Special Guardianship Orders and Overseas Placements – Family Law Week

Posted July 25th, 2019 in children, foreign jurisdictions, guardianship, news, placement orders by tracey

‘Maria Wright, PhD Candidate at the University of Bristol, and solicitor, highlights some of the challenges associated with placing children under SGOs overseas and asks whether such placements warrant a distinct form of legal framework tailored to meet their specific needs.’

Full Story

Family Law Week, 19th July 2019

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Family Justice Council issues interim guidance on special guardianship and extensions to 26-week time limit – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Family Justice Council has published interim guidance on special guardianship, with the primary purpose of addressing cases where an extension to the statutory 26-week time limit is sought in order to assess potential special guardians, more fully, within public law proceedings.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th May 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Munby’s concerns prompt fresh guidance on special guardians – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Potential special guardians put forward late in care proceedings should be realistic prospect and not merely the result of a ‘trawl through all possible options’, fresh guidance published by the judiciary has said.’

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary press release

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Law Society's Gazette, 28th May 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Discharging a Court of Protection Security Bond After P Dies – Radcliffe Chambers

Posted February 8th, 2019 in Court of Protection, enforcement, guardianship, news, surety, wills by sally

‘When a court appoints a person, S, to act as a deputy for a protected party, P, it can require S “to give to the Public Guardian such security as the court thinks fit for the due discharge of his functions”. In practice, a court will almost always require S to provide security where (s)he will be managing P’s property and affairs. The purpose of the security is not to punish S, but instead to provide a “speedy and effective remedy” for P if S later defaults. Carefully crafted rules set out how S must provide the security, when S may start to execute their duties and how the Public Guardian can confirm that adequate security has been obtained.’

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Radcliffe Chambers, 4th February 2019

Source: www.radcliffechambers.com

Speech by Rt. Hon. Sir Andrew McFarlane: Association of Lawyers for Children Conference 2018 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted November 26th, 2018 in care orders, children, family courts, guardianship, social services, speeches, time limits by tracey

‘Speech by Rt. Hon. Sir Andrew McFarlane: Association of Lawyers for Children Conference 2018.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 23rd November 2018

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Court of Appeal sets out approach when considering SGOs in care proceedings – Family Law

Posted July 5th, 2018 in appeals, care orders, guardianship, news by tracey

‘Family analysis: What factors should parties take into consideration in identifying realistic placement options for a child at the start of care proceedings? Sam Momtaz QC and Sharon Segal, of 1GC|Family Law, examine the Court of Appeal decision in P-S (Children) (care orders) [2018] All ER (D) 118 (Jun) that a Family Court judge had been wrong to make full care orders rather than special guardianship orders (SGOs) in respect of two children.’

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Family Law, 4th July 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Representation of children in public law proceedings – Ministry of Justice

Posted May 18th, 2018 in children, guardianship, legal representation, news by tracey

‘Children subject to public law cases are usually represented by both a publicly-funded legal representative and a Cafcass guardian, known as the ‘tandem model’ of representation. This research explored how this model is working in practice during public law proceedings, and whether any reforms to the model are feasible or appropriate to ensure the rights of the child are safeguarded, efficient judicial case management is supported and public resources are effectively allocated.’

Full text

Ministry of Justice, 17th May 2018

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

Getting the Most Out of Independent Reviewing Officers in Care Proceedings – Family Law Week

Posted April 23rd, 2018 in care orders, children, guardianship, local government, news by tracey

‘Gabrielle Jan Posner, Barrister and Recorder, Trinity Chambers Chelmsford, argues for a more involved role for IROs in care proceedings.’

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Family Law Week, 20th April 2018

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

How can the courts protect children from extremism? – Family Law

Posted November 24th, 2017 in care orders, children, families, guardianship, news, terrorism by tracey

‘Complex cases involving the children of families in which there are adults suspected of undertaking activities linked to terrorism or of involvement in radicalisation are facing family judges up and down the country as child protection services grapple to deal with the immediate effects of extremism.’

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Family Law, 23rd November 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Judges reject challenge over adoption and special guardianship for half-brothers – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 14th, 2017 in adoption, appeals, families, guardianship, news by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal has dismissed a case brought against Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council over whether a child should be adopted when his older half-brothers, who lived with the same couple, were to be the subject of a special guardianship order.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th November 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judge allows naming of council involved in special guardianship case – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 10th, 2017 in anonymity, guardianship, local government, news by tracey

‘A judge has allowed Gloucestershire County Council to be identified in a child guardianship case.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th November 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Hair Strand Testing for Cocaine – Family Law Week

Posted October 13th, 2017 in children, drug abuse, expert witnesses, forensic science, guardianship, news by tracey

‘Emily James and Kate Tompkins, barristers of 36 Family, consider a new judgment in which Sir Peter Jackson affirmed, and offered guidance on, current testing arrangements.’

Full Story

Family Law Week, 12th October 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Cafcass and ADCS withdraw agreement over collaboration in care proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in agreements, care orders, children, guardianship, news by sally

‘A controversial agreement between the Association of Directors of Children’s Services and Cafcass over children’s care proceedings has been scrapped.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd August 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

No ‘judicial consent’ needed for MI5 to quiz ‘ward of court’ teens, judge rules – Daily Telegraph

‘MI5 agents and anti-terror police have been given the go-ahead to question teenagers placed under the control of family court judges as a result of radicalisation fears.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th May 2017

Source; www.telegraph.co.uk

Fall in decisions for adoption orders halted but local variation remains: report – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 25th, 2017 in adoption, guardianship, local government, news, placement orders, reports by sally

‘The fall in decisions for adoption and placement orders seems to have halted but this masks a high degree of variation in decision-making at a local and regional level, data collected by the Adoption Leadership Board has suggested.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 24th April 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Association of Lawyers for Children hits out at Cafcass/ADCS agreement – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Association of Lawyers for Children (ALC) has said it is “deeply concerned” by a recent agreement entered into by Cafcass and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd March 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Surrogacy Law /HFEA Update (February 2017) – Family Law Week

‘Andrew Powell, barrister of 4 Paper Buildings, considers recent surrogacy cases in this jurisdiction, developments in the European Court of Human Rights, calls for law reform and recent judgments concerning administrative errors by fertility clinics.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 22nd February 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

How is the PLO working? What is its impact on court process and outcome? – Family Law Week

‘The last five years have brought important reforms to care proceedings. The Judiciary made proposals for modernising family justice with a focus on strong judicial leadership, judicial continuity and better case management.2 The Family Justice Review3 recommended that the duration of care proceedings should be limited to 26 weeks, that fewer experts should be instructed in proceedings and there should be more limited scrutiny of the care plan, with the court considering only the plan for permanency (care by the parents(s), placement in the extended family, long-term fostering, or adoption) and not matters such as services for the child and contact arrangements. The Review’s recommendations were enacted in the Children and Families Act 2014, supplemented by new procedural rules (the PLO 2014) and implemented on April 22, 2014. This date also marked the opening of the Family Court, replacing the triple jurisdiction of the Family Proceedings Court, the County Court and the High Court. ‘

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Family Law Week, 17th February 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Children: Private Law Update (October 2016) – Family Law Week

Posted October 13th, 2016 in children, family courts, guardianship, news, perverting the course of justice by tracey

‘Alex Verdan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews recent important judgments in private law children cases.’

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Family Law Week, 12th October 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Adoption guidelines need ‘strengthening’ to save lives – BBC News

‘One of the UK’s leading experts in adoption and fostering, John Simmonds, has warned more children like 18-month-old Keegan Downer could die at the hands of their carers if existing guidelines are not strengthened.’

Full story

BBC News, 2nd September 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk