Justice For Families

http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/library. ... 391Revised Children Act Guidance published

The DCSF has published revised guidance for local authorities on applying for court orders in anticipation of the implementation of the Public Law Outline in April. The Children Act 1989 Volume 1 'court orders' guidance replaces that in force since 1991 and, in the DCSF's eyes, features the following major changes:

"the expectation, as a matter of routine, that core assessments (in accordance with the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families) will have been carried out prior to section 31 applications being made;
as part of this, careful consideration will have been given to the possibility of the placement of children with relatives and friends, whether as an alternative to proceedings or as a care placement;
the sending a 'Letter before Proceedings' to parents (save where it is unsafe for the child to do so) as part of improving communications with families and with a view to deflecting proceedings and, linked to which, to enable the parents to gain access to pre-proceedings legal help; and
improved preparation of materials to support section 31 applications, in accordance with the 'pre-proceedings checklist'."
The final version of the PLO is now expected to be published sometime in February.

You can view the guidance and a letter sent to local authorities on the DCSF website using the following link:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/localauthorities ... goryID=106

28 January 2008

24 January 2008

Dear Chief Executive/Director of Children’s Services

Revised Children Act 1989 Volume 1 ‘Court Orders’ guidance

The Children Act Guidance and Regulations, published originally in 1991, provided a suite of guidance, primarily addressed to local authorities. Volume 1 addresses the court-related provisions set out in the Act. Following the Review of the Child Care Proceedings System in England and Wales, published in May 2006, and public consultation on draft guidance between June and September 2007, revised guidance has now been prepared, which is being published alongside this letter. This replaces the 1991 edition and comes into effect from 1 April 2008.

Volume 1 is issued as guidance under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, which requires local authorities, in exercising their social services functions, to act under the general guidance of the Secretary of State. The guidance should be complied with by local authorities when exercising these functions, unless local circumstances indicate exceptional reasons that justify a variation.

It is of particular relevance to children services practitioners and front-line managers, supported with their legal advisers, who have particular responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. It is also highly relevant to Directors of Children’s Services and other senior local authority managers, who together oversee the exercise by local authorities of their functions under the Children Act 1989, in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Volume 1 also provides a complete account of the range of court orders that are provided for by the Act, including those that are predominantly used in ‘private law’ proceedings, where local authorities are less often involved. The guidance also describes the key principles underpinning the Act and the roles of the police and of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) in relation to the Act.

The guidance features a number of key changes that will have implications for local authorities:

the expectation, as a matter of routine, that core assessments (in accordance with the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families) will have been carried out prior to section 31 applications being made;
as part of this, careful consideration will have been given to the possibility of the placement of children with relatives and friends, whether as an alternative to proceedings or as a care placement;
the sending a ‘Letter before Proceedings’ to parents (save where it is unsafe for the child to do so) as part of improving communications with families and with a view to deflecting proceedings and, linked to which, to enable the parents to gain access to pre-proceedings legal help; and
improved preparation of materials to support section 31 applications, in accordance with the ‘pre-proceedings checklist’.

Alongside the publication of the guidance, the President of the Family Division, Sir Mark Potter, is issuing a new Practice Direction (guidance to judges and magistrates) which sets out a ‘Public Law Outline’, determining how section 31 care and supervision proceedings cases (and other types of case) are to be managed. This Practice Direction replaces the Protocol for Judicial Case Management in Public Law Children Act Cases, published in 2003. The focus of the ‘Public Law Outline’ is on improved case preparation, active case management, the early identification of the key issues requiring determination and cooperation between the parties to achieve timely decisions within the ‘timetable for the child’.

Though overseen by a Ministerial Steering Group, the process of developing the guidance has been greatly assisted by local authorities and their staff, in particular Julie Penny from Waltham Forest and Uma Mehta from Islington. I am most grateful to them, and to their employing local authorities, for their contributions.

Yours faithfully



Bruce Clark
Deputy Director – Families Group

What does all this mean? Will SS change or just do what they have always done?

I know of six cases as we speak where NO assessments being Core or Pre-Birth were ever carried out but the SS Still took the Children.

This won't change anything.