Ellie Butler’s grandfather says he wants justice to prevail at inquest – The Guardian

Posted March 12th, 2018 in child abuse, grandparents, homicide, inquests, news, social services by sally

‘The grandfather of Ellie Butler, who was murdered by her father, says that he hopes the inquest into her death will allow him to finally lay his beloved granddaughter to rest.’

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The Guardian, 11th March 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Landlords warned over blanket ban on applications from people on benefits – Local Government Lawyer

‘Lettings agents and landlords have been warned that they may be breaking the law if they refuse on a blanket basis to consider potential tenants simply because they are on benefits.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st March 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Mother beat baby to death after authorities failed to share information – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 28th, 2018 in child abuse, murder, news, reports, social services by sally

‘A mother beat her baby to death after the authorities failed to share details of the ‘early signs of neglect’ in the family, a serious case review has found.’

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Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Portsmouth baby murder: ‘Poor information sharing’ before death – BBC News

Posted February 27th, 2018 in children, domestic violence, health, murder, news, reports, social services by tracey

‘Poor information sharing between agencies meant warning signs were missed in the lead up to the murder of a 19-day-old baby by his mother, a serious case review has found.
Nicola Brown, 43, from Portsmouth, was found guilty of the murder of her son Jake following a trial in 2016. She was ordered to serve life with a minimum of 14-and-a-half years.’

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BBC News, 27th February 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NHS judicial review to go ahead after High Court grants campaigners costs-capping order – Litigation Futures

Posted February 26th, 2018 in costs capping orders, health, judicial review, news, social services by tracey

‘A judicial review of the government’s plan to introduce accountable care organisations (ACOs) – which campaigners claim will lead to the stealth privatisation of the NHS – is set to go ahead after the High Court granted the crowd-funded claimants a costs-capping order.’

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Litigation Futures, 23rd February 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Things children say – Disclosure, allegations and why language matters – Transparency Project

Posted February 16th, 2018 in child abuse, children, evidence, news, social services by sally

‘Earlier this month the NSPCC put out a call on twitter for professionals to respond to a survey they are running as part of the evidence gathering phase of ‘a project to support professionals to take the appropriate action when they have concerns about the safeguarding of children and young people’. That project is said to build upon an earlier project : ‘No one noticed, no one heard – A study of disclosures of childhood abuse’.’

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Transparency Project, 15th February 2018

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Mother who murdered baby attacked another child years earlier – The Guardian

Posted February 15th, 2018 in assault, child cruelty, murder, news, social services by sally

‘A mother jailed for murdering her seven-month-old baby had confessed to attacking another child years earlier.’

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The Guardian, 14th February 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘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

Court rejects challenge to LGO finding on personal injury awards and care needs – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 25th, 2018 in compensation, local government, news, personal injuries, social services by tracey

‘The High Court has rejected as “totally without merit” a challenge brought by a council to a finding by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) that the authority could not take into account a woman’s personal injury award when carrying out an assessment of her finances.’

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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 tracey

‘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

Adoption a ‘runaway train often breaching rights of birth parents’ – The Guardian

Posted January 19th, 2018 in adoption, news, parental rights, social services by tracey

‘The British Association of Social Workers’s (BASW) independent adoption inquiry is the first to investigate the role of social workers in adoption with a focus on ethics and human rights and has called for a significant rethink and review of adoption law.’

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The Guardian, 18th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Child referred to social services every 49 seconds amid rising reports of domestic violence – The Independent

Posted January 12th, 2018 in child abuse, domestic violence, news, social services, statistics by tracey

‘A child is referred to social services every 49 seconds in England and Wales, figures show, prompting urgent calls that a lack of funding is leading to “catastrophe” for the next generation of youngsters and their families.’

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The Independent, 11th January 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Children to be adopted as ‘kisses and cuddles not enough’ – BBC News

Posted January 11th, 2018 in adoption, care orders, learning difficulties, news, social services by tracey

‘Two children have been taken from the care of their mother, who has a learning disability, after a judge said “kisses and cuddles are not enough”.

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BBC News, 10th January 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The use of testing for drugs and alcohol in FDAC – Family Law

‘The FDAC National Unit (NU) coordinates quarterly meetings for all FDAC substance misuse workers, to provide a forum for discussing issues arising from working in FDAC, which is a very different experience to working within adult treatment services. Issues that arise include being part of a multi-disciplinary team, working within the tight timescales of care proceedings, and the need to focus on the welfare of the child and the child’s timescales rather than solely on the parent/s. Issues relating to testing are also discussed regularly.’

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Family Law, 9th January 2018

Source: www.familylaw.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

A fork in the road – Cafcass and their pathways – Transparency

Posted January 8th, 2018 in domestic violence, family courts, news, parental rights, social services by sally

‘A little while ago we wrote some about Cafcass’ new proposed High Conflict pathway, which had been hailed in the press as a big thing in terms of dealing effectively with parental alienation. We had been offered an interview with the Cafcass Principal Social Worker, which had cleared up some of our questions but which had raised others.’

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Transparency Project, 6th January 2018

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Jeremiah Regis-Ngaujah murder: ‘Death could not be predicted’ – BBC news

Posted January 5th, 2018 in child abuse, domestic violence, murder, news, social services by tracey

‘The brutal murder of a two-year-old boy by his stepfather could not have been predicted, a review has found.’

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BBC news, 5th January 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Restitution claims for failure to pay for aftercare services – Community Care Blog

Posted December 21st, 2017 in appeals, mental health, news, repayment, restitution, social services by tracey

‘If an individual has in years past paid him or herself for mental health aftercare services, which should have been paid for by public bodies, does that person have a valid restitution claim to be refunded the monies spent? The Court of Appeal in Richards v Worcestershire County Council [2017] EWCA Civ 1998 has upheld the decision of Newey J at first instance, that a claimant can bring a private law action against public authorities under Part 7 of the CPR, when it is alleged that:
· the public authority was responsible for providing mental health aftercare services to the claimant pursuant to section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983;
· aftercare services were received by the claimant; and
· those services were paid for by the claimant themselves.
Such a claim would be brought in restitution, on the basis that the payments made by the claimant served to relieve the public authority of liabilities which they ought to have been bearing under section 117.’

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Community Care Blog, 18th December 2017

Source: communitycare11kbw.com

Stepfather jailed over boy’s water park drowning – BBC News

Posted December 20th, 2017 in children, homicide, negligence, news, sentencing, social services, suspended sentences by tracey

‘The stepfather of a five-year-old boy who drowned at a water park has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.’

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BBC News, 20th December 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Warning of legal challenge to procurement of residential care places for children – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 13th, 2017 in children, news, public procurement, residential care, social services by sally

‘The Independent Children’s Homes Association (ICHA) has warned that a legal challenge to local authority procurement of care places is possible without radical reform of the current system.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th December 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk