Key Facts
- •Maisie (5) and Thomas (4) are siblings from a complex family with a history of abuse and neglect.
- •Thomas's mother is Emma, and his father is Shaun, Emma's father (incest).
- •Multiple care proceedings involving Shaun and Janene's children.
- •DNA testing confirmed Shaun's paternity of Thomas.
- •Significant concerns about Shaun's sexual abuse of Emma and risk to both children.
- •The local authority sought care and placement orders for both children.
- •Various family members' positions shifted during proceedings.
- •Guardians opposed placement orders but supported withholding contact with Shaun.
Legal Principles
Threshold Criteria for Care Orders
Children Act 1989 (CA 1989), s31(2)
Paramount Consideration of Children's Welfare
Children Act 1989, s1; Adoption and Children Act 2002, s1
Necessity Test for Severing Parental Ties
Re B (A Child) [2013] UKSC 33; Re B-S (Children) [2014] 1 FLR 1035
Article 8 ECHR (Right to Family Life)
European Convention on Human Rights, Article 8
Local Authority's Duty to Allow Contact
CA 1989, s34(1); Sch 2, para 15
Court's Power to Authorise Refusal of Contact
CA 1989, s34(4)
Inappropriateness of Relying on Past Findings
Re S & Others (Children: Care Order) [2019] 1 FLR 363
Disclosure of Material to Police
Re EC (Disclosure of Material) [1996] 2 FLR 725
Outcomes
Care orders for both children, placement orders refused.
Children's high needs and challenges in finding suitable adoptive placements; current foster care offers stability and support.
Long-term foster care for both children.
Best interests of children considering their individual needs, ages, and current care arrangements. For Thomas, the foster family has become his family.
Permission for local authority to withhold contact with Shaun.
Shaun poses a significant risk of sexual harm; contact would be harmful and undermine efforts to help children understand and process the abuse.
Permission to disclose DNA evidence to the police.
Strong public interest in investigating the alleged serious crime; inter-agency cooperation.