Secret courts: couple tell of their struggle to adopt granddaughter – Daily Telegraph

‘Grandparents of child taken into care by Essex County Council tell of their anguish at not having legal rights to be her guardian.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (J) v Worcester County Council (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted December 10th, 2013 in children, law reports, local government, social services, travellers by tracey

Regina (J) v Worcester County Council (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) [2013] EWHC 3845 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 478

‘Where a local authority had assessed a child present in their area to be a child in need the power to provide services to that child under section 17(1)(b) of the Children Act 1989 was capable of being exercised outside the area of the local authority and at a time when the child himself was outside their area but still within England and Wales.’

WLR Daily, 6th December 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Council ordered to fund support for disabled Roma boy when outside area – Local Government Lawyer

‘A High Court judge has ruled that a council has the power to provide support for a disabled child even when his Roma Gypsy family are working in different parts of the country and outside the council’s borders.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th December 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The mother, the C-section baby and ‘secret British court’: a secrecy scandal – or the birth of a scare story? – The Independent

‘The first grim details published about Alessandra Pacchieri’s brief stay in Britain were, as one commentator put it, “the stuff of nightmares”.
Over the past few days, however, a different story has emerged. Transcripts of judgments relating to the case have now been made public and they reveal the nuances behind the apparently callous decisions of judges.’

Full story

The Independent, 6th December 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

“Forced” C-section case – what we know now – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Reports of a C-section being forcibly carried out on a woman that came to light in the mainstream press this past weekend have quickly made international news.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd December 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Lessons learned from the ‘Forced C-section’ case – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 3rd, 2013 in birth, care orders, Court of Protection, media, news, social services by sally

‘Journalist Christopher Booker reported in Saturday’s Telegraph that an Italian woman was forced by Essex County Council social services to have a cesarean section, and then had her baby taken away from her – all sanctioned by the Court of Protection.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd December 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Forced caesarean was carried out ‘because of risks to mother and child’ – The Guardian

‘The council at the centre of a row over an Italian woman who was given a forced caesarean section and then had her baby taken from her said the decision was taken over concerns about the “risks to mother and child”.’

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The Guardian, 2nd December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Child taken from womb by social services – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 2nd, 2013 in birth, care orders, mental health, news, social services by sally

‘Essex social services have obtained a court order against a woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and for her child to be taken from her womb by caesarean section.’

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Daily Telegraph, 30th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (Members of the Committee of Care North East Northumberland) v Northumberland County Council – WLR Daily

Posted November 29th, 2013 in care homes, fees, law reports, local government, social services by sally

Regina (Members of the Committee of Care North East Northumberland) v Northumberland County Council [2013] WLR (D) 460

“The Court of Appeal gave guidance as to how to assess whether a local authority had (i) complied with its statutory duty to provide accommodation and social care services to adults in its area who, by reason of age, illness, disability or any other circumstances, were in need of care and attention which was not otherwise available to them, and (ii) followed guidance contained in a local authority circular, by having ‘due regard’ to the actual costs of providing care and other local factors.”

WLR Daily, 27th November 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Council agrees to review practices on assessment of disabled children – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 28th, 2013 in children, complaints, disabled persons, local government, news, ombudsmen, social services by tracey

‘A local authority has agreed to pay out £5,000 and review its practices so that its assessment of disabled children fulfils its statutory duties, following an investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th November 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Lostprophets’ Ian Watkins case: Ex-Ceop head warns others may slip through net – BBC News

‘Child sex abuse cases like Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins will slip through the net due to a lack of resources, a child protection expert has warned. Jim Gamble, ex-head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (Ceop), wants more money invested in regional child protection teams to catch online abusers.’

Full story

BBC News, 27th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Child-on-child abuse shocking, children’s commissioner report says – BBC News

Posted November 26th, 2013 in child abuse, children, gangs, inquiries, news, rape, reports, sexual offences, social services by tracey

‘ “Shocking” sexual violence is being carried out by children against other children as young as 11, according to an official report. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England said the perpetrators could be 12 or 13, and rape is seen as “normal and inevitable” in some areas, especially among gangs.’

Full story

BBC News, 26th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The “bedroom tax” and human rights – Hardwicke Chambers

“At a time when Theresa May has declared that a future Conservative Government would repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 (‘the Act’) and the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, is leading a review of the UK’s relationship with the European Court on Human Rights, it is heartening that the judiciary is prepared to apply the Act in a manner which, surely, will attract widespread public support.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 8th November 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Clarifying entitlement to community care and health services – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2013 in health, immigration, local government, news, residential care, social services by sally

“Community care services are generally provided to those with relevant assessed needs by the authority of ‘ordinary residence’. So, ordinary residence has tended to be a question for local authorities considering the entitlement to community care services. This includes accommodation and domiciliary services under the National Assistance Act 1948 (NAA 1948) and accommodation under the Children Act 1989. Ordinary residence is also relevant for identifying which local authority is the supervisory body for the purposes of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (and, conveniently some of the deeming provisions from the NAA apply to the MCA 2005, para 183 Sched A1).”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 7th November 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Hamzah Khan: social services missed warning signs, report finds – The Guardian

“A serious case review (SCR) into the starvation of four-year-old Hamzah Khan has concluded that while his death was ‘not predictable’, Bradford social services missed signs that, had they been put together, could have warned that Hamzah and his seven siblings were at risk.”

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The Guardian, 13th November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tackling child abuse: is mandatory reporting the answer? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 11th, 2013 in child abuse, hospitals, local government, news, police, social services, statutory duty by michael

“Former Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, has called for an overhaul of the law concerning safeguarding children. In a previous post I considered the current legislation and whether it goes far enough. I concluded that there is a need for a more general duty to have due regard to the need to eliminate abuse of minors over and above the existing welfare duty in s11 of the Children Act 2004.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 8th November 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Father of dead baby Nico Maynard ‘was massive risk’ – BBC News

Posted November 7th, 2013 in child cruelty, inquests, murder, news, social services by tracey

“The father of a baby found dead with a fractured skull had been previously jailed for child cruelty and was a ‘massive risk’, an inquest has heard.”

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BBC News, 6th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

More should have been done to protect teenager found hanged, review finds – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 6th, 2013 in children, inquests, mental health, news, social services, suicide by sally

“A serious case review into the death of Chelsea Clark found examples of substandard care from mental health staff, social and community services workers and the police.”

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Daily Telegraph, 5th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Limiting the scope of injunctions in family cases – UK Human Rights Blog

“In this case the President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby, considered an application for a contra mundum injunction by Staffordshire County Council. He emphasised that the only proper purpose of such an injunction was to protect the child and refused to make an order in the wide terms sought by the Council. As a result, he allowed the publication of video footage and photographs of a baby being removed from its parents.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 5th November 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

East Europeans jailed for fraud over £750,000 ‘benefit tourists’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 5th, 2013 in benefits, conspiracy, fraud, news, sentencing, social services by sally

“Three Eastern Europeans who flew friends and family into Britain and claimed £750,000 in tax credits have been jailed for a total of 12 years.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 4th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk