The court can make a supervision order to a local authority (LA) if it considers that the criteria under section 31(2) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) has been met. In addition, for a supervision order to be made, it must be in the child’s best interests to do along with the court considering it necessary and proportionate to make such an order. A supervision order will place a child under the supervision of a designated LA and may require the supervised child to comply with any directions given from time to time by the supervisor which require him to: • live at a place or places specified in the directions for a specified period or periods • present himself to a specified person at a place and on a day specified • participate in specified activities, such as education or training An

Home schooling is permissible provided that the parent involved complies with the requirement in the Education Act 1996 (EA 1996): that every child of compulsory school age receives efficient and suitable full-time education. The school and the local authority should be informed if a parent is taking the child out of school. In EA 1996, unless the context otherwise requires, 'parent', in relation to a child or young person, includes any person (1) who is not a parent of theirs,

The outcome of any application to enforce periodical payments in these circumstances would depend on the precise wording and construction of the child periodical payments order. It is assumed that there are no dates specified but any definition of terms such as ‘(secondary) education’ and/or ‘gap year’ may be instructive. It is also assumed that the order makes specific provision for the suspension of payments while the child is on their gap year. However, a close reading of the order should be undertaken to ensure that this is indeed the case, noting that orders for financial provision for

In answering this Q&A, we have considered whether a child should be registered at school by their new name after it has been changed by deed poll, or whether they should be registered with the original name that was on the child’s birth certificate. At birth a child must be registered, and the first name and surname that are registered at that time are to be the ones which it is intended the child should be known by. If a parent wishes to change the child’s surname (or indeed first name) following registration, they should consult with any other person who holds parental responsibility for the child. This is the case regardless of whether there is a child arrangements order in place, and regardless of whether that other person sees

If the title to the land is already registered, the claimant steps into the shoes of the registered proprietor and inherits the existing class of title. See: Claiming title by adverse possession under the Land Registration Act 2002 and When does a person in adverse possession of registered land obtain a legal interest in that land? HM Land Registry Practice Guide 4: adverse possession of registered land confirms at paragraph 5.4: ‘If we do not receive a counter notice from any of the people given

Any claim for compensation must be brought within six years of the date on which the cause of action accrued (section 9(1) of the Limitation Act 1980). In the case of a compulsory purchase order (CPO) implemented by the notice to treat procedure, the date the action accrued is the date of entry (see the decision in Hillingdon London Borough Council v ARC Ltd). As such, in the case described, any claim would have to be brought within six years of the date of entry, otherwise it would be time barred. However, as set out in Practice Note: Compulsory

The courts are likely to be cautious in permitting extensions related to coronavirus (COVID-19) in defamation cases, and it would be very risky to rely on the discretion under section 32A of the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) to delay issuing a claim now. A general point about LA 1980 is that it is primary legislation, and there does not appear to be any provision in the coronavirus Bill (as it is at the time of writing) to suspend its effect. Should court offices be completely closed, Pritam Kaur v S Russell and Sons Ltd may apply so that actions issued on, or received before, the first day the offices open would be in time. If there is a prospective action where limitation is about to expire, the prudent course may issue the

Debts of the deceased-general procedure The duty of the personal representative is to collect and get in the real and personal estate of the deceased and administer it according to law: section 25 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925). See: Personal representatives—overview. The debts of the deceased are a liability of the estate (AEA 1925, s 32). One of the duties of the executor in administering the estate is to pay all outstanding debts and liabilities from the estate. ‘It is the duty of executors, as a matter of the due administration of the estate, to pay the debts of their testator with due diligence having regard to the assets in their hands which are properly applicable for that purpose…’ (Re Tankard). The executor should first establish the assets and liabilities of the estate before paying any debt(s). This is usually carried out in the executor’s

We have assumed that the claim form is to be served in the jurisdiction ie England and Wales and that the defendant has solicitors acting for them. Proceedings commence when the court issues a claim form at the request of the claimant. That claim form must then be served on the defendant(s) within a set period of time (CPR 7.2(1)). Failure to do so renders the claim form invalid and proceedings cannot be pursued. When serving a claim form, it is crucial to make sure that the specific rules for service of the claim form, set out in CPR 6, are complied with. A failure to do so will mean that the purported service will be invalid and the claimant cannot proceed with the claim. The rationale for the service rules is the importance of the claim form in ensuring that the defendant is aware

Amending a statement of case CPR 17 provides that a party can amend a statement of case: • at any time before it has been served on any other party • after it has been served: ◦ with the written consent of all the parties ◦ with the permission of the court Requirement to re-seal an amended claim form prior to service? There are no provisions in the CPR as to whether a claim form that has been amended prior to service needs to be resealed. The issue was considered in Cant v Hertz Corporation, a case in which the claimant had worked on the basis that there was no such requirement and where Hacon J was not convinced the claimant had been wrong to take. The difficulty

The employment tribunal has jurisdiction to consider some breach of contract claims, subject to certain restrictions (ET Extension of Jurisdiction Order 1994, SI 1994/1623, regs 3, 5, 10). For detailed information on the employment tribunal’s jurisdiction, see Practice Note: Contract claims in the employment tribunal. For information on the factors

When a party has not been present at a hearing/trial, they can seek to have the order or judgment made in their absence set aside under CPR 39.3(3). Invalid service In Nelsons v Clearsprings (Management) Limited, the court held that CPR 39.3 contemplated a trial in the absence of a party who had been served in accordance with the rules or in respect of whom service had been dispensed with. Therefore, where the party has not been served, CPR 39.3(5) is not applicable. Rather, the party can apply to set aside the judgment pursuant to the court's powers in CPR 3.1(2)(m) and CPR 3.10. Where the court is faced with such an application the court is not restricted to curing that irregularity