Failure to remove claims and section 20 accommodation – Local Government Lawyer

‘A High Court Master has recently considered whether in ‘failure to remove’ cases where a child has been accommodated under section 20, the accommodation of the child gives rise to a duty of care by way of assumption of responsibility, even if other steps taken by the local authority do not do so. Paul Stagg analyses the ruling.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 11th June 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Newborn care report sparks judicial response – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Judges are to investigate the use of urgent hearings in proceedings involving babies, after a study found that 85% of mothers in cases involving newborns being taken into care were given less than seven days’ formal notice.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 4th June 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Overwhelming and emotionally traumatic’: 1 in 6 new mothers only given a day’s notice of care proceedings, research says – The Independent

‘One in six mothers involved in care proceedings over the last year were given just a day’s notice of a court hearing to decide whether their newborn child would be taken into care, according to research. The vast majority of such women in England and Wales receive less than one week’s notice, new analysis shows.’

Full Story

The Independent, 5th June 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Postcode lottery for baby care orders – judge – BBC News

‘Care order applications are usually made when social workers decide a mother is unable to look after her child on her own. The baby will probably go into foster care and it may be adopted.’

Full Story

BBC News, 4th June 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Disabled people can be taken to prostitutes by care workers, judge rules – Daily Telegraph

‘Council care workers can help disabled people meet prostitutes without breaking the law, a judge has confirmed in a landmark ruling. A judge in the Court of Protection – a specialist court which considers issues relating to people who are deemed to lack capacity to make certain decisions – ruled that carers who facilitate adults with learning disabilities to visit sex workers will not be committing a criminal offence.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 29th April 2021

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Teenager who threw six-year-old from Tate Modern was not considered a risk – The Guardian

‘An autistic teenager who threw a six-year-old boy from the Tate Modern was not considered a risk to others at the time, despite previously assaulting police and a restaurant worker and hitting support staff with a brick, a report has found.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Unequal chances? Ethnic disproportionality in child welfare and family justice – Family Law

‘Many have experienced their own Black Lives Matter moment in the last 12 months, a sharp realisation of entrenched prejudices and inequalities that still exist in our society. In the family justice system that moment came last October when a black barrister, Alexandra Wilson, was mistaken for a defendant three times in one day. And yet, more generally there has been surprising little debate about the disproportionate numbers of families from some ethnic minorities in the family justice system and what might lie behind this.’

Full Story

Family Law, 19th March 2021

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

‘Failure to remove’ claims – the decision in HXA v Surrey County Council – Local Government Lawyer

‘Paul Stagg analyses an important decision this month on “failure to remove” claims and also summarises the other case law to date, before looking at pending cases and the likely way forward to the higher courts.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 26th February 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Privatisation of children’s services is bad for children and bad for taxpayers – Transparency Project

Posted February 18th, 2021 in children, contracting out, news, social services by sally

‘When the Care Review was formally announced in January, one of the first actions of its chair, Josh MacAlister, was to ask the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the children’s social care ‘market’ in England. This was announced even before MacAlister takes up his post, which is not until March.’

Full Story

Transparency Project, 17th February 2021

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Judge rules council and CCG failed lawfully to assess s.117 after care services for claimant – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 18th, 2021 in autism, children, local government, mental health, news, social services by sally

‘A discharge care plan approach (DCPA) written by the London Borough of Islington and North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was unlawful on nine points, the High Court has found.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 18th February 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

UK’s FGM safeguarding policies undermining welfare, study warns – The Guardian

‘Safeguarding policies introduced to protect women and girls against female genital mutilation (FGM) are instead eroding trust and alienating African diaspora communities, a study has found.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 4th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Oxfordshire boy groomed by gangs ‘failed’ by authorities – BBC News

Posted January 21st, 2021 in children, drug trafficking, education, gangs, news, police, reports, social services, suicide by sally

‘A boy found dead in his bedroom was groomed into a world of drug trafficking and “failed” by the authorities, a serious case review said.’

Full Story

BBC News, 20th January 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lucy McHugh: Social workers caseload ‘too high’ before girl’s murder – BBC News

Posted December 7th, 2020 in local government, murder, news, rape, sexual grooming, sexual offences, social services by sally

‘Social workers’ caseloads were “too high” in the months before a 13-year-old girl was murdered by a man lodging in her home, a council boss has said.’

Full Story

BBC News, 6th December 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Bad parent’: children’s watchdog to accuse state of care failings in England – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2020 in care orders, children, news, social services, speeches by sally

‘The children’s commissioner for England will deliver a damning indictment of children’s social care in a speech on Tuesday and accuse the state of too often being a “bad parent”.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 24th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Authorities failed to protect Hampshire girl killed by abuser, review finds – The Guardian

Posted November 5th, 2020 in child abuse, murder, news, police, social services by tracey

‘Police and social workers missed chances to protect a 13-year-old girl who was stabbed to death by a man after she threatened to reveal he had been sexually abusing her for more than a year, an independent review has found.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 4th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Alfie Gildea: ‘Danger signs missed’ before baby’s death – BBC News

Posted October 27th, 2020 in child abuse, domestic violence, inquests, news, police, social services by sally

‘Mistakes made by police and other agencies “probably” contributed to the death of a baby boy who was killed by his violent father, an inquest ruled.’

Full Story

BBC News, 23rd October 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court allows appeal by claimant after council bids to withdraw admissions of liability in failure to remove case – Local Government Lawyer

‘An unnamed South Wales local authority has been stopped by the High Court from withdrawing three admissions of lability made in a lengthy dispute over the care while a child of J, who is now aged 20 and seeks damages.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 17th September 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Autism in children: ‘Many families face council discrimination’ – BBC News

‘More than a quarter of English councils are acting unlawfully by discriminating against children with autism, according to a report by disability law experts.’

Full Story

BBC News, 4th August 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Shirley Oaks: Care home survivors call for mandatory reporting of abuse – BBC News

‘Survivors of prolonged abuse while in the care of Lambeth Council have called for the failure to report abuse in children’s homes to be made a crime.’

Full Story

BBC News, 31st July 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government consults on extending the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 – Family Law

‘Government consults on extending the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.’

Full Story

Family Law, 28th July 2020

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk