Judge criticises council for acting unfairly in offering child for adoption

Essex County Council acted unfairly in offering a child for adoption while acting in a way that prevented the mother from applying to revoke the placement order, a High Court judge has ruled.

In EL, R (On the Application Of) v Essex County Council [2017] EWHC 1041 Mr Justice Charles said: “In short, by not informing the claimant of the existence and timing of the placement plan and then, on 4 October 2016, advancing the time for placement, the local authority deliberately for welfare reasons sought to prevent the claimant from making an application to revoke the placement order by placing the child before the claimant had issued her application for leave.”

He continued: “The social workers did this on legal advice and so can assert that their decision was not disgraceful but they, and the local authority, cannot rely on the fact of that advice to found the conclusion that its conduct in taking a course designed to thwart an application by the mother to revoke the placement order by placing the child before she had issued it (or her application for leave to issue it) was fair.”

These events meant the claimant had established that Essex “acted unfairly and so unlawfully in making the decision to place the child “.

The judge quashed the decision to place the child, declared she had not been lawfully placed for adoption and granted injunctive relief to prevent a placement for adoption being made without the leave of the Family Court before the mother’s application under section 24(5) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 was decided.

An Essex County Council spokesperson said: “The welfare of the child is always our paramount consideration when placing them for adoption.

“We are aware of this case and acknowledge the findings, which relate to procedural and administrative processes.

“The judgement gives new guidance about the principles of procedural fairness and we will be looking at how to implement these.”