As a parent, in Public Law proceedings, it does not matter whether you work or what you earn, the Legal Services Commission will grant you a Public Funding Certificate so that you can be represented in the care proceedings. Unfortunately other members of the family e.g Grandparents or Aunts and Uncles have to apply for Public Funding in the usual way and have their means assessed.
The initial limit on such a Certificate is £5,000.00. This can be extended on application to the Legal Services Commission as the case progresses.
We are as a firm sometimes able to reimburse a client’s travel expenses to and from Court and to and from seeing an Expert.
Ordinarily our instructions are taken directly from you but sometimes during proceedings a client is deemed not to be capable of fully understanding the proceedings or/and not capable of giving instructions. In those circumstances the Official Solicitors Office becomes involved and we would take our instructions from them.
Our Children Panel Solicitors would normally go to Court with you as often as possible but in certain circumstance e.g. pre-booked holidays/illness, we may instruct Barristers to represent you on our behalf.
Care Proceedings
The Court has the power to make a number of Orders in care proceedings where the Local Authority has made an application potentially to remove a child from his or her parents. The most common Order made is a Care Order. This would give the Local Authority parental responsibility which means that they would share the same rights, duties and obligations with the parents. It means that they can make decisions for and on behalf of the child whilst they have an interim Care Order or full Care Order in their favour. Briefly, for the Local Authority to secure such an Order, they would have to show that the child has suffered or will suffer significant harm because a child is beyond parental control or because care given to the child or likely to be given to the child if the Order was not made is not what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give to that child.
The Courts will sometimes make a Supervision Order instead of a Care Order which means that the Local Authority would then befriend, advise and assist a parent or other family member but would not share parental responsibility with the parents.
The Court are able to make Section 8 Orders such as Residence Orders or Prohibited Steps Orders or Specific Issues Orders within the care proceedings if called to do so and providing there is reason to do so.
If a parent or other party in the proceedings is unhappy with the level of contact being offered to them by the Local Authority then they are entitled to make an application under Section 34 of the Children Act 1989 for contact with the child in care. If this application is made, the Court will look at whether contact should take place on either a supervised supported or unsupervised basis and when and where it should take place and who else should be present.
Although care proceedings should be dealt with very quickly by the Courts and in most cases are, these cases can sometimes take 40 weeks or more to conclude. This may be because Experts such as Psychologists or Psychiatrists are sometimes instructed or there are other changes such a change of Social worker which can lead to delays.
The child or children will normally have a Guardian appointed to act for them and their own solicitor. However, the Guardian sometimes does not get appointed for several months but he or she will act for and speak for the child unless the child is deemed old enough and capable enough for speaking for themselves and instructing a separate solicitor.
For more advice on care proceedings, please contact the Family Department at T G Baynes Solicitors.
