‘This is the first appeal in a case relating to the welfare of children to reach the Court of Appeal on the issue of remote hearings during the Covid-19 crisis.’
Broadway House Chambers, 1st May 2020
Source: broadwayhouse.co.uk
‘The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, has sharply criticised the government’s relaxation of regulations relating to children’s social care, saying she does not believe that they are necessary except in one limited case.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The regulations make changes to the duties that local authorities have with regards to safeguarding children. These are temporary changes and the regulations give a date in September 2020 for them to lapse. This date can be extended, reviewed or simply removed. They were simply made by virtue of the Coronavirus Act 2020. Parliament did not need to approve them first.’
Transparency Project, 3rd May 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘A High Court judge has sent ministers a copy of a ruling in which he expressed concern at a “nationwide problem” of the very limited capacity in the children’s social care system for young people with complex needs who need secure care.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has handed down rulings in the first two appeals relating to the welfare of children to have reached the court on the issue of remote hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic.’
Local Government Lawyer, 30th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The government has amended several sets of regulations with a view to assisting the children’s social care sector during the coronavirus pandemic but the move has been strongly criticised by a children’s rights charity.’
Local Government Lawyer, 28th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This is a serious FII case, and concerned care proceedings involving a 7 year old child. It was alleged that the mother had falsely made a number of damaging claims that her child was suffering from a myriad serious ailments and health conditions. This was all hotly disputed by the mother, so the case was fully contested. It had been fixed several months previously for a 15 days fact finding and disposal hearing before a Judge at Guildford Law Courts. Following the lockdown, the Judge had decided the case would proceed as a remote hearing using the Skype video platform.’
Garden Court Chambers, 22nd April 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘It is possible that there will be “huge spikes in demand across the children’s social care spectrum”, a backlog of new care applications and more children needing to come into care as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services for 2020/21 has warned.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Re P (A Child: Remote Hearing) (Rev 3) [2020] EWFC 32 is a decision of the President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice, Sir Andrew McFarlane, about whether or not a 15 day trial should go ahead remotely. The trial was set down within care proceedings to determine very serious allegations that the mother had harmed her seven-year-old daughter by fabricating or inducing illness (known in the trade as FII).’
Transparency Project, 23rd April 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘We are plotting a course through unchartered waters. Never before has the family justice system had to deal with such a wide-reaching challenge as the COVID-19 epidemic. The issue of contact with children in care presents one of the most turbulent seas to cross. This article explores the legal principles that will give family practitioners their bearings and guide the court’s approach through the coming weeks and months.’
5SAH, 6th April 2020
Source: www.5sah.co.uk
‘We have all experienced cases, especially when representing a young mother who has been placed with the child, often a first child and a baby, in a mother and baby foster placement and that placement has broken down for a variety of different reasons.’
Becket Chambers, 9th April 2020
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘The number of urgent care proceedings in the family courts has increased sharply since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Guardian has learned.’
The Guardian, 14th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Family life is significantly disrupted as a result of the ‘lockdown’, and many children in care will not have seen their parents for a number of weeks. This short article considers the legal position with regard to the duties of local authorities in England to looked-after children and contact, and the interaction between this and the Coronavirus Act 2020 and regulations.’
Transparency Project, 11th April 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has rejected a father’s appeal against an order for the disclosure of certain documents filed in childcare proceedings.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘All persons are guaranteed the right to liberty and security of the person, as enshrined in Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights. As such, when an issue arises with regard to a potential deprivation of liberty of a child (or indeed of any person), appropriate procedural safeguards must be in place to ensure the child’s Article 5 as well as their Article 8 rights to private and family life are sufficiently protected. For some time, the courts have undertaken this process through the use of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court to authorise and review any such deprivation of liberty in a way that renders the process compliant with Article 5.’
Family Law Week, 12th March 2020
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘A Family Court case has highlighted a “virtually insoluble dilemma” between diplomatic immunity and child protection, leading Mr Justice Mostyn to call for an amendment to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.’
Local Government Lawyer, 26th March 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Natalie Cross looks at what needs to happen where parents seek to challenge a change to a care plan where the earlier plan (i.e. remaining at home) has already been approved by the court when the final order was made.’
Local Government Lawyer, 13th March 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Helen Crowell, Pupil Barrister and Shaun Spencer, Barrister, of St Johns Buildings discuss Deprivation of Liberty and the Children’s Home Regulations 2015.’
Family Law Week, 12th March 2020
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘A local authority has failed in an appeal over a judge’s decision that a mother and child should be reunited in a different residential unit.’
Local Government Lawyer, 28th February 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
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