Legal Family Help

Legal Family Help Providing legal assistance and help in all areas in the Family Law Act 1996, Children Act 1989 and i

29/04/2024

700 vulnerable children sent to illegal, unregulated care homes in England last year.

Hundreds of extremely vulnerable school-age children in England are being sent to illegal, unregulated homes every year, the Observer has reported.

The newspaper’s investigation has revealed that in 2022-23 local authorities placed 706 children in their care, the majority of them under the age of 16, in homes that were not registered with Ofsted. The report cites a chronic shortage of places in secure local authority units.

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza, commented:

“Some of these children will have experienced the worst trauma, abuse and neglect, with multiple and complex needs requiring genuine care – but instead they are placed in inappropriate settings which do not meet their needs, with little say in what happens to them, often miles from loved ones and sometimes denied basic rights like education.”

From October 2023, all providers of accommodation for children in care or care leavers up to the age of 18 have been regulated by Ofsted. When the requirement was introduced the government said that it would put ‘an end to children living in poor quality homes with no meaningful oversight’.

click here for the report

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/13/vulnerable-children-illegal-unregulated-care-homes-england

26/03/2024

NSPCC say they receive nearly 40 contacts per day from children who feel unhappy

The NSPCC issued a Press Release highlighting that, “Over the past year, Childline has delivered over 14,000 counselling sessions about low mood or unhappiness to children and young people who have contacted the service.”

They note that:

“Unhappiness was the second highest sub concern seen by Childline under the main concern of ‘mental health’. Nearly 40% of these counselling sessions were with young people aged between 12 and 15. Many of the young people who spoke to Childline on this topic were also concerned about issues such as loneliness, confidence, loss and anxiety.

We understand that every young person is different, and they may need help in navigating the ups and downs in their lives. This is highlighted in our new film, which follows four teenagers going through their own individual coping methods.

While Childline does provide counselling for issues centred around abuse, young people can talk to our trained counsellors about any concern affecting them.”

13/03/2024

OFSTED opens “Big Listen” consultation

On 8 March 2024, OFSTED opened its’ ‘Big Listen’ consultation, to ‘seek[s] views across our work, from schools and children’s social care to teacher training and early years’. The Consultation will run until 11:59pm on 31 May 2024.

Within the Press Release, OFSTED highlight 4 areas they seek to explore, namely:

“reporting – how we report on our education and regulatory inspections
inspection practice – the shape of our education and regulatory inspections, our ways of working and the craft of inspecting
culture and purpose – the conduct of our inspections and the way we work
impact – the consequences of our inspections for children, professionals, institutions and parents’ choices”

11.03.2024

21/07/2023

Child Support (Enforcement) Bill awaits Royal Assent

Child Support (Enforcement) Bill awaits Royal Assent

The Child Support (Enforcement) Bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 14 July. This was the final opportunity to change the bill and no amendments were made.

The Bill, when enacted, will enable the Child Maintenance Service to pursue non-payment from non-resident parents liable for child maintenance by giving powers to the CMS to make certain liability orders without having to apply to the courts.

As both Houses have agreed on the text of the bill, it now waits for the final stage of Royal Assent when the bill will become an Act of Parliament. A date for Royal Assent has yet to be scheduled

Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 comes into force on 27 February 2023The Marriage and Civil Partner...
10/02/2023

Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 comes into force on 27 February 2023

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 (the 2022 Act) received Royal Assent in April 2022. The Act will raise the age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales to protect children from the scourge of forced marriage.

The Act will come into effect on 27 February 2023; see reg 2 of theMarriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 (Commencement and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2023 (the 2023 Commencement Regulations).

The 2023 Commencement Regulations also make transitional provision to void marriage and civil partnership schedules (see Marriage Act 1949 s 31), which have been issued before the 2023

Commencement Regulations come into force, where either party will remain under the age of the 18 throughout the validity period of these schedules. Provision is also made to clarify that where marriage and civil partnership schedules have been issued before the 2023

Commencement Regulations come into force, and both parties will be aged 18 during the period of validity of the schedules, the schedules may not be used until both parties have turned 18. Equivalent provision is made for marriages solemnized, and civil partnerships registered, on the authority of a Registrar General's licence. Replicating provision is made for notices to register as civil partners under the Civil Partnership (Armed Forces) Order 2005, the Civil

Partnership (Registration Abroad and Certificates) Order 2005 and the Consular Marriages and Marriages under Foreign Law (No. 2) Order 2014.

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2023 (the 2023 Consequential Amendments Regulations) make amendments to secondary legislation consequential on the 2022 Act.

Regulations 3, 4 and 7 make consequential amendments to Orders governing the formation of civil partnership to remove provisions relating to under 18s being able to enter into civil partnership, where the relevant part of the United Kingdom is England and Wales. Regulation 6 makes consequential amendments to remove provision relating to marriages of under 18s where the relevant part of the United Kingdom is England and Wales.

Regulations 5 and 8 make consequential amendments to prescribed forms of notices, licences, schedules and certificates for marriage and civil partnership.

23/01/2023

Please note that from Monday 23 January, a new penalty fare of £100 plus the cost of a ticket for your journey will come info force. If the penalty fare is paid within 21 days this will be reduced to £50 plus the cost of a ticket for your journey.

This is a national increase across the railway. You can find out more about the change on the Department for Transport website.

13/01/2023

The cost of living crisis and its impact on specialist support services working with domestic abuse survivors
Women's Aid has published new research revealing the impact of the cost of living crisis on specialist support services working with survivors of domestic abuse.

The research of its members shows:

• Nearly every member (96 per cent) said they were experiencing at least one of the following financial issues: increased rent for premises, other increased costs (eg food or supplies), funding not rising in line with costs or another financial issue.

• More than half of Women's Aid members (59 per cent) told us they were using their charitable reserves to cope with the crisis.

• Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) said they had staff who were experiencing financial hardship, with one in five (20 per cent) saying they had staff who were using foodbanks.

• Only five members (10 per cent) had been able to access help with their refuge energy bills.

• The majority of members are experiencing staffing issues, with 80 per cent struggling to recruit for vacant roles at the salaries they can pay.

• Shockingly, many members (67 per cent) said if this crisis continues without intervention, it would stop them from supporting survivors – either turning them away from existing support, reducing the support available or closing all together in 5 cases. This rose to 85 per cent of services run by and for Black and minoritised women.

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/the-cost-of-living-crisis-is-pushing-domestic-abuse-services-to-breaking-point/

27/06/2022

Form for local authority damages claim after care proceedings published
A form and practice note have been published for solicitors to use when a child has a damages claim against the local authority after care proceedings.

The form must be completed by the child's solicitor in care proceedings when the family court has agreed a referral to the Official Solicitor. It asks the Official Solicitor to consider if the child has a damages claim against the local authority and to act as litigation friend if so.

The accompanying practice note provides additional information, including:

• suggested wording for orders of the Family Court that allow documents to be disclosed to the Official Solicitor

• information on how to provide documents and information to the Official Solicitor once a disclosure order has been made by the Family Court

• contact information for the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee.

27/06/2022

Government consults on changes to the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice and implementation of the LPS

The government is consulting on the proposed changes to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) Code of Practice, which includes guidance on the new Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) system. This consultation is also seeking views on the LPS regulations, which will underpin the new system.

This is a joint consultation published by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The MCA applies in England and Wales, but some aspects of its application are devolved in Wales. The Welsh Government has therefore informed this consultation.

The LPS will apply to people over the age of 16, and the Department for Education (DfE) has been involved in the development of this new system.

The government is consulting on a number of documents.

Code of Practice

The MCA was implemented alongside a Code of Practice which now requires updating for two key reasons:

• the existing Code guidance needs updating in light of new legislation and case law, organisational and terminological changes, and developments in ways of working and good practice

• the new LPS system means that additional guidance needs to be added to the Code.

LPS regulations

The LPS were introduced in the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019. The UK government is now consulting on six sets of draft regulations which will underpin the new system. When enacted, four of these sets of regulations would apply in England only. The remaining two sets of regulations would apply to both England and Wales.

Separately, the Welsh Government has published four sets of regulations which would apply in Wales

LPS implementation products

The government has published a number of documents to help the sector prepare for implementation. These products are not subject to formal consultation, but feedback would be welcomed as part of the consultation process. These are:

• impact assessment – this constitutes the government's assessment of the financial impact of LPS, including the Code and regulations, as proposed for consultation

• LPS workforce and training strategy – this covers:

• workforce planning

• the learning, development and training on offer

• what different organisations and sectors can do now to begin preparing for LPS

• LPS training framework – which makes recommendations about subject areas that LPS training should cover

• LPS National Minimum Data Set – which will be used to standardise the collection and submission of notification data that is sent to the monitoring bodies and NHS Digital

• equalities impact assessment – which assesses the potential equality impact of the design of LPS overall, including the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019, the LPS regulations and the Code.

17/06/2022

New strangulation and suffocation laws come into force to help protect victims

From 7 June 2022, prosecutors have new powers to charge violent abusers with specific offences of non-fatal strangulation and non-fatal suffocation, as sections 70 and 71 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force.

The CPS has published new legal guidance to assist lawyers considering criminal charges for these offences. The new legislation sets out the legal definition that a person commits an offence of non-fatal strangulation if they intentionally strangle another person, and non-fatal suffocation where a person does any other act that affects someone's ability to breathe and constitutes battery.

The CPS guidance provides a non-exhaustive list of how these offences can manifest, with prosecutors being asked to take careful consideration as to when it would be appropriate to use them rather than alternative charges such as assault occasioning actual bodily harm, inflicting grievous bodily harm, and battery. The new offences attar t sentences up to five years' imprisonment.

While victims may often be left with little or no physical marks, the guidance is clear this is not a reason to detract from the seriousness of these offences.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner has welcomed the introduction of the new offences but says that a co-ordinated implementation strategy is needed by Government, so the new offences have the impact that is so desperately needed.

23/05/2022

Latest statistics show continuing decline in marriage rates

There were 219,850 marriages in total in England and Wales in 2019, a decrease of 6.4 per cent from 2018. The figures have been released as part of the Office for National Statistics latest data on marriages in England and Wales, which relate to 2019.

In that year, there were 213,122 marriages between opposite-sex couples, a decrease of 6.5 per cent from 2018 and 6,728 marriages between same-sex couples, a decrease of 2.8 per cent from 2018.

Marriage rates for opposite-sex couples have fallen to their lowest on record since 1862; in 2019, for men, there were 18.6 marriages per 1,000 unmarried men; for women, there were 17.2 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women.

In 2019, religious ceremonies accounted for less than one in five (18.7 per cent) of opposite-sex marriages, a decrease from 21.1 per cent in 2018 and the lowest percentage on record; for same-sex marriages, 0.7 per cent of marriages were religious ceremonies.

The average (median) age at marriage for opposite-sex couples in 2019 was 34.3 years for men and 32.3 years for women; for same-sex couples this was higher at 38.1 years for men and 33.8 years for women.

Among marriages of opposite-sex couples in 2019, more than three-quarters of men and women (76.1 per cent and 77.1 per cent, respectively) married for the first time; among same-sex couples, first marriages were slightly higher with 89.3 per cent of men and 81.8 per cent of women marrying for the first time.

Dr James Tucker, Head of Health and Life Events Analysis at the Office for National Statistics, commented:

"The number of opposite-sex marriages has fallen by 50 per cent since 1972. This decline is a likely consequence of increasing numbers of men and women delaying marriage, or couples choosing to live together rather than marry, either as a precursor to marriage or as an alternative. Future analysis will show the impact of the pandemic on marriages rates."

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