Pink Tape

a blog from the family bar

The Unverifiable Truth

Another article from Camilla Cavendish at The Times today about Family Justice. And again more heart rending tales of injustice which are completely unverifiable. She writes of Ann who was accused by her violent ex husband of having Munchausens by proxy (Fabricated or induced illness) – on the basis of her account it seems a [...]

better off without 'em?

Before I make this post let me say that what I report here is in my experience unrepresentative of social work standards in general. Most social workers maintain professionalism, objectivity and open-mindedness. . I was mortified to hear a social worker involved in a case I was dealing with recently joke about how the children [...]

Reforms Given Short Shrift

The Magistrate’s Association’s response to the consultation on reforming the legal aid barrister fee scheme is a model of brevity – just as we have come to expect from Magistrates. Answers on one side of A4 please. I’m always up for a challenge though, so I’ve (just) managed to condense this even further: ‘lawyers are important to the [...]

Sunday night telly – a bussman's holiday

Just spent a depressing evening watching a re-run of the Fiona’s Story screenplay on BBC1, about a wife who discovers her husband has been viewing child pornography. On the whole this is a really interesting look at a difficult subject, but two things really didn’t ring true for me (one perhaps more trivial than the [...]

A child or not a child?

An interesting conundrum is posed by a comparison of these two recent authorities, both cases where Lambeth wished to refuse or discontinue s20 accommodation to a ‘child’ who they considered was in fact an adult. It seems that in some cases a Local Authority is the arbiter of whether or not a child is in [...]

Reforming the Grad Fee Scheme – Consultation Open

The Consultation Paper on Reforming the Family Barrister Fees Scheme has been published today. . Commenting on the consultation, Lucy Theis QC, Chair of the Family Law Bar Association, said:  . ‘The protection of children is a concern to all of us. A robust legal aid system is vital to prevent damage to children – [...]

social worker blogs

this new blog from a trainee social worker in the US looks like it could develop into something interesting. and an already established social work blog (also from the US) is already rather engaging.

Judgment in B (Children) handed down

The judgment in B (Children) [2008] UKHL 35, handed down today is of significant importance in care proceedings. The leading judgment by Baroness Hale of Richmond is compelling reading, as is the secondary judgment of Lord Hoffmann. . Based on my first read-through of the judgment this evening the decision appears to amount to this: [...]

Well Street

READ THIS. For anyone wanting to get a realistic idea of what happens in the family court, particularly the FPC (Magistrates) and care proceedings this article is a great starting place. It also gives a better flavour of the work of the FDAC (Family Drug & Alcohol Court) Pilot which I posted about recently. . [...]

Family Drug & Alcohol Court

It’s been reported this week that the number of care proceedings issued in the London area is down by 30% since the Public Law Outline Pilot began, the Government in press releases and the FLBA in its recent members email both speculate that this may be down to an increase in placements with extended family. [...]

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