Regina (C1 and another) v Hackney London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Posted December 2nd, 2014 in children, housing, law reports, local government by sally

Regina (C1 and another) v Hackney London Borough Council [2014] EWHC 3670 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 507

‘The system by which one local authority handling local government responsibilities could, under section 27 of the Children Act 1989 and with mandatory effect, request another authority to assist in relation to housing did not apply as between departments within the same local authority.’

WLR Daily, 7th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Inherently Uncertain: Is there authority for that? Questions over Birmingham’s Grooming Injunctions – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 2nd, 2014 in children, injunctions, news, sexual grooming, social services by sally

‘Over the last month Mr Justice Keehan has made a series of injunctions at the behest of Birmingham City Council designed to protect a vulnerable child in care from being groomed. It seems that the Orders are of such breadth that they are believed to have entered uncharted territory but there are questions whether there is any authority for this development.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 1st December 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Ascertaining Children’s Wishes and Feelings – Family Law Week

Posted December 1st, 2014 in care orders, children, family courts, news by tracey

‘Paul Bishop, an independent social worker and formerly a Children’s Guardian, draws on 20 years’ experience of interviewing children involved in family proceedings.’

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Family Law Week, 28th November 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

‘Monster’ who beat baby is given 17-year term – BBC News

‘A “monster” father who pretended to dote on his four-month-old daughter but broke her neck and damaged her spine has been given a 17-year term.’

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BBC News, 27th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Baby P effect takes children in care numbers to 25-year high, says NAO – The Guardian

Posted November 27th, 2014 in care orders, children, news, social services by sally

‘The number of children in care has risen to its highest level for nearly 25 years following the death of Baby P and recent child sex exploitation scandals, the government’s spending watchdog has found.’

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The Guardian, 27th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

County loses appeal over support for disabled Roma child who moves out of area – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 26th, 2014 in appeals, children, disabled persons, local government, news, travellers by sally

‘A county council has lost a Court of Appeal bid to overturn a ruling that the authority had the power to provide support for a disabled child even when his Roma Gypsy family are working in different parts of the country and outside its borders.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th November 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Birmingham men banned from approaching girls are named – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 20th, 2014 in anonymity, children, injunctions, news, sexual grooming by tracey

‘A High Court judge has ruled that three men who are legally banned from approaching young girls following the alleged sexual exploitation of a child can be named following criticism that anonymity orders could harm the justice process.’

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Daily Telegraph, 19th November 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Family pressure group “had no business” in applying for habeas corpus on behalf of mother – UK Human Rights Blog

‘An application for habeas corpus by a pressure group was completely “hopeless” and “entirely misconceived”. The appellant’s challenge to the decision of the judge below was equally devoid of merit. Third party applications are only appropriate where the prisoner is incommunicado or where the impediment preventing the prisoner from acting is ignorance or disability. It was entirely inappropriate in these circumstances, where the prisoner had been represented by counsel throughout the proceedings which resulted in her imprisonment, or where her detention had already ended before the application for habeas corpus was made.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th November 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

PCC admits Essex Police failed child rape victim – BBC News

Posted November 19th, 2014 in child abuse, children, news, police, rape, young offenders by sally

‘A five-year-old rape victim who wrote to officers telling them they had let her down was failed by Essex Police, the force’s police and crime commissioner has said.’

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BBC News, 18th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rotherham abuse scandal: IPCC to investigate conduct of 10 police officers – The Guardian

Posted November 19th, 2014 in child abuse, children, evidence, negligence, news, police, sexual offences, victims by sally

‘The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is to investigate the conduct of 10 South Yorkshire police officers in relation to their handling of reported child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.’

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The Guardian, 18th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

L v M (R and another intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted November 18th, 2014 in children, custody, EC law, jurisdiction, law reports by sally

L v M (R and another intervening) (Case C-656/13) EU:C:2014:2364; [2014] WLR (D) 480

‘Article 12(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 allowed, for the purposes of proceedings in matters of parental responsibility, the jurisdiction of a court of a member state which was not that of the child’s habitual residence to be established even where no other proceedings were pending before the court chosen. Article 12(3)(b) meant that it could not be considered that the jurisdiction of the court seised by one party of proceedings in matters of parental responsibility had been “accepted expressly or otherwise in an unequivocal manner by all the parties to the proceedings” where the defendant in those proceedings subsequently brought a second set of proceedings before the same court and, on taking the first step required of him in the first proceedings, pleaded the lack of jurisdiction of that court.’

WLR Daily, 12th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina v Pooley (Jonathan); Regina v Lubemba – WLR Daily

Posted November 18th, 2014 in children, criminal procedure, cross-examination, law reports, trials, witnesses by sally

Regina v Pooley (Jonathan); Regina v Lubemba [2014] WLR (D) 472

‘The court gave guidance as to what measures a trial judge might legitimately take to protect a vulnerable witness without impacting adversely on the right of a defendant to a fair trial.’

WLR Daily, 9th October 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund v Verband Österreichischer Banken und Bankiers – WLR Daily

Posted November 18th, 2014 in children, collective agreements, EC law, law reports, part-time work by sally

Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund v Verband Österreichischer Banken und Bankiers (Case C-476/12) ECLI:EU:C:2014:2332; [2014] WLR (D) 467

‘The principle pro rata temporis applied to the calculation of the amount of a dependent child allowance paid by an employer to a part-time worker pursuant to a collective agreement pursuant to clause 4.2 of the Framework Agreement on part-time work.’

WLR Daily, 5th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Presumption Of Parental Involvement Now In Force – Zenith Chambers

Posted November 18th, 2014 in children, legislation, news, parental responsibility by sally

‘After an unexplained delay, section 11 of the Children and Families Act 2014 was brought into force on 22nd October 2011.’

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Zenith Chambers, 4th November 2014

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Council seeks to protect vulnerable children with ‘novel’ legal action – The Guardian

Posted November 18th, 2014 in children, injunctions, local government, news, social services by sally

‘Social services bosses in Birmingham say they are taking innovative legal action in an effort to protect vulnerable children who may be victims of sexual exploitation.’

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The Guardian, 17th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Female offenders have been failed agrees Hughes at prison event – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 17th, 2014 in children, codes of practice, criminal justice, legal aid, news, prisons, sentencing, women by sally

‘This is the “end of line as far as talk is concerned” concluded Felicity Gerry QC, bringing the interesting, illuminating and varied panel discussion to an end last night, challenging Simon Hughes MP to seize this opportunity to make his mark and make a real difference to women offenders.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 12th November 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Law to change so that 17-year-olds in police custody treated as minors – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 13th, 2014 in bills, children, detention, news, young persons by tracey

‘The law will be changed so that 17-year-olds held in police custody are treated as minors and placed in local authority care, Policing Minister Mike Penning has said. This move followed a campaign on behalf of 17-year-olds, who argued that the police had wrongly treated them as though they were adults by holding them in overnight detention.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 13th November 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Paedophile hunters: the vigilantes taking the law into their own hands – The Guardian

Posted November 12th, 2014 in children, internet, news, police, sexual grooming, sexual offences, young persons by tracey

‘The pair of underage girls groomed for sex by a 50-year-old paedophile, Peter Mitchell, could not attend his sentencing at Derby crown court on Tuesday for one simple reason: they did not exist. The satisfaction of justice was instead enjoyed by a middle-aged married couple who have become the latest in a wave of vigilante “hunters” who are so frustrated at police inaction to stop online grooming of children that they are taking the law into their own hands.’

Full story

The Guardian, 11th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina v P (J); Regina v Lubemba – WLR Daily

Posted November 11th, 2014 in children, criminal procedure, cross-examination, evidence, law reports, trials, witnesses by tracey

Regina v P (J); Regina v Lubemba: [2014] WLR (D) 472

‘The court gave guidance as to what measures a trial judge might legitimately take to protect a vulnerable witness without impacting adversely on the right of a defendant to a fair trial.’

WLR Daily, 9th October 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

BBC’s Newsbeat censured over Islamic State news report – BBC News

Posted November 11th, 2014 in BBC, children, codes of practice, media, news by michael

‘BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme has been found in breach of broadcasting codes for a news item about Islamic State (IS) fighter Abu Summayah.’

Full story

BBC News, 10th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk