Emergency procedures

Emergency prohibited steps and child arrangements orders

In certain circumstances it may be necessary to take urgent action in order to protect a child.

An application for any order under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) (a prohibited steps order, specific issue order or child arrangements order) may be made without notice (ex parte). It should be noted however that an order will only be made in exceptional circumstances and on strong evidence. The Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 set out the circumstances in which an application may be made without notice in FPR 2010, PD 18A, and this includes cases where there is exceptional urgency.

FPR 2010, PD 12B (the Child Arrangements Programme) sets out the procedural requirements to be followed for urgent and without notice applications for orders under ChA 1989, s 8. It provides that without notice orders should be made only exceptionally and where the specified criteria is met.

A without notice application for a prohibited steps order or child arrangements order should be made on Form C100 (if a free-standing application),

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Local Government weekly highlights—4 September 2025

This week's edition of Local Government weekly highlights includes: case analysis of G (A Child: Scope of Fact-Finding), in which the Court of Appeal considered when a fact-finding hearing is necessary to inform a risk assessment and Saravanamuthu v SSCHLG on a challenge to the validity of a compulsory purchase order. Case reports include Somani Hotels Ltd v Epping Forest DC in which the court lifted the injunction on the use of hotels for asylum seekers and allowed the SSHD to join proceedings as an intervenor; R (Paul Knights) v South Norfolk DC, in which the Administrative Court quashed planning approval for ignoring key evidence; Mole Valley DC v SSHCLG in which the High Court rejected the Green Belt challenge and the application for judicial and statutory review was deemed unarguable; R (SK) v Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in which the court set aside an interim mandatory injunction in finding that the claimant did not establish a strong case that the current accommodation was unsuitable simply due to one of the child’s temporary inpatient stays in hospital which impeded frequent visits; and Iqbal v Listing Officer Epsom, which upheld the decision that the Class G council tax exemption did not apply to the dwelling in question. Further developments include MHCLG’s launch of consultation on measures to streamline infrastructure planning process and response to the LGSCO Triennial Review declining to make use of revised Complaint Handling Code mandatory; the Cabinet Office’s update of Model Services Contract and Guidance for buyers under PA 2023; DfE notices to improve, guidance on Terrorism Act compliance for the education sector and consultation response on unregistered alternative provision standards. It includes further updates on Social housing, Social care, Education, Healthcare and Governance.

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