Availability of Legal Aid for Applications Pursuant to the 1996 Hague Convention – Family Law Week

Posted February 6th, 2018 in children, legal aid, news, parental responsibility, regulations, treaties by sally

‘Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE QC (Hon), Partner, Dawson Cornwell, and Michael Gration, Barrister, 4 Paper Buildings, highlight an oversight in LASPO.’

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Family Law Week, 4th February 2018

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Council faces legal challenge over award of children’s public health contract – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 2nd, 2018 in children, contracting out, health, local government, news, young persons by sally

‘Two NHS trusts have brought a legal challenge over Lancashire County Council’s award of a contract for public health services for children aged 0 to 19.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st February 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Life sustaining treatment – whose decision? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 1st, 2018 in children, doctors, human rights, medical treatment, news, parental rights by sally

‘Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v Thomas and others [2018] EWHC 127 (Fam). Parental love is to be cherished by society, particularly when a child is sick. But the “flattering voice of hope” is not always in best interests of the object of that love. So concluded MacDonald J in a recent ruling which has attracted considerable media attention.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 31st January 2018

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Home Office urged to reverse ‘grotesque’ decision to send child slavery victim back to country he was trafficked from – The Independent

Posted February 1st, 2018 in asylum, children, deportation, news, trafficking in human beings, victims by sally

‘The Home Office is being urged by leading charities to reverse its decision to refuse asylum to a child slavery victim which would see him forced to return to the country from which he was trafficked.’

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The Independent, 1st February 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Doctors Can Stop Baby’s Life Support Against Parent’s Wishes – Rights Info

Posted January 30th, 2018 in children, doctors, human rights, medical treatment, news, parental rights by sally

‘A High Court judge has ruled that the life support of 11-month-old Isaiah Haastrup can be withdrawn by doctors, after being told further treatment would be “futile, burdensome and not in his best interests”.’

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Rights Info, 29th January 2018

Source: rightsinfo.org

‘All is not well with child protection in North Wales’ – Transparency Project

Posted January 30th, 2018 in children, medical treatment, news, social services, Wales by sally

‘This observation was made by HHJ Gareth Jones in Wrexham Family Court in March 2017, in a judgment Re E [2017] EWFC 101 published in January 2018.’

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Transparency Project, 28th January 2018

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Judge bans man from taking daughter out of the country for the next 11 years over FGM fears – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 30th, 2018 in children, female genital mutilation, news, parental rights by sally

‘A judge has banned a man from taking his six-year-old daughter out of the country for the next 11 years over fears she may be forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM).’

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Daily Telegraph, 29th January 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Judge rejects challenge to decision that 9-year-old was not a “child in need” – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 25th, 2018 in children, housing, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has dismissed a claim for judicial review over a decision of Birmingham City Council that a child was not a “child in need” for the purposes of section 17 of the Children Act 1989.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th January 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘They took my life. I’m grieving for a child who is still alive’ – The Guardian

Posted January 24th, 2018 in adoption, children, news, race discrimination, social services, travellers by sally

‘New figures show a huge rise in Romany and Traveller families having their children taken away. It’s being blamed on institutional prejudice.’

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The Guardian, 24th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Law Society urges end to enforced medical treatment of vulnerable people – The Guardian

‘Vulnerable people sectioned under the Mental Health Act are being subjected to medical treatment without consent and are not protected by effective legal safeguards, the Law Society has warned.’

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The Guardian, 22nd January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Child victims let down by lack of help in court, says UK watchdog – The Guardian

Posted January 17th, 2018 in children, evidence, news, victims, witnesses by sally

‘Hundreds of the most vulnerable victims of crime are being prevented from testifying against their attackers because of a shortage of experts to help them give evidence, the victims’ commissioner warns in a report on Wednesday.’

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The Guardian, 17th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Former prostitutes to sue the Government as criminal records stop them volunteering with Brownie groups – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 16th, 2018 in children, criminal records, employment, news, prostitution, volunteers by sally

‘Former prostitutes are set to sue the Government over criminal records checks which stop them volunteering with Brownie groups.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th January 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Poppi Worthington inquest: Coroner to deliver finding – BBC News

Posted January 15th, 2018 in child abuse, children, inquests, news, sexual offences by sally

‘A coroner is due to deliver his conclusion into the 2012 death of toddler Poppi Worthington.’

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BBC News, 15th January 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court judge criticises “very serious defects” in housing decision letter – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 10th, 2018 in children, disabled persons, housing, local government, news by sally

‘A decision letter sent by the London Borough of Hillingdon to an applicant for housing “suffers from very serious defects”, Nicklin J has said in the High Court.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th January 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Protection from neighbours – no duty – Nearly Legal

Posted January 8th, 2018 in appeals, children, housing, local government, negligence, news, social services by sally

‘What, if any, duty is owed by a local authority to children to protect them from abuse and harassment by neighbours? This court of appeal decision suggests none in negligence.’

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Nearly Legal, 7th January 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Historical injustice for persons born out of wedlock and their right to British Citizenship still lingers on – Legal Voice

Posted January 8th, 2018 in birth, children, citizenship, cohabitation, news by sally

‘This article concerns only one of several historical injustices in British nationality law. For decades, it discriminated against people born out of wedlock to British fathers by not allowing those fathers to pass on their nationality to their child.’

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Legal Voice, 8th January 2018

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Changes to legal aid for victims of domestic abuse in force on Monday – Legal Aid Handbook

Posted January 8th, 2018 in children, domestic violence, evidence, legal aid, news, regulations, time limits by sally

‘Funding for private family law cases is generally only available where the applicant for legal aid can show that they are a victim of domestic abuse, or where they can show that the aim of the proceedings is to protect a child at risk of abuse from a third party (such applications are in scope because of Paras 12 and 13 of Part 1 Schedule 1 of LASPO; see also Chapter 6 of the Handbook). Until the successful challenge to the original regulations by Rights of Women, there was a requirement that the evidence in support of the application had to be no more than 2 years old. Following the litigation, that was extended to 5 years.’

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Legal Aid Handbook, 7th January 2018

Source: legalaidhandbook.com

Acid attacks: Major UK retailers ban acid sales to under-18s – Daily Telegraph

‘Under-18s will not be able to buy products containing harmful levels of acid or corrosive substances at a number of retailers, following the launch of a voluntary Government plan.’

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Daily Telegraph, 7th January 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Attorney General to review ‘lenient’ sentence after two men spared jail for having sex with 14-year-old girls – The Independent

Posted January 5th, 2018 in attorney general, children, consent, news, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘The Attorney General is to review an “unduly lenient” sentence after two men avoided jail despite having sex with two underage girls.’

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The Independent, 4th January 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The open justice principle: a child’s crimes and a parent’s misdemeanour – Transparency Project

‘What legal principles connect publicity for the 17 year-old Charlie Pearce (born 3 July 2000), a double rapist and attempt murderer (R v Pearce (Press Restrictions) Haddon-Cave J (7 December 2017)) and privacy for a stalking mother who, with her cohabitant (‘Mr JM’) tried to disrupt her 10 year-old daughter T’s foster placement (Re T (A Child) [2017] EWCA Civ 1889 (23 November 2017)).’

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Transparency Project, 31st January 2018

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk