Councils see rise in emergency family spending
Local councils significantly increased spending on families in crisis under the coalition government, new research reveals. Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities have a duty to...
View ArticleShould children be seen as well as heard?
Baroness Hale’s speech to the Association of Lawyers for Children Annual Conference 2015 It is a recurring topic in family law: should children involved in cases which affect their future be given the...
View ArticleChild welfare ‘paramount’ in relocation cases
The welfare of any child is “paramount” in all relocation cases, the Court of Appeal has declared. In a dispute between two parents over their ten year-old daughter’s living arrangements, three judges...
View ArticlePutting the children first
After you’ve practised as a family lawyer for a few years you get to know the classic rigid positions that parents often take in the course of contested disputes over arrangements for their children....
View ArticleWardship: when nothing else will do
When I began practising as a family lawyer back in the 1980s wardship proceedings were still quite common. In particular, they were then often used by local authorities as a means of protecting...
View ArticleA misconceived application
With no disrespect whatsoever to those who work within what I still think of as the Magistrates’ Court Service (my father was a Justices’ Clerk), I don’t recall ever previously writing about a report...
View ArticleFather’s rights breached by local authority
An unnamed local authority breached a father’s human rights when it took his four year-old daughter into care without consulting him. In Re C (A Child), the child’s mother had struggled to raise C’s...
View ArticleNo contact order for mother mistaken, Court of Appeal rules
An acrimonious family dispute in which a judge failed to order contact between a mother and her teenage daughter must be reheard, the Court of Appeal has ruled. F (Children) concerned a cohabiting...
View ArticleCurtailing children litigation
A provision tucked into a fourteenth sub-section of a section at the tail-end of a statute rarely gives rise to much comment, let alone litigation. Section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 is, however,...
View ArticleGN v MA: imagination vs practice in child support
In GN v MA, (reported on this blog a few days ago), we see the most recent stage in a continuing application for child support under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989. The child in question is seven...
View ArticleJudge says no location order for nine year-old girl on holiday
A High Court Judge has refused an application for an order stating that a girl on holiday abroad with her mother must be returned immediately to the UK. The nine year-old in question ‘S’, was born in...
View ArticleCampaign group looks at voluntary accommodation for children
Legal campaign group the Transparency Project has published guidance on the use of voluntary accommodation in the care system for children by local authorities. Such accommodation is provided by local...
View ArticleHigh Court judge condemns’ ‘inexcusable’ care delay
Care proceedings launched nearly two weeks after the birth of a baby have been called ‘inexcusably late” by a High Court judge. A baby, referred to as ‘LW’, was born on January 16 this year. Twelve...
View ArticleCourt considers angry teen at odds with parents over Islam
A teenager who has fallen out with her family over their observance of Islam should have been granted council accommodation, a High Court has ruled. In A v London Borough of Enfield, Mr Justice Hayden...
View ArticleLocal authority neglected religious needs of children
A local authority which took seven children into care lost sight of their religious needs, a court has ruled. The siblings were the sons and daughters of a devout Muslim couple. Following allegations...
View ArticleThe labyrinthine technicalities surrounding a child’s name
It seems such a simple thing: whether the court has the power to prevent a parent with parental responsibility from registering a child with the forename of his or her choice. Yet the technicalities of...
View ArticleCouncil loses appeal over responsibility for vulnerable baby
Medway Council is responsible for the welfare of a vulnerable child, the High Court has ruled. The case concerned an eight month-old baby girl born in Portsmouth. Referred to by the Judge as ‘W’, her...
View ArticleWhen the government wants to ‘tip the balance’, should we be worried?
In an interview with the Sunday Times yesterday the Prime Minister stated that in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday the government will outline plans to pass new laws to encourage adoption, in a bid to...
View ArticleA week in family law: FGM guidance, domestic abuse, adoption and more
My pick of this week’s family law stories: An updated female genital mutilation (‘FGM’) resource pack containing guidance, case studies and support materials for local authorities, professional...
View Article‘Huge threat’ to vulnerable children
A bill which would allow local authorities to drop their child protection duties represents a “huge threat” to vulnerable children, a charity has warned. Currently, every local authority must obey the...
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