Council ordered to pay £12k damages to parents over removal of baby

A judge has ordered Leicester City Council to pay £6,000 each in damages to parents with learning difficulties whose baby was removed by a care order.

The local authority accepted that it had breached the parents' rights under articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Judge Clifford Bellamy said in his ruling: “In my judgment the nature and extent of the poor practice admitted by the local authority is such that an adverse impact on these parents was inevitable.

“They would have needed great fortitude to be able to take such an experience in their stride.

“Far from having great fortitude it is clear that these are vulnerable learning disabled parents who had no-one to speak up for them.”

He said the council has conceded that it failed to issue proceedings in a timely manner, failed to involve the parents in the decision making process; and permitted the baby to be cared for away from her parents against their expressly stated wishes.

Although there was a lack of relevant authorities on the level of damages to impose, Judge Bellamy said: “I am satisfied that an award of damages of £6,000 for each parent would achieve 'just satisfaction' in all the circumstances of this case.”

Frances Craven, the council’s strategic director of children’s services, said: “When this case was reviewed by senior management we found that a number of mistakes had been made, and we have already started work to ensure these do not happen again.

“This includes reminding all of our social workers that extra support should be offered to parents with learning difficulties, in recognition of their entitlement to a family life.”

Mark Smulian