News Essentials: 2nd October 2021

A brief summary of the essential family law news and cases from the last week: 

NEWS

High Court judge approves bespoke placement in case where he had declined to authorise continued deprivation of liberty of 12 year old in psychiatric admissions unit
A High Court judge who last week refused to exercise the inherent jurisdiction to authorise the continued deprivation of the liberty of a 12-year-old child (LT) in an acute psychiatric admission unit for adolescents, has since authorised her deprivation of liberty in an empty children’s home found by the local authority, it has emerged. Full story: Local Government Lawyer.

Family Court Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2021
Quarterly data on the volume of cases dealt with by family courts over time, with statistics also broken down for the main types of case involved. Full story: Ministry of Justice.

Legal aid statistics quarterly: April to June 2021
Activity in the legal aid system for England and Wales, including criminal and civil legal aid and family mediation. Full story: Ministry of Justice.

26-week target often unrealistic for kinship care assessments, say social workers
Report by Kinship charity finds courts rarely extend proceedings despite complexity of assessments with family and friends carers. Full story: Community Care.

Judge refuses to authorise deprivation of liberty of vulnerable 12-year-old girl in acute psychiatric admissions unit, despite lack of alternative accommodation
A High Court judge has declined to find that it was in the best interests of a 12-year-old girl, who does not have a psychiatric condition requiring hospitalisation, to be deprived of her liberty on an acute psychiatric admission unit. Full story: Local Government Lawyer.

Independent fostering agency loses appeal over lawfulness of only accepting heterosexual evangelical Christians as potential carers
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by an independent fostering agency over whether it is lawful for it only to accept heterosexual evangelical Christians as potential carers. Full story: Local Government Lawyer.

Child Maintenance Service statistics: data to June 2021 (experimental)
Quarterly experimental statistics on the Child Maintenance Service to June 2021. Full story: Department for Work and Pensions.

Judge told how teenager in ‘crisis situation’ costing council ‘staggering’ £45,000 a week
A judge has raised concern about a shortage of secure accommodation for troubled teenagers after being told that a council is spending £45,000 a week on the care of a girl in a “crisis situation”. Full story: Care Appointments.

Cafcass stops allocating ‘less urgent’ cases to social workers in another region due to ‘saturated capacity’
Family courts body extends private law prioritisation policy, already in place across West Midlands, to Greater Manchester. Full story: Community Care.

‘Victims of domestic abuse are discriminated against in the family courts’
Campaigners, social workers and lawyers have told Sky News that victims of domestic abuse are being discriminated against in the family courts. Full story: Family Law Week.

CASES

J (A Child : special guardianship order) [2021] EWFC B56 (09 September 2021)
Care proceedings concerning one year old child. Special guardianship order made in favour of his maternal uncle and his partner. Full report: Bailii.

Z, Re (Medical Treatment: Invasive Ventilation) [2021] EWHC 2613 (Fam) (24 September 2021)
Application by NHS Trust for determination of the ceiling of medical treatment for 16 year old child with severe cerebral palsy. Full report: Bailii.

X and Y (Flawed Sexual Abuse Investigation) [2021] EWFC B55 (14 May 2021)
Care proceedings concerning 15 year old child, in which his 18 year old sister had made serious sexual abuse allegations against her father. Full report: Bailii.

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust & Anor v MBC & Ors [2021] EWHC 2574 (Fam) (22 September 2021)
Application by NHS Trust for declarations relating to life-sustaining treatment of brain damaged child. Full report: Bailii.

S and T (care proceedings following private law dispute) [2021] EWFC B54 (06 July 2021)
Care proceedings concerning two children, following earlier finding that mother had interfered with the children’s relationship with their father. Full report: Bailii.

F v M (private law fact finding) [2020] EWFC B71 (07 December 2020)
Fact-finding in private law case. Mother's allegations of father's abuse found to be not proven. Full report: Bailii.

Nottinghamshire County Council v LH (A child (No. 2) [2021] EWHC 2593 (Fam) (28 September 2021)
Judgment authorising deprivation of liberty of 12 year old child at empty children's home. Full report: Bailii.

Nottinghamshire County Council v LH (A child (No. 1) [2021] EWHC 2584 (Fam) (23 September 2021)
Application by LA to find that it is in the best interests of a 12 year old girl, who does not have a psychiatric condition requiring hospitalisation, to be deprived of her liberty on an acute psychiatric admission unit. Full report: Bailii.

A and B (Parental Alienation: No.1, No.2, No.3 and No.4)
4 judgments of Mr Justice Keehan in parental alienation case. Full reports: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. See also my brief note, here.

Rogan v Rogan [2021] EWHC 2587 (Fam) (17 September 2021)
Restored hearing of wife's application for judgment summons relating to maintenance arrears. Full report: Bailii.

M A-G v Hartley (Contempt) [2021] EWHC 2473 (Fam)
A comprehensive judgment on contempt of court, following publication by a father of information about family proceedings on Facebook. Full report: Family Law Week.