The Local Authority v M & Ors
[2024] EWFC 70 (B)
The Local Authority v F & Anor
2 June 2023
[2023] EWFC 142
High Court
Because the parents used drugs and alcohol, neglected their children, and weren't honest about it, the judge decided the kids are safer without them. The oldest child will stay in a safe home, the two younger girls will live with their grandmother, and the baby will be adopted so she can have a stable family.
Key Facts
- •The court is concerned with the welfare of four children: A (15), B (6), C (4), and D (3 months).
- •Applications for care orders (A, B, C), a care order and placement order (D), and a special guardianship order (B, C) were made by the Local Authority.
- •The threshold criteria were agreed to be met.
- •Three-month-old sibling J, now deceased, was found unresponsive in the family home; a police investigation into child neglect ensued.
- •There was a lengthy history of substance misuse, neglect, and chaotic behaviour involving both parents and their children.
- •The parents' substance misuse included cannabis, cocaine, and codeine.
- •Home conditions were described as cluttered, dirty, and hazardous, with harmful substances within reach of the children.
- •On January 1, 2022, both parents were under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and the children were left unsupervised for a prolonged period.
- •The cause of J's death was unascertained, but the circumstances surrounding the death raised concerns about neglect.
- •The parents' engagement with support services was inconsistent and lacked sustained commitment.
Legal Principles
Findings of fact must be based on evidence and not on suspicion or speculation.
Re A (A Child) (Fact-Finding Hearing: Speculation) [2011] EWCA Civ 12
A lie is never taken of itself as direct proof of guilt; it can be capable of amounting to corroboration.
Re H-C [2016] EWCA Civ 136
There must be a robust and realistic appraisal of a parent's commitment to change and their ability to maintain that commitment within the child's timescale.
Re S (A Child) [2014] EWCC B44 (Fam)
The paramount consideration is the welfare of the child.
Section 1 of the Children Act 1989
In adoption cases, the paramount consideration is the child's welfare throughout their life.
Section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002
Outcomes
Care order for A
A's need for permanence and stability away from parental drug and alcohol misuse and domestic abuse.
Special guardianship order for B and C in favour of the paternal grandmother
B and C's need for permanence and stability in a loving environment free from parental substance misuse and domestic abuse.
Placement order for D
The high risk of harm to D if returned to parents' care, coupled with the need for permanence and stability; long-term foster care deemed unsuitable.