Virtual Legal Seminars Series The President of the Family Division has expressed a need for a “radical reset,” that is, a change of culture to reduce delay and for proceedings to be issued only after all pre-proceedings steps have been explored. Understand what this means in practice by attending our first… Continue reading
The aim of the pilot is to introduce a presumption that legal bloggers and accredited media may report on what they see and hear during family court cases, subject to strict rules of anonymity. “Openness and confidentiality are not irreconcilable, and each is achievable. The aim is to enhance public… Continue reading
Act Without Delay Recent case decisions by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) have highlighted some of the points we made in our previous legal blog, which highlighted good practice guidance on how to avoid complaints escalating to the Ombudsman. You can find our previous legal blog… Continue reading
Good practice guidance relating to complaints made against Children Services. In a recent training session, I was requested to clarify what happens if someone wants to complain against a decision made by children social care services. So this legal blog is about the complaints process. This legal blog is intended… Continue reading
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 received royal assent in April 2022 and came into force on 27 February 2023 This Act increases another needed step towards child protection. It also has the benefits of working towards the world’s target to eliminate child marriages by 2030. Further information on the world’s target can… Continue reading
Molly Russell and the impact of social media The inquest into the death of Molly Russell, 14 year old school concluded on 30th September 2022. The Senior Coroner sitting at North London Coroner’s court found that Molly died from an act of self harm whilst suffering from depression and the… Continue reading
Those of you who have attended our effective court report writing training you will be familiar with the need to use clear understandable language in court documents and when communicating with parents, prospective carers, or service users. This is vital as parents/carers/service users being assessed need to understand: -the evidence… Continue reading
Once an individual has exhausted the statutory complaints process within the Local Authority and is not satisfied with the outcome, the individual complainant can then apply to the LGO for a further independent investigation of their complaint. The LGO shares their decisions on their website; the reason for this is… Continue reading
You can read the related Part 1 on SGO support plans by clicking here part-1-special-guardian-order In part 1 a number of cases before the LGO highlighted the need to provide the right support and guidance to carers and children subject to Special Guardianship Orders (SGO). The LGO in it’s report,… Continue reading
This month we wanted to share some useful resources with you. Guidance on Hospital discharge and community support guidance This guidance applies in relation to adults being discharged from acute hospitals and community rehabilitation units in England, excluding maternity patients.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hospital-discharge-and-community-support-guidance/hospital-discharge-and-community-support-guidance Forced marriage How to protect, advise and support victims of… Continue reading
