 
matter.

Firstly,  I  would  like  to  say  how  saddened  I  was  to  read  of  the  circumstances  of  Mr 
Nelson-Roux’s death, and I offer my sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.  
The circumstances your report describes are very concerning and I am grateful to you 
for bringing these important matters to my attention. 

The  provision  of  inpatient  or  residential  substance  misuse  interventions  for  young 
people away from home is only appropriate in a few, complex case and there is limited 
demand  for  residential  rehabilitation  –  which  provides  an  adult-oriented  addiction 
model – for children and young people.  

There is some evidence that young people’s residential interventions can be effective, 
but not more so than community-based ones, meaning that a residential model is not 
seen  as  best  practice  for  most  cases.  This  is  primarily  because  substance  misuse 
among  children  and  young  people  often  compounds  other  problems  and  so 
coordinated, well-led interventions are required which mobilise a variety of resources 
from local communities including safeguarding, education, training, mental health and 
resilience building.  

 
   
 at 

The young people commissioning support: principles and indicators guidance can be 
found 
www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-drugs-and-tobacco-
commissioning-support-pack/young-people-substance-misuse-commissioning-
support-2019-to-2020-principles-and-indicators. This framework of support cannot 
be provided  by  specific  drug  and  alcohol  rehabilitation  services  alone. 
Instead collaborative teamwork is needed across local health, social care, family 
services and education to address the full range of identified needs in a young 
person, along with any drug and alcohol treatment interventions needed. 

Where inpatient or residential support is assessed as required for young people with 
complex  needs,  local  partners  should  come  together  to  plan  the  most  suitable 
arrangement. This may involve the young person being accommodated in temporary 
fostering  arrangements  or  a  child  and  adolescent  mental  health  inpatient  unit  with 
support provided from the local young people’s specialist substance misuse service.   

We would expect local areas to have protocols in place to respond to these complex 
needs  when  they  do  arise.    These  should  recognise  the  importance  of  supporting 
young people with a substance misuse need in a holistic, child-focused way that is led 
by local Children’s Services. 

The government recognises that there is a need to improve specialist community drug 
and alcohol services for children and young people. We hope that the £532million of 
supplemental  funding  that  we  are  investing  in  the  delivery  of  the  drug  strategy  will 
allow  local  authorities  to  meet  the  needs  of  residents  that  have  substance  misuse 
needs – including children and young people.  

Additional  drug  and  alcohol  treatment  funding  allocations  for  2024  to  2025  can  be 
found  at  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/extra-funding-for-drug-and-
alcohol-treatment-2024-to-2025. In order to draw down the funding, local authorities 
are  required  to  develop  a  plan  against  a  menu  of  interventions  which  includes 
increasing the capacity for treating children and young people, investing in outreach 
to engage those who aren’t in treatment, and improving the quality of treatment and 
recovery services. Since the start of the drug strategy in March 2022 local authority 
drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems have seen the number of children 
and young people benefiting from treatment in the community rise by 2,930, a 27% 
increase.  But as this case highlights there is more to do on this important area. 

I hope this reply is helpful and thank you for bringing these important concerns to my 
attention. 

Best wishes, 

THE RT HON DAME ANDREA LEADSOM DBE MP

Response by North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate District Council (From 1st April 
2023 consolidated into a unitary authority thereafter known as  ‘The North Yorkshire Council’. 

Response to a Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths for Benjamin Nelson Roux (died 
8th April 2020) made by Mr Jonathan Heath, Senior Coroner York and North Yorkshire dated 
23rd March 2023. 

The inquest concluded on 13th March 2023. Mr Heath reached a narrative conclusion as follows: 

  On  8  April  2020  Benjamin  Nelson  Roux,  aged  16  and  a  Child  in  Need,  was  found 
unresponsive at 23 Robert Street, Harrogate, a hostel for homeless adults in which he had 
been temporarily placed due to there being no more suitable accommodation available. His 
death was confirmed there at 16.50 hours that day. The cause of his death is unascertained. 
He  had  taken  multiple  drugs  of  abuse  prior  to  death,  the  impact  of  which  cannot  be 
determined with any degree of confidence. It cannot be concluded that his accommodation 
has contributed to his death. 

Mr Heath identified the following matters of concern in his report: 

1. The search for suitable accommodation (in this instance for a homeless 16-year-old Child in Need) 
did not extend beyond the County boundary. 

2. The lack of any residential substance misuse treatment facilities for children and young persons 
under the age of 18. 

Point 1 to be addressed by North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate District Council (now The 
North Yorkshire Council). 

Point 2 will be addressed by the Coroner directly to the Secretary of State. 

Actions taken in relation to providing accommodation to Ben 

At the time of Ben’s death, he was being accommodated by Harrogate Borough Council as the local 
housing  authority  under Part  VII  of the  Housing Act  1996.   This accommodation  was  provided at 
Cavendish  House  Hostel  in  Harrogate.   Although  a  search  of  the  entire  districts  within  North 
Yorkshire region had taken place this search was not extended to other areas including neighbouring 
authorities. 

The Coroner raises this as a concern within the Rule 28 report. 

A  suitable  placement  was  found  within  Harrogate,  but  it  was  not  immediately  available.    Whilst 
exploring alternative temporary accommodation a search for a suitable placement out of area did not 
take place. Part of the rationale for wanting to place Ben within the district of Harrogate rather than 
further afield was primarily a desire to maintain the support provided by his family and the extensive 
network  of  support provided  by  children  services  and  other  agencies  within 
local 
area. Maintaining this support was a key consideration of the local housing authority.   

the 

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  Provision of accommodation for children and young people under the age of 18 

Legal  duties  in  relation  to  young  people  requiring  accommodation  are  set  out  in  the  Children  Act 
1989 and Part VII of the Housing Act 1996. The primary responsibility for a child in need S17 Children 
Act 1989 who requires accommodation lies with children services. The duty under S20 Children Act 
1989 takes precedence over Housing Act duties. 

Having  been  fully  advised  on  the  implications  of  S20  and  if  the  young  person  has  capacity  and 
decides they do not want to be accommodated under S20, they will be identified as having a priority 
need and owed a main duty under the Housing Act 1996 s 193(2). The exceptions to this provision 
to provide accommodation would be if the young person refused to cooperate and where the offer of 
accommodation has been refused. 

S17(1) Children Act 1989 imposes a general duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the 
welfare of children within their area who are in need by providing a range of services appropriate to 
their needs The definition of within their area usually requires physical presence within the relevant 
area. 

Prior to the creation of the unitary authority there was a joint working protocol between the seven 
District  and  Borough  Councils  and  North  Yorkshire  Children  and  Young  People’s  Services 
Directorate (now North Yorkshire Council) regarding the provision of housing for 16 and 17 year old 
young  people  who  are  homeless  or  threatened  with  homelessness.  If  receiving  accommodation 
through the housing pathway via the Housing Act 1996 the young person will continue to be a child 
in need and provided with additional support from children and family services.  The Young Peoples 
Pathway was jointly commissioned in 2011 by NYCC Children and Young Peoples Service, Health 
& Adult Social care and the seven district/borough Housing Authorities to respond to enquiries from 
16 – 25-year-olds in housing need in North Yorkshire.   

The Young Persons Pathway outlines the procedures in place to implement the protocol.  

Legal framework for exploring accommodation out of local area 

S.208 of the Housing Act requires a local housing area discharging functions under Part VII of the 
Housing Act 1996 to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that accommodation is available for 
the  occupation  of the  applicant  within their  district.   The  LGA guidance[1] also  provides  ‘wherever 
possible and appropriate, such placements should be within the area of the local authority which is 
assisting the household.’    

Action proposed or taken by North Yorkshire Council in response to the Regulation 28 Report 

  North Yorkshire Council as a unitary authority has responsibility for children services and 

housing provision.  

  The Young Peoples Pathway Service is currently under review following the local 

government reorganisation. The Pathway includes the provision of accommodation and 
services up to the age of 25. 

[1] Local government out of area placements guidance | Local Government Association 

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   The proposal is to review and update the Joint Working Protocol  “Provision of 
accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds who are Homeless or threatened with 
Homelessness in North Yorkshire – Joint Working Protocol V8” as a consequence of the 
new unitary status. This document outlines the Young People’s Pathway for 16 and 17 
year olds. 

  The number of units of accommodation available is reviewed under the Young People’s 

Pathway via quarterly contract meetings with the providers. 

  The number of units of accommodation available through the Young People’s Pathway will 

be reviewed as part of the Joint Working Protocol update. This will include ensuring 
acceptable numbers of supported accommodation remain available within North Yorkshire. 
Specific consideration will be given to an emergency provision for this client group. 

  The accommodation pathway will be amended to review the possibility and suitability of any 
out of area placement, in the cases of a young person where accommodation is not available 
within the local authority area. 

  Any case where there is lack of suitable accommodation for a young person in the North 
Yorkshire area will be raised with a senior manager.  The escalation process will be reviewed 
to reflect changes to North Yorkshire Council and included in the joint working protocol. 

 

If alternative accommodation out of the local authority area could be provided this would be 
as an interim measure only,  with a view to identifying suitable accommodation within the 
local area. The young person should remain out of area for the shortest possible period and 
their case continues to be reviewed on a regular basis, remaining on the waiting list with 
priority for relocation back to North Yorkshire area. 

  The Council will explore the possibilities of establishing relationships with neighbouring local 
housing authorities regarding potential suitable housing accommodation for persons under 
18. This would possibly signpost to registered social landlords. 

  As part of the process, in the event a young person is placed in accommodation out of area 
S17 Children Act 1989 child in need statutory responsibilities will continue to be provided by 
North Yorkshire.  These responsibilities will continue for as long as required until the young 
person is no longer placed in accommodation secured by North Yorkshire Council out of 
area.  This will ensure the continuation of in need services, promoting the child in need plan 
for  consistency  and  without  the  risk  of  the  young  person  falling  through  gaps  of  service 
provision. 

  The social worker to take responsibility for ensuring any disruption caused by the change in 
service  provision,  from  other  agencies  as  a  result  of  the  out  of  area  accommodation  is 
minimal. Alternative service provision which meets the needs identified in the child in need 
plan will be sourced and made available.  

  Any property would need to be checked and considered “suitable” for its intended use . This 
would include the completion of a risk assessment form in line with the requirements of the 
revised Joint Working Protocol.  

 

If  the  young  person  is  placed  out  of  area  it  is  recognised  that  safeguarding  is  the 
responsibility of all agencies engaging with the young person. There would therefore be an 
expectation that any safeguarding issues are raised immediately with both Children Services 

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 and Housing Services to allow escalation and appropriate measures to be put in place. This 
will follow the management escalation process detailed above. 

  All operational staff who have responsibility for using the Joint Working Protocol will receive 

training and ongoing updates once revisions are completed. 

  The proposed actions in relation to the updating of the Joint Working Protocol will take a 

period of up to six months to complete from the date of submission of this report. 

This concludes the response on behalf of North Yorkshire Council.  

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