Children and families who experience family court proceedings receive an “outstanding” service from Cafcass, Ofsted has found.

The President of the Family Division has determined the issue of whether or not the commissioning parents of a child born through a surrogacy arrangement in the USA, who had already adopted their child in that country, were nevertheless entitled to have a parental order granted in their favour in England and Wales.

The Court of Appeal has set aside a care order made in respect of a nine-month-old baby, after concluding the judge made an order which was “not open to her in law”.

The Ministry of Justice has reported that 289 children were subject to applications to deprive them of their liberty between October and December 2023 in England and Wales.

The Family Division of the High Court is to reserve Mondays for “urgent applications”, the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary has revealed.

The President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has called for interventions to address what he describes as a “completely failing market system” for children’s residential provision.

A High Court judge has ruled that a mother, who had been assessed as a “potential risk” to court security, should be permitted to enter the court building for upcoming hearings provided that a number of arrangements are put in place and adhered to.

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal against a judge’s decision to refuse permission for prospective adopters to attend a final adoption hearing either in person or remotely, and to refuse their request for a transcript of the hearing.

A judge sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice has criticised a council seeking to implement a care plan “wholly inconsistent” with the court’s assessment of risk and welfare.

The High Court has dismissed common law negligence claims against two councils alleging they should not have placed the claimant with his mother, with the judge concluding that the delay between the expiry of the limitation period and the issue of proceedings had had a detrimental effect on the evidence and availability of key witnesses. In TA v Westminster City Council & Anor [2023] EWHC 3267…

The Lady Chief Justice, with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor, has appointed Family Presiding Judges for the South Eastern (London) and Northern Circuits.

A High Court judge has refused to allow a local authority to withdraw its application for a care order, finding that an order would be in the “best interests” of a teenage boy with complex needs.

The High Court has rejected a local authority’s application for a deprivation of liberty (DoL) order in respect of a 12-year-old girl with “profound and enduring” disabilities.

One in three local authorities do not have a publicly available kinship care policy, updated in the last five years, according to research by Family Rights Group.

Nagalro, the professional association for social work practitioners, has written an open letter to the Secretaries of State for Justice, Education and Health and Social Care, urging an end to the use of Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) orders, other than in “safe and secure” therapeutic residential establishments.

Research carried out by the Children’s Commissioner has uncovered “considerable variation” between what happens to different groups of children and between different local authorities, when it comes to children on child in need plans.

A judge sitting in the Family Court has highlighted the successful use of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) model in a case where the main presenting difficulty was domestic abuse.

A new Protocol on the disclosure of information between family and criminal agencies and jurisdictions has been launched by the judiciary.

The High Court has granted a local authority’s application to deprive a seven-year-old boy of his liberty, with directions to use the “minimum degree of force or restraint required”.

A report sponsored by the Department for Education and the National Children’s Bureau has recommended wider use of pre-case management hearing (CMH) meetings to reduce the backlog in the family courts.

The Court of Appeal has overturned a Family Court decision concerning an injured child because of a series of legal errors.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a survey of people with experience of the care system in the UK asking them to share the challenges they have faced when accessing their care records from organisations.

A High Court judge has given guidance on when applications for a psychologist to undertake a cognitive assessment in care proceedings should be made and the approach that the Family Court should take, warning that “misconceived applications are exceedingly common”.

The Guidance on Preparation of Electronic Bundles has been suspended in relation to public law, with immediate effect, the President of the Family Division has announced.

An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has seen Devon County Council agree to look into how it calculated allowances to nearly 300 families who look after children as special guardians.

An applicant could adopt a boy under English as well as Ukrainian law even though he applied slightly out of time, the High Court has ruled.

The Family Court has decided that a doctor who has been criticised during a case concerning two children should not be joined to the proceedings.

The Government is to amend the Criminal Justice Bill to make it a legal requirement for anyone in regulated activity relating to children in England, including teachers or healthcare professionals, to report it if they know a child is being sexually abused.