The latest child welfare complaints published by the Ombudsman

Researching Reform

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has published the latest round of complaints submitted by parents and carers to the body, and its decisions about those complaints. They touch on children’s social care, local authority handling of child protection cases and the provision of education and educational support.

Children and Education

Please note: decisions are published six weeks after they are issued to councils, care providers and the person who has made the complaint. The cases below reflect the caselaw and guidance available.

Cases of concern this week include Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council (21 010 557), which highlights the culture of “fostering as income” and the poor handling of allegations of child abuse by foster carers; a case where the council “lost” all care records belonging to a man who had been in care as a child — and paid out a paltry £1,000 for the loss…

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The latest

Researching Reform

The latest child welfare items that should be right on your radar:

• Archie Battersbee’s family in fresh bid to delay withdrawal of life support
• Dozens of Nottingham pupils excluded for breaching Covid-19 rules
• Human Rights and Equality Group of the Law Society of Northern Ireland rejects UK Government’s Bill of Rights

The second and third news items are courtesy of Michele Simmons. Many thanks to Michele for sharing these with Researching Reform.

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Family court chief publishes update on Domestic Abuse Act

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Researching Reform

Welcome to another week.

Judge Andrew McFarlane, the head of the family division in England and Wales, issued an update on key measures in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (DAA) which have come into force and which affect Britain’s family courts.

The interim update, which forms part of his “View from the Presidents Chambers” series (and we think he needs to change this name to a more accessible one), mentions two key measures which have come into force:

Lower threshold for Children Act 1989

Section 67 of the DAA 2021 includes a new section 91A for the Children Act 1989 [‘CA 1989’].

“The CA 1989, s 91A establishes a new, lower, statutory threshold for the deployment of a s 91(14) prohibition by which the power may be exercised when the court is satisfied that the making of an application for a CA 1989 order of a specified kind would put…

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