A Family Court judge has criticised a local authority’s failure to understand its statutory obligations in respect of adoption support and to properly assess a family for that support, leading to three applications for adoption taking over 18 months to conclude.

Two journalists have been given permission to appeal an order which prevents the media reporting the names of the judges who were involved in historic family proceedings that related to Sara Sharif.

The Court of Appeal has criticised litigation between two councils over which of them is responsible for the care of a baby.

The Court of Appeal has ruled against granting a judicial review of Essex County Council over whether a teenager who might have become homeless was entitled to ‘former relevant child’ status.

The Upper Tribunal has allowed a Sudanese national’s claim for judicial review and declared him to be a child of 17 years of age, after his age was disputed by the Home Office on the basis of an assessment of his “physical appearance and demeanour”.

The President of the Family Division has rejected a local authority’s application to change the expert witnesses instructed in an injury case, in which a young child sustained a suspected fracture in a context which had “no other indicators” of child abuse.

The first annual report recording activity and developments in the Family Court has revealed that the number of outstanding public law cases reduced by 2,247 from 2023 to 2024, following the relaunch of the Public Law Outline (PLO).

The High Court has refused permission to challenge by way of judicial review an age assessment carried out by social workers employed by a Welsh council, which concluded that the claimant was an adult.

The Family Presiding Judge for London has issued a practice note on adhering to the Public Law Outline in London.

Richard Harrison KC of 1KBW has been appointed a High Court judge, assigned to the Family Division.

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has called on the Government to put in place “urgently” a national action plan to protect and support children at risk of sexual abuse, and has urged the President of the Family Division and Cafcass to consider the findings of its independent review.

The lead judge for the Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDACs), Lord Justice Peter Jackson, has called for their expansion, suggesting that it must move to the point where it is “not a sign of merit to have an FDAC, but an embarrassment not to have one”.

A High Court judge has given an Eritrean asylum seeker permission to seek judicial review of an age assessment carried out by Warrington Borough Council, and ordered the local authority to provide her with appropriate support on an interim basis.

A High Court judge has rejected a local authority’s application for a declaration from the court that because a vulnerable young person was detainable under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983, the court did not have jurisdiction to grant a Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) order pursuant to the inherent jurisdiction.

The Family Presiding Judge for London has written to children law practitioners in London about compliance with the Public Law Outline (PLO), after observing that the capital is “struggling to achieve the change of culture that is required” by the relaunch.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has recommended Worcestershire Council pay a remedy of more than £11,000 after a child with special educational needs missed out on five and a half terms of education due to failures by the authority.

A County Court judge has issued a declaration that Northumberland Council breached the rights of a disabled child under Article 8 of the European Court of Human Rights (the right to private and family life) after it unlawfully issued care proceedings.

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has described Government plans to suspend payment by results as “a hugely positive step towards ensuring that the limited funds in the system are used in the best interest of children and families”.

The Court of Appeal has rejected a father’s appeal against care and placement orders made in respect of his daughter, finding that while his subsequent diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) may have had a “bearing” on some of the risks identified in the case, the majority and the most serious identified risks were not linked to ASD.

Care reforms set to be announced by the Government today (18 November) will aim to “rebalance” the children’s social care system in favour of early intervention, “giving every family the legal right to be involved in decisions made about children entering the care system”.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for “urgent” funding for children’s services, after figures released by the Department for Education yesterday (14 November) revealed there are 83,630 children in the care of councils.

A third of vulnerable young people in council care had to be placed in accommodation miles from their home last year, research by the County Councils Network (CCN) has found.

The High Court has discharged a Prohibited Steps Order (PSO) made to protect a now teenage girl against the risks of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), after finding “no evidence” of an ongoing risk of FGM to the girl, and finding that the order continued to have a “profound impact on her competing rights and freedoms”.

A judge sitting in the Family Court has rejected an application by a media organisation for a council and a police force involved in care proceedings to be named, in a case where the authorities were found to be at fault for their actions.

Unit Chambers has bolstered its family law, child protection and Court of Protection offering with the arrival of three barristers.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has highlighted key learning points from a number of cases where councils have delayed responding to requests from adoptive families to help with support post-adoption.

A report by the Public Law Working Group (PLWG) has highlighted the need for “wholesale reform” to the adoption process, including a change in face to face contact between adopted children and birth families, and the development of a national strategy for adoption by consent.

The Court of Appeal has allowed a local authority’s appeal against a judge’s refusal to make placement orders in respect of two young children.