Posts
Transparency versus Confidentiality: the Re X judgment
What do we do when information is already in the public domain? And what are the risks to the child if an adult party is identified? On Friday 8th July the judgment was published of the President of the Family Division in the Matter of X (A Child) (No2) [2016] EWHC...
Ellie Butler – some useful resources
This post draws together some commentary and explanation about the Ellie Butler case, for those who are trying to get to grips with it. It is not complete - we will add to it as time goes on. A summary of the background : Ellie Butler suffered injuries when she was a...
Ellie Butler – drawing together some strands and discussion
Several family lawyers have been discussing this case on Twitter, and it was suggested to us that it might be helpful to draw together a document with some important questions and our answers. We won’t necessarily agree on everything, but even our disagreements might...
“Neglected children can stay with travellers in the spirit of diversity” [mis] reports the Daily Mail
See the following link for today's Daily Mail article suggesting Mr Justice Mostyn has left neglected traveller children in danger at home, in the wake of Ellie Butler's death and in the face of social workers seeking their removal - just to be tolerant towards...
Adopting more children from care will save £310m, says government – or does it?
Community Care tweeted this week that "Adopting more children from care will save £310m, says government", linking to the article of the same name. CommunityCare Adopting more children from care will save £310m, says government https://t.co/lCRehDDQ6a 17/06/2016,...
Can an adoption order be undone?
An adoption order made by a court in England and Wales is normally irreversible, once the time limits for appeal have passed. This premise will be under scrutiny in October, when a re-hearing of an earlier fact-finding family court decision is scheduled. In a case...
Mckenzie Friends Consultation – The response of The Transparency Project
We thought that The Transparency Project ought to produce a response to the recent consultation on fee-paid Mckenzie Friends. Now that we have finalised and submitted our response (just before the extended deadline - phew!) we are publishing it here for you to read....
CPConf2016 – How did it go?
On 3rd June 2016, the Transparency Project hosted the second Child Protection conference aimed at examining and discussing how the child protection system operates in England and Wales. Having concluded last year that the system wasn't fit for purpose, the emphasis...
The Ireland Report and the Fitness to Practise Panel in respect of Professor Ireland
In 2012, the "Ireland Report” was published. It was highly critical of the standards of psychological reports prepared for the family courts, something that there had been rumbling concerns about for years. The Ireland Report has come back into the news again recently...
Recent cases involving covert recording
Lucy Reed has commented on her Pink Tape recently about a case that has been widely reported, where a father sewed bugs into his daughters school clothes and was severely criticised for it. In the blog she considers the significance of that judgment and the relevance...