News Essentials: 1st October 2022

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

NEWS

Speech by the President of the Family Division: Relaunching family mediation

Family Mediation Association Conference John Cornwell Lecture 2022 ‘Relaunching Family Mediation’ by Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division. Full story: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary.

Family Court Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2022
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 2022
Workload and expenditure in the legal aid system for England and Wales, including criminal legal aid, civil legal aid, family mediation and exceptional case funding. Full story: Ministry of Justice.

Child Maintenance Service statistics: data to June 2022 (experimental)
Quarterly experimental statistics on the Child Maintenance Service to June 2022. Full story: Department for Work and Pensions.

Court of Appeal to hear child’s ‘failure to remove’ claim under the Human Rights Act
The Court of Appeal has agreed to hear an appeal of a claim that Worcestershire County Council and Birmingham City Council both failed to remove a boy (AB) from the care of his mother. Full story: Local Government Lawyer.

PILC domestic abuse report and campaign launched
The Public Interest Law Centre has published a report and launched a campaign around the systemic 'gatekeeping' by local authorities of housing support for domestic abuse survivors. Full story: Family Law Week.

Haematological evaluation of bruising and bleeding in children: good practice
Nagalro has published on its website a link to Haematological evaluation of bruising and bleeding in children undergoing child protection investigation for possible physical maltreatment: A British Society for Haematology Good Practice Paper. Full story: Family Law Week.

The Housing Benefit and Universal Credit (Victims of Domestic Abuse and Victims of Modern Slavery) (Amendment) Regulations 2022
These Regulations extend the scope of the exemptions from the shared accommodation rate for the Local Housing Allowance (and the Single Room Rent in the case of Housing Benefit) to include victims of domestic violence who have attained the age of 16 and victims of modern slavery. Statutory Instrument.

CASES

In the matter of the Children Act 1989 [2022] EWFC 112 (8 August 2022)
Application by father for permission to arrange Covid-19 vaccinations for the parties’ two daughters, who are aged between 8 and 10. Permission granted. Full report: National Archives.

Guy's And St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust v A & Ors [2022] EWHC 2422 (Fam) (28 September 2022)
Second hearing of application by NHS Trust for declaration that it is in best interests to withdraw mechanical ventilation from child with brain injury, following successful appeal by parents against refusal to grant adjournment of earlier hearing. Full report: Bailii.

A Local Authority v SB & Ors [2022] EWFC 111 (15 July 2022)
Mother's applications for declaration of non-parentage and discharge of parental responsibility in relation to man found not to be child's biological father. Full report: National Archives.