Judge issues ruling on placing of mothers with their young children in unregulated residential family placements

A local authority that plans to place a family in a residential family centre must first determine its registration status and the qualifications of the staff who will be interacting, supporting and assessing the family, the High Court has said.

HHJ Moradifar, sitting as a judge of the High Court, ruled on two unrelated cases that involve a local authority placing mothers together with their young child in an unregulated residential family placement.

In both cases the local authority applied to the court to sanction these placements through the exercise of its inherent jurisdiction or alternatively by directing the assessment of each child pursuant to s38(6) of the Children Act (1989).

The first case concerned K who was almost eight weeks old and the subject of applications by the local authority for public law orders.

She and her mother were placed in a residential unit but this ended following a serious incident.

They were sent to an alternative placement but this turned out not to be registered or regulated.

The local authority conceded it should have made the necessary enquiries prior to the placement, but argued this was the only one available that could ensure K was not separated from her mother.

Searches of regulated placements have continued without immediate options being available.

The mother supported any mechanism through which she could continue to care for K but the children’s guardian and Cafcass resisted the applications. They said it was an inappropriate use of the court's inherent jurisdiction or the statutory framework to authorise an illegal placement where little is known about the suitability of the placement as a place of safety or as an assessment centre.

HHJ Moradifar noted the the guardian had subsequently visited the placement and “her position has softened but continues to argue that it would be contrary to general policy that the court should sanction a placement in the face of the relevant statutory framework that otherwise renders the placement illegal”.

The local authority then made an identical application for eight weeks-old R.

Giving judgment for both cases, HHJ Moradifar said: “I am satisfied that the placement should continue with an assessment of each of the children and I accordingly direct it so. Furthermore, the local authority's applications to invoke the court's inherent jurisdiction are dismissed.”

Explaining the position, the judge said: “Where the local authority plans to place a family in a residential family centre, it is essential that it first ascertains the placement's registration status and the qualification of the staff who will be interacting, supporting and assessing the family.

“The parties and the court must be given the appropriate information to understand the purpose and length of any proposed assessment. If such a placement is to assess the relevant child, such a placement may be directed pursuant to s38(6) of the Act and the use of the court's inherent jurisdiction is not appropriate regardless of the placement's registration status.”

An application under this provision must be in writing and supported with a statement that addresses the criteria in s38(7) of the Act together with any additional relevant information, the judge said.

Mark Smulian