Local authority duties to children

Practice notes

Statements of truth in family proceedings

This Practice Note is impacted by the exit of the UK from the EU on 31 January 2020. This has implications for practitioners when considering an...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Child Arrangements Programme—the procedure for section 8 applications

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

In-house

Practice notes

Working with counsel

Instructing counsel to advocate on a client’s behalf should be a matter of careful thought and preparation. The role of counsel is to provide...

Produced in partnership with Ursula Rice of Family First Solicitors Ltd 12th Jan

Practice notes

Void and voidable marriages

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) sets out the grounds on which a marriage is void or voidable and the bars preventing the grant of a decree...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is void

A void marriage is one that will be treated by the court as never having taken place. The grounds on which a marriage will be void are set out in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Emergency prohibited steps and child arrangements orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Capitalised maintenance—Duxbury calculations

The basis of Duxbury calculationsA Duxbury calculation is an actuarial calculation designed to identify the capital sum required to meet a periodical...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Drafting the terms of a financial consent order

This Practice Note sets out the basic principles to be applied when drafting a financial consent order including the preparation and structure of the...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Grounds for judicial separation

Applications for judicial separation are relatively rare in practice. It may arise where the client has strong religious and or cultural reasons for...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Application to vary, extend or discharge a non-molestation or occupation order

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Decree absolute—divorce

Online divorceWhere a divorce is proceeding via the online service note that while rules relating to divorce proceedings are generally to be found in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Sequestration (confiscation of assets) within contempt proceedings

Sequestration is a process for dealing with a contempt of court that would be otherwise punishable by a committal under which the assets of the...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 12th Jan

Practice notes

The no order principle

This Practice Note explains the no order principle contained in section 1(5) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It explains when the principle...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Pension attachment orders

The power to make pension attachment orders (previously referred to as earmarking orders) arises from the insertion of sections 25B–25D of the...

Produced in partnership with Rebecca Dziobon of Penningtons Manches Cooper 12th Jan

Practice notes

Private children—paramountcy of the child's welfare

The paramountcy principleWhen any court determines any question with respect to:•the upbringing of the child, or•the administration of the child's...

9th Nov

Precedents

Notice of acting

Case number [insert number][In the principal registryORIn the [insert court location] FAMILY court]Sitting at [insert place]Notice of...

9th Nov

Q&As

If a 16-year-old who had been provided with section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) accommodation ceases to consent to its provision, can those with parental responsibility remove it pursuant to ChA 1989, s 20(7)(8) or can the child leave themselves?

Pursuant to section 20(8) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) any person with parental responsibility may at any time remove a child from...

Produced in partnership with Ruth Cabeza of Harcourt Chambers 14th Apr

Practice notes

Local authority duties for advice and assistance for certain children and young persons

Please note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social...

Produced in partnership with Mai-Ling Savage, Matthew Fletcher and Nasstassia Hylton of 1 Garden Court 9th Apr

Practice notes

Care plans and looked after child reviews

Chapter 1 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017 (CASWA 2017) introduces an obligation on local authorities to consider additional general needs,...

Produced in partnership with Tom Higgin of Suffolk County Council 9th Apr

Practice notes

Section 20 of the Children Act 1989—local authority duties

Please note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social...

Produced in partnership with Claire Cousin of Dodds Solicitors LLP 9th Apr

Practice notes

Children in need—provision of services

Please note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social...

Produced in partnership with Andrew Norton QC and Luke Eaton of 1 Garden Court 9th Apr

Practice notes

Child protection conferences

Please note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social...

Produced in partnership with Claire Cousin 9th Apr

Practice notes

Accommodating children under section 20—best practice

Please note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social...

Produced in partnership with Ruth Cabeza of Harcourt Chambers 9th Apr

Practice notes

Local authority duties towards children looked after by them

Please note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social...

Produced in partnership with Matthew Fletcher and Nasstassia Hylton of 1 Garden Court 9th Apr

Q&As

Can a referral to local authority child protection services be challenged? Can an injunction be obtained to stop the initial child protection conference and/or is there an appeal process for a child protection conference?

A child protection conference is a meeting convened by the local authority to make decisions about a child’s safety, health and development. Attendees...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Are there any rules around the recording of Child Protection Conferences? Can individuals record them via an electronic device despite the usual warning from the IRO about this? What offences might be committed?

Unfortunately we do not have guidance which addresses your precise query. However, we hope the following is useful to your research.Parents may wish...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 12th Feb

Q&As

What powers, duties and options do a local authority have to protect a child they suspect is vulnerable to child sexual exploitation?

A helpful definition of child exploitation was set out by Cobb J in Rotherham MBC v M (at para [9]): '...when a young person (or a third person or...

Produced in partnership with Matthew Haynes of St Ives Chambers 12th Feb

Q&As

Assuming that an arrangement under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 can only be ended by a parent expressly objecting to the continuation of section 20 and that parent being both willing and objectively able to accommodate the child themselves, is it right that a looked after child (LAC) under section 20 who attends a 38-week residential school placement returns home because the child’s school is closed due to coronavirus (COVID-19) (for two weeks) retains LAC status?

A child is deemed to be looked after by a local authority if the child is either ‘in their care’ or is provided with accommodation by the authority in...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

What duties does a local authority have towards supporting a 16-year old, who is subject to a care order, who has left the placement and returned home?

What is the effect of a care order?The Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) created a single statutory route for taking children into care through a care...

7th Dec

Q&As

Does a local authority have an obligation to provide continued respite services to a child with severe learning difficulties and autism who has reached 18 and the child’s parents have requested continuation of these services?

SEN frameworkUnder the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) a local authority has a duty to carry out an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs...

7th Dec

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