Child abuse carried out under guise of medical treatment, report finds – The Guardian

‘Healthcare practitioners who committed child sexual abuse commonly did so under the guise of medical treatment, which went unchallenged by other staff even when unnecessary or inappropriate because of their position of trust, research has found.’

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The Guardian, 3rd December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

East Yorkshire hospital trust pays millions over child’s brain damage – BBC News

‘A child who suffered brain damage after a catastrophic fall in blood sugar levels within days of his birth is to get millions of pounds in compensation.’

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BBC News, 3rd December 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Child Trust Fund court fees waived for parents – Ministry of Justice

‘Parents or guardians of children who lack mental capacity can ask for court fees to be waived when seeking access to a Child Trust Fund, the government has announced today (1 December, 2020).’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 1st December 2020

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Father who threw baby in river ‘slipped through’ mental health care net, says judge – The Guardian

‘A man who threw his infant son into a river “slipped through the net” of mental health services, a judge has said. Zak Bennett-Eko, 23, was sentenced to a hospital order on Tuesday after being found guilty of the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of his 11-month-old son Zakari.’

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The Guardian, 1st December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Landmark inquest to rule if air pollution killed London pupil – The Guardian

‘An inquest is to consider evidence that illegal levels of air pollution caused the death of a nine-year-old girl, in a landmark legal case. A coroner will be asked to rule that toxic levels of nitrogen dioxide, from the South Circular road in south London, led to the acute asthma attack that killed the primary school pupil, Ella Kissi-Debrah. Her mother, Rosamund, a former teacher, has fought for years for an inquiry into the role of air pollution from traffic in Ella’s death.’

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The Guardian, 30th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Puberty blockers: under-16s ‘unlikely to be able to give informed consent’ – The Guardian

‘Children under the age of 16 considering gender reassignment are unlikely to be mature enough to give informed consent to be prescribed puberty-blocking drugs, the high court has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 1st December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Landmark inquest to rule if air pollution killed London pupil – The Guardian

‘An inquest is to consider evidence that illegal levels of air pollution caused the death of a nine-year-old girl, in a landmark legal case.’

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The Guardian, 30th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Lawyers aren’t a charity’: Family judge awards £60k incurred costs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 30th, 2020 in children, costs, families, family courts, financial provision, news by sally

‘The High Court has awarded five-figure costs midway through family litigation and made the point that the lawyers involved should not be expected to wait for payment.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th November 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Elizabeth Dixon death investigation reveals “20-year cover-up” – The Guardian

‘The government has apologised for a “20-year cover-up” over the death of 11-month-old Elizabeth Dixon, whose parents have fought an unrelenting battle for the truth.’

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The Guardian, 26th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Damilola Taylor: What lessons have been learnt 20 years on? – BBC News

Posted November 27th, 2020 in children, gangs, homicide, London, news, offensive weapons, victims, young offenders by sally

‘Twenty years ago, 10-year-old schoolboy Damilola Taylor was stabbed in the leg and left to die in a south London stairwell. It took six years and three trials for brothers Danny and Ricky Preddie to be convicted of manslaughter. They were aged 12 and 13 at the time of the killing.’

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BBC News, 27th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Bad parent’: children’s watchdog to accuse state of care failings in England – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2020 in care orders, children, news, social services, speeches by sally

‘The children’s commissioner for England will deliver a damning indictment of children’s social care in a speech on Tuesday and accuse the state of too often being a “bad parent”.’

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The Guardian, 24th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Youth court closures in England and Wales due to Covid ‘have almost doubled backlog’ – The Guardian

‘The temporary closure of youth courts due to Covid-19 has almost doubled the backlog of cases in some areas of England and Wales, increasing anguish for traumatised victims and creating more uncertainty for accused children, inspectors have found.’

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The Guardian, 20th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Deprivation of liberty: Unlawful placements of children – Transparency Project

‘Can an English family court order the unlawful detention of a Welsh child?’

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Transparency Project, 22nd November 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Criminalise public sexual harassment in UK, charities say – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in charities, children, criminal justice, harassment, news, sexual offences, statistics, women by sally

‘Girls’ rights groups are calling for public sexual harassment to be criminalised in the UK after research suggested more than half of young women and girls were harassed on the street during the summer.’

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The Guardian, 22nd November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Shamima Begum: Justice and the jihadi bride – BBC News

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in appeals, children, citizenship, government departments, Islam, news, Supreme Court, terrorism by sally

‘Shamima Begum ran away to Syria as a 15-year-old to join the self-proclaimed Islamic State. But when the terror group was defeated, she ended up in a refugee camp in Syria.’

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BBC News, 22nd November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Trans teen in legal action over gender clinic wait – BBC News

‘A 14-year-old transgender boy is starting legal proceedings against NHS England over delays to gender reassignment treatment.’

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BBC News, 23rd November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Facebook’s Instagram ‘failed self-harm responsibilities’ – BBC News

‘Children’s charity the NSPCC has said a drop in Facebook’s removal of harmful content was a “significant failure in corporate responsibility”.’

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BBC News, 19th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

What is the evidence that mediation works in child protection? – Transparency Project

Posted November 19th, 2020 in care orders, children, dispute resolution, families, family courts, news by sally

‘Both the Family Justice Review led by David Norgrove back in 2011 and the Care Crisis Review report in 2018 have asked whether child protection mediation in public law could offer anything useful over and above the usual methods of best engaging and involving families in or on the edge of care proceedings. Current methods include Public Law Outline (PLO) processes, Family Group Conferences (FGCs) and problem-solving courts like the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC). The Care Crisis review noted that mediation in public law was an under researched area.’

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Transparency Project, 18th November 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Land-use Conflict – Supreme Court Rules on the Discharge of Restrictive Covenants: Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust v Housing Solutions Ltd [2020] UKSC 45 – 39 Essex Chambers

‘The appeal in Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust v Housing Solutions Ltd [2020] UKSC 45 was the first time that either the Supreme Court or the House of Lords had considered the Upper Tribunal’s power to discharge or modify restrictive covenants affecting land under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The case confirms important principles affecting the interplay between private law property rights, planning and land use. Lord Burrows, giving the only substantive judgment of the Supreme Court, agreed with the Court of Appeal that the Upper Tribunal’s decision was wrong, but disagreed in a number of important respects with the speech of Sales LJ (as he then was) in the Court of Appeal ([2018] EWCA Civ 2679). For a number of reasons, it is likely that we shall be reading and re-reading this Supreme Court decision for many years to come.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 9th November 2020

Source: www.39essex.com

Is “Compensation” Back to the Fore in Financial Remedy Proceedings – Becket Chambers

‘The brief facts of the matter are that the parties cohabited and were married for a total of 11 years. They had two children, aged 8 and 10. When they met both the Husband (H) and the Wife (W) were working as solicitors with H an associate and W a trainee although W became an associate on qualifying in 2001. They started a relationship in 2002/3 and in that year, H became an equity partner. By 2019 he earned net of tax just short of £1m per annum. In 2006 W became a managing associate, and in 2007 cohabitation started. Later that year W left the firm to be an in-house lawyer at a bank (on the promise she could work part time if she had children). In 2010 she was made a director, although after her maternity leave she found she was not permitted to work part time in the legal department, and took a part time role in the business team. In 2016 she was made redundant, and she did not work after that.’

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Becket Chambers, 2nd November 2020

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk