In the second of their series of family law podcasts, Clare Ciborowska and Richard Ager discuss the vexed area of care proceedings where it is considered necessary to take a baby away from its mother for the infant’s safety. The law on newborns is pretty thin and the social worker practice varies from area to area. Earlier this year the Public Law Working group published a series of recommendations for improvements in practice to make the whole procedure less traumatic for the mother. See Recommendations to achieve best practice in the child protection and family justice systems Final Report (March 2021). Whether these recommendations will be implemented remains to be seen.
The ability to make interim care orders under s.38 Children Act 1989 is one of the family court’s most significant powers. With newborn babies, prompt action is not only desirable, it’s essential. But not so easy to achieve in practice, as you will hear from our lively and comprehensive conversation.
This episode will be the last before we take our August break, but plans for Law Pod UK from September are already being hatched so remember to tune in!
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