More than one in seven girls are sexually abused before they turn 16 – Daily Telegraph

‘Majority of the abuse is never reported, finds report, which also shows one in 20 boys are reportedly sexually abused before 16th birthday.’

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Daily Telegraph, 8th June 2021

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Research shows rising number of public law cases involving newborn babies, highlights short notice given to most parents – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 8th, 2021 in birth, care orders, children, news, notification, reports, statistics by sally

‘In the majority of public law cases involving newborn babies parents are given very little formal notice that care proceedings have been issued and the case is to be heard in court, research by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (FJO) has shown.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th June 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Newborn care report sparks judicial response – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Judges are to investigate the use of urgent hearings in proceedings involving babies, after a study found that 85% of mothers in cases involving newborns being taken into care were given less than seven days’ formal notice.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 4th June 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Overwhelming and emotionally traumatic’: 1 in 6 new mothers only given a day’s notice of care proceedings, research says – The Independent

‘One in six mothers involved in care proceedings over the last year were given just a day’s notice of a court hearing to decide whether their newborn child would be taken into care, according to research. The vast majority of such women in England and Wales receive less than one week’s notice, new analysis shows.’

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The Independent, 5th June 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Kent council threatens Priti Patel with legal action over unaccompanied child migrants – The Independent

‘Kent County Council is threatening the home secretary with legal action as it warns its services for unaccompanied child migrants are at breaking point for the second time in less than a year.’

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The Independent, 6th June 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Christopher Kapessa: Mum plans legal action over river death – BBC News

‘A mother plans to launch her own legal action if the decision not to prosecute the boy reportedly involved in her son’s death is not reversed.’

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BBC News, 7th June 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Postcode lottery for baby care orders – judge – BBC News

‘Care order applications are usually made when social workers decide a mother is unable to look after her child on her own. The baby will probably go into foster care and it may be adopted.’

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BBC News, 4th June 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Withdrawal of life sustaining treatment v profound religious beliefs in sanctity of life – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Alta Fixsler was born with catastrophic brain injury. She now two years old, currently a patient at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Paediatric Intensive Care Unit on intensive life sustaining treatment. In this case the court was asked to decide whether it would be in Alta’s best interests for that life-sustaining treatment to be continued. The inevitable consequence of it being discontinued will be the death of Alta.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd June 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Baby and mother win right to access Healthy Start food scheme – The Guardian

‘A one-year-old baby and her mother have won a high court challenge granting her the right to access a healthy food and vitamins scheme from which she was previously barred. Thousands of babies and toddlers similarly denied access to the scheme will now be able to benefit from it.’

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The Guardian, 3rd June 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Refugee women and children ‘at risk of being abandoned’ in Home Office policy shift – The Guardian

Posted June 1st, 2021 in children, immigration, news, refugees, women by sally

‘Thousands of women and child refugees will be abandoned if the government’s New Plan for Immigration goes ahead, according to research.’

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The Guardian, 1st June 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘More work to do’ to improve Nottingham maternity units – BBC News

‘More needs to be done to bring maternity units at a city’s two main hospitals up to scratch, inspectors have said.’

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BBC News, 28th May 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Girl, 10, refused EU settled status in UK despite all family members being accepted – The Independent

Posted May 28th, 2021 in brexit, children, EC law, families, government departments, immigration, news, visas by sally

‘A 10-year-old girl has been refused EU settled status despite the fact that all of her immediate family members have been granted it.’

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The Independent, 28th May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Alastair Richardson: The Legality of Home Office Fees – UK Constitutional Law Association

“Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens v Secretary of State for the Home Department (PRCBC) concerned a challenge to the lawfulness of fees charged to children applying to be registered as British citizens. The fees have a serious adverse impact on the ability of many children to apply for registration.”

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 26th May 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Bell v Tavistock and the Implications for Trans Children, Part 2: the Law after AB v CD and others – Family Law Week

‘As set out in my previous article, the decision of the High Court in Bell & Anor v The Tavistock And Portman NHS Foundation Trust [2020] EWHC 3274 (“Bell v Tavistock”) arguably raised more questions than it answered for transitioning children and their families. The principal legal issue for the court to adjudicate in Bell v Tavistock was whether a child or young person under the age of 16 could achieve Gillick competence in respect of the decision to take puberty blockers [133]. The court specifically declined to address whether parents could consent to the use of puberty blockers on their child’s behalf, as this was not the Gender Identity Development Service’s (“GIDS”) policy; GIDS relied on consent of the child or young adult being treated.’

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Family Law Week, 24th May 2021

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Home Office must compensate trafficked women for lack of childcare, court rules – The Guardian

‘The Home Office must compensate female victims of sex trafficking whose children had to hear details of their abuse because no childcare was available during appointments, the high court has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 24th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Former Great Ormond Street Hospital porter jailed for abusing boys – BBC News

‘A former Great Ormond Street Hospital porter has been given a life sentence after admitting to sexually abusing young boys.’

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BBC news, 24th May 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Woman jailed after grooming vulnerable boy for sex – The Independent

‘A woman has been jailed for six years over a series of sex offences involving a vulnerable underage boy.’

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The Independent, 22nd May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

High Court judge clarifies position on adoption for co-parenting families where relationship has ended – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 21st, 2021 in adoption, children, families, family courts, news by sally

‘The Family Court has ruled that in co-parenting families one parent may adopt a child born to the other even if they are no longer partners.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st May 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government responds to inquiry into child sexual abuse in secure children’s homes – Family Law

‘The government has responded to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse custodial institutions report about placement in secure children’s homes.’

Government response

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Family Law, 20th May 2021

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Misdiagnosis case update – Transparency Project

‘The purpose of this judgment is to approve and formalise the local authority’s decision to withdraw its application for care orders, following receipt of medical evidence that the baby did not suffer any non-accidental injury. As the judge points out, the local authority acted correctly in taking proceedings when it did, on the basis of earlier medical evidence (now known to be mistaken), and has also acted correctly in asking the court to agree to end the proceedings on the basis of the new, more specialist, evidence.’

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Transparency Project, 18th May 2021

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk