Judge refuses to order parents to take down petition over care orders – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in care orders, internet, news, parental responsibility, parental rights by sally

‘Parents who objected to care decisions made about their children after applications by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council need not remove an online petition airing their grievances, the Family Court has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd August 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Cafcass and ADCS withdraw agreement over collaboration in care proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in agreements, care orders, children, guardianship, news by sally

‘A controversial agreement between the Association of Directors of Children’s Services and Cafcass over children’s care proceedings has been scrapped.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd August 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judge warns of ‘blood on our hands’ if suicidal girl is forced out of secure care – The Guardian

‘The nation will have “blood on its hands” if an NHS hospital bed cannot be found within days for a teenage girl who is at acute risk of taking her own life, according to the UK’s most senior family judge.’

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The Guardian, 3rd August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

County council apologises for breach of court order in child protection case – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 2nd, 2017 in care orders, children, local government, news, social services by tracey

‘Gloucestershire County Council has issued an unreserved apology after it was found to have breached a court order in a child protection case.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd August 2017

Source: localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council apologises over unlawful removal of child from mother – The Guardian

Posted July 28th, 2017 in care orders, children, local government, news, social services by tracey

‘Gloucestershire county council has apologised after it unlawfully removed a young child from its mother and placed it in foster care without giving the mother or father any notice of its intention to do so.’

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The Guardian, 28th July 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge agrees natural father should not be given notice of care proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

‘A natural father need not be given a copy of a notice of care proceedings where this would create a risk for the mother, HHJ Bellamy has ruled in the Family Court.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th June 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Independent Reviewing Officers – myths and misunderstandings continue – Family Law Week

‘Professor Jonathan Dickens, University of East Anglia, Norwich, considers some of the strengths and limitations of the IRO service, drawing on recent debates and the findings of a research study conducted between 2012-14.’

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Family Law Week, 6th April 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Parents ‘should decide care of baby’ – BBC News

Posted March 7th, 2017 in care orders, medical treatment, news, parental rights by tracey

‘The parents of a seven-month-old baby who are challenging doctors in court to keep him on life support say they deserve the right to judge his care.’

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BBC News, 7th March 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Social worker loses appeal over ruling by judge that she improperly altered records – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 3rd, 2017 in appeals, care orders, news, social services by tracey

‘The Family Court has dismissed an appeal by a social worker against a finding that she improperly altered records concerning children in care proceedings.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st March 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Cloisters column part two – ‘Premature Labelling? A child-centred approach to questions of gender identity’ – Cloisters

Posted February 22nd, 2017 in care orders, children, family courts, gender, news, social services, transgender persons by sally

‘This is part two of a two-part series on trans rights from leading equality and human rights barrister Claire McCann at Cloisters. Part one explores toilets and gender identity.’

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Cloisters, 14th February 2017

Source: www.cloisters.com

How is the PLO working? What is its impact on court process and outcome? – Family Law Week

‘The last five years have brought important reforms to care proceedings. The Judiciary made proposals for modernising family justice with a focus on strong judicial leadership, judicial continuity and better case management.2 The Family Justice Review3 recommended that the duration of care proceedings should be limited to 26 weeks, that fewer experts should be instructed in proceedings and there should be more limited scrutiny of the care plan, with the court considering only the plan for permanency (care by the parents(s), placement in the extended family, long-term fostering, or adoption) and not matters such as services for the child and contact arrangements. The Review’s recommendations were enacted in the Children and Families Act 2014, supplemented by new procedural rules (the PLO 2014) and implemented on April 22, 2014. This date also marked the opening of the Family Court, replacing the triple jurisdiction of the Family Proceedings Court, the County Court and the High Court. ‘

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Family Law Week, 17th February 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Family judge condemns 2,000-page bundle – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A family judge has expressed his disapproval at the ‘unwarranted expenditure’ in a case where a local authority breached Article 8 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights by taking an infant into care.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 17th February 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Kirklees council breached parents’ human rights by removing baby – The Guardian

Posted February 17th, 2017 in care orders, human rights, local government, news, parental responsibility by sally

‘Social workers have been accused of breaching the human rights of a couple after their week-old baby was taken off them in hospital when the father praised “the benefits of formula milk”.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

City settles claim over failure to protect woman when in care as child – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 20th, 2017 in care orders, child abuse, compensation, fostering, local government, news by sally

‘Peterborough City Council has reached an out of court settlement with a woman who accused it of failing to protect her when she was in its care as a child.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th January 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judge lambasts council and police for flaws in investigation and care case – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 5th, 2017 in care orders, damages, human rights, news, police, social services by tracey

‘A High Court judge has strongly criticised a council and a police force for serious breaches of the Human Rights Act, after two children were retained in care despite their mother not being charged with an offence following her arrest.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th January 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

British couple suspected of trying to join Isis allowed to keep children – The Guardian

Posted December 13th, 2016 in care orders, children, families, news, proscribed organisations, terrorism by sally

‘A British couple have won a legal fight to be reunited with their children after being arrested on suspicion of trying to travel to Syria to join Islamic State.’

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The Guardian, 12th December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Children: Public Law Update (December 2016) – Family Law Week

Posted December 8th, 2016 in adoption, appeals, care orders, families, fostering, legal representation, news, witnesses by tracey

‘John Tughan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews recent important judgments in the field of public children law.’

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Family Law Week, 7th December 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Parents fear transgender children will be taken away after court ruling – The Guardian

Posted November 22nd, 2016 in care orders, custody, families, news, transgender persons by sally

‘Parents of transgender children fear their ex-partners will sue them for custody of their children after the high court ruled that a seven-year-old child who identified as transgender should be removed from the care of their mother.’

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The Guardian, 22nd November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

16-year-old’s representation plight highlights pro bono dependency – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 8th, 2016 in appeals, care orders, children, legal representation, news, pro bono work by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has allowed a 16-year-old involved in care proceedings to instruct her own solicitor in a case highlighting the extent to which pro bono solicitors are now needed to resolve representation challenges.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 7th November 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Seven-year-old boy ‘living life entirely as a girl’ removed from mother’s care by judge – The Independent

Posted October 24th, 2016 in care orders, children, gender, news by michael

‘A seven-year-old boy who was “living life entirely as a girl” has been removed from his mother’s care following a ruling by a High Court judge.’

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The Independent, 22nd October 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk