Council faces judicial review over SEND cuts – Local Government Lawyer

‘A group of parents of children with special educational needs or disabilities has been granted permission to take the London Borough of Waltham Forest to judicial review over spending cuts.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th July 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Sunderland Christian foster service ‘must allow gay carers’ says High Court – Local Government Lawyer

‘A Christian Foster service has been told it must allow gay parents to sign up as carers, the High Court has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th July 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ex-Labour MP faces jail after admitting child abuse image offence – The Guardian

‘The former Labour MP Eric Joyce is facing a prison sentence and has been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register after he admitted to making an indecent image of a child.’

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The Guardian, 7th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council to review decision-making process and reimburse mother after boy left without suitable education for second time – Local Government Lawyer

‘Norfolk County Council has agreed to review its decision-making process and internal communications in relation to its special educational needs services, and provide its People and Communities select committee with regular updates on its performance, following a critical report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd July 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Protection of Children who are Seventeen – Family Law Week

Posted July 2nd, 2020 in care orders, children, jurisdiction, local government, news by sally

‘Hazel Samuriwo, In-house Advocate at London Borough of Brent, details the measures available to protect young people over seventeen years of age.’

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Family Law Week, 1st July 2020

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Prisons watchdog finds children ‘routinely handcuffed’ – BBC News

‘Detainees, including children, are still being routinely handcuffed in custody in a practice described as “inappropriate and very concerning”.’

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BBC News, 1st July 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Tate Modern: Jonty Bravery jailed for 15 years for attempted murder – The Guardian

‘A teenager who threw a six-year-old child off a viewing platform at the Tate Modern gallery in London will serve at least 15 years in prison, the Old Bailey was told on Friday.’

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The Guardian, 26th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Over £46m paid to survivors of abuse at Lambeth children’s homes – The Guardian

‘A survivors’ group has secured a total of more than £46m compensation for 1,340 people who suffered “horrific” abuse in children’s care homes that were infiltrated by paedophiles over several decades.’

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The Guardian, 25th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Child maintenance: Mothers take legal action against DWP – BBC News

Posted June 25th, 2020 in children, financial provision, judicial review, news by sally

‘Four single mothers have told the government they are seeking a judicial review into unpaid child maintenance.’

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BBC News, 24th June 2020

Source: www.bbc.com

Family court judges given power to intervene in domestic abuse cases – The Guardian

‘Judges will be empowered to intervene in cases of domestic abuse to prevent the complainant from being re-victimised by aggressive lines of questioning, as part of a new raft of legal changes announced today.’

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The Guardian, 25th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

News About Special Guardianship Orders – Transparency Project

‘Two documents about special guardianship were published in mid June: A Public Law Working Group/Family Justice Council report and a Nuffield Family Justice Observatory research briefing on special guardianship orders (SGOs). The President of the Family Division has described practice guidance contained in the report as comprehensive and authoritative and has published this with his complete endorsement. He says on the Judiciary website that the guidance should now be applied and used in every case where a SGO is an option.’

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Transparency Project, 21st June 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Pain-inducing restraint in child custody must be exception – MoJ review – The Guardian

‘Pain-inducing restraint techniques should only be used on children in custody as an “absolute exception” to save life or prevent serious harm, a long-awaited review has concluded, though it has stopped short of calling for an outright ban.’

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The Guardian, 19th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

EP 116: IICSA Update and Abuse within Minority Religions – Richard Scorer – Law Pod UK

Posted June 17th, 2020 in child abuse, children, news, podcasts, sexual offences by sally

‘In Episode 116 Emma-Louise Fenelon speaks to Richard Scorer, Head of Abuse at Slater and Gordon, about progress of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and in particular the investigation into abuse within minority religions. The episode also examines the impact virtual hearings has had on evidence to date.’

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Law Pod UK, 16th June 2020

Source: audioboom.com

Youth justice: exposing a system that is failing our most vulnerable children – The Guardian

‘Children in the Dock was an investigation into the youth justice system in England and Wales that involved the Guardian’s Manchester team spending a month monitoring every case at Greater Manchester youth court. Among other things, they found that the proportion of BAME children in court had doubled in eight years, and revealed that youth cases now take 40% longer than in 2010.’

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The Guardian, 13th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ellie Mitten and Sophie Phillips discuss whether schools and universities are offering ‘reasonable’ alternatives and the meaning of the recent guidance. – Park Square Barristers

‘As the lockdown has progressed, it has become evident that the remote learning services being offered are of differing standards between institutions, with some offering services which are far superior to others. This is particularly so in the case of independent schools. Some independent schools are effectively offering pupils a full timetable, with plenty of contact time with teachers and opportunities to review work and consolidate learning. In contrast, other schools are offering little to no contact time with teachers – disseminating worksheets or PowerPoint presentations, but expecting parents to supervise and effectively teach topics, or for the child to be able to learn independently.’

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Park Square Barristers, 4th June 2020

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Guidance from the High Court on adjournments in care proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic (A Local Authority v Mother and Ors) – 1 GC: Family Law

‘Liz Andrews, barrister at 1|GC Family Law reviews the judgment in A Local Authority v The Mother and others where Williams J was required to determine, in light of the guidance of the President of the Family Division alongside the recent decisions concerning adjournments during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, whether a fact-finding hearing taking place within long-running care proceedings was to continue following the conclusion of expert evidence and, if so, in what form, or whether the hearing should be adjourned to allow the lay parties to give evidence in person.’

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1 GC: Family Law, 5th June 2020

Source: 1gc.com

Court of Appeal considers the cardinal points for remote hearings during the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic (Re A (children) and Re B (Children)) – 1 GC: Family Law

‘On consecutive days, the Court of Appeal, which included the President of the Family Division, considered two decisions of the lower courts to conduct remote hearings, Re A in relation to a final hearing as to care and placement orders and Re B regarding an interim care order with a plan for removal. Matthew Fletcher, barrister at 1|GC Family Law, compares and contrasts the two decisions and analyses whether common threads emerge that could assist practitioners in advising clients and making submissions to the court as to whether a case is suitable for a remote hearing.’

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1 GC: Family Law, 4th June 2020

Source: 1gc.com

Vaccination – No ‘biggie’ but still ‘a big deal’ – Transparency Project

‘Here, in the midst of a public health emergency, is an important Court of Appeal decision about immunisation.’

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Transparency Project, 10th June 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

A Local Authority v AG [2020] WLR(D) 201, [2020] EWFC 18 and A Local Authority v AG (No 2) [2020] EWHC 1346 (Fam) – Parklane Plowden Chambers

Posted June 11th, 2020 in chambers articles, children, diplomats, human rights, immunity, news by sally

‘Jo Delahunty QC has recently acted for the children in an ongoing case involving diplomatic immunity and child protection matters. In this article one of our current pupils, Hannah Whitehouse, summarises the judgments of Mr Justice Mostyn in A Local Authority v AG [2020] WLR(D) 201, [2020] EWFC 18 and A Local Authority v AG (No 2) [2020] EWHC 1346 (Fam) which grapple with the interplay between Part IV of the Children Act 1989 and the seemingly conflicting duties imposed by the Vienna Convention 1961 and the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 in decisions which are likely to be significant and have wide-reaching implications.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 3rd June 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

The Children’s Guardian – should they ever be removed from or replaced in family proceedings? – KCH Garden Sq

Posted June 10th, 2020 in care orders, chambers articles, children, families, guardianship, news by sally

‘IIt is not uncommon for parents in family proceedings to allege that the children’s guardian (guardian) is biased against them, for a variety of reasons. They may suggest that the guardian has taken against them or will not listen, or simply doesn’t believe them. With careful client management this can usually be handled and advised upon.’

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KCH Garden Sq, 9th June 2020

Source: kchgardensquare.co.uk