The President of the Family Division has backed a set of ‘general principles’ which aim to reduce the number of cases in which a local authority is expected to cover a shortfall in expert fees in public law children cases.

The High Court has rejected a father’s application for a lay advocate, after it was submitted that it was his “Article 6 right” to be provided with one in care proceedings relating to his child.

The Government is to establish a Child Protection Authority (CPA) to improve “national oversight and consistency” in child protection practices, as recommended by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

The Court of Appeal has allowed a mother’s appeal against a judge’s refusal to grant her intermediary assistance in care proceedings, finding that the judge paid “insufficient attention” to the mother’s difficulties.

The Family Division of the High Court has made care orders in respect of four children in a case that reached 80 weeks before final hearing, with the judge warning that threshold should have been agreed at a “much earlier date” to allow the court to focus on welfare.

Ofsted has announced changes to its social care common inspection framework (SCCIF), with the aim of encouraging more homes and agencies to look after children with complex needs, with “added reassurance” that this will not negatively affect their Ofsted rating.

Southend-on-Sea City Council has agreed to apologise to a mother for twice failing to assess her needs as a carer, despite agreeing to do so following a previous investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

New data published by the Ministry of Justice has revealed that 1,280 children were subject to applications to deprive them of their liberty in 2024 in England and Wales, down from 1,368 in 2023.

The Family Procedure Rule Committee is consulting on proposed changes to the Family Procedure Rules and associated Practice Directions, to ensure that experts instructed in family law children proceedings have the “relevant qualifications and oversight” to provide an expert opinion.

The passage of the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025 has made Wales the first UK nation to legislate to introduce an effective ban on private profit in children’s residential and foster care.

An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found West Berkshire Council at fault for delaying its child protection processes and allowing a Child Protection Plan to "drift without substantive action".

The President of the Family Division and the Chief Coroner have this week (24 March) published guidance on good practice for Family Court Judges and Coroners where there are parallel proceedings in their jurisdictions.

A new report by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has highlighted a “concerning lack of focus” on race, ethnicity, and culture in safeguarding practice and reviews, and has called for Child Safeguarding Partnerships to “review their local strategies and approaches to addressing race, racism, and racial bias”.

Reading Borough Council has been urged by the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Information Rights to make sure its arm’s-length children’s service acts correctly in future freedom of information cases.

The Welsh Government has asked that certain provisions within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, including those in relation to children in secure accommodation and children not in school, be applied to Wales in the same way as England.

Simon Bickler KC, a specialist in children’s law, has joined the 38-strong family team at Parklane Plowden Chambers.

The Court of Appeal this week will hear an appeal by Surrey County Council over a High Court judge’s decision to allow a judicial review claim against the local authority’s refusal to comply with duties said to be owed to the claimant under the Children Act 1989 when he was 17 years old.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a placement order made in respect of an 18-month-old boy, finding that the aspiration to place him with extended family in Pakistan was “not achievable” within the timescales, and that the child’s best interests could only be served by the making of a placement order with a view to him being adopted in the UK.

Become, a charity for children in care and young care leavers, has welcomed the Government’s proposed amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to expand corporate parenting responsibilities to a wider set of organisations, while noting it could go further to improve the “scaffolding of support” around care-experienced young people.

BASW has this month repeated its call for the abolition of the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB), which is part of the Home Office and undertakes age assessments on its behalf.

A judge has ruled that the operation of immigration and asylum law no longer prevents the High Court from implementing a decision to return a child to another State before their asylum claim here has been determined by the Home Secretary, provided that the “general principle of non-refoulement” is upheld.

A High Court judge has rejected an application brought by a 14-year-old boy to make himself a ward of the High Court and for an order that he be returned to the jurisdiction of England and Wales from the Republic of Ghana, where he has been living as a boarding school pupil and with extended family.

The Court of Appeal has allowed a mother’s appeal against a judge’s decision to approve a care plan to remove her child to be placed with her paternal grandparents, finding that the Family Court judge failed to undertake a “necessary holistic review” when conducting her final analysis and reaching her conclusions.

Ofsted has set out a series of steps for local authorities to take to improve their support for homeless 16- and 17-year-olds, after fewer than one in ten said they had been offered access to an independent advocate to help them understand their rights.

The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has issued guidance for family judges on when, how and why to write to children in family court proceedings.

The Government is to include a ban on ‘cuckooing’ and a standalone offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) in its Crime and Policing Bill, which is to be introduced in Parliament in the next week.

The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has put would-be parents of any age who are contemplating entering into a commercial foreign surrogacy arrangement on notice that the courts in England and Wales may refuse to grant an adoption order, with the result that the child that they have caused to be born may be permanently State-less and legally parent-less.