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.