New Society sections open to non-solicitors

The Law Society has announced that it has set up two new sections with membership open to non-solicitors. The Equality and Diversity Section and the Family Section will both launch on 25 June.

Full story: Law Society Gazette

Ofsted seeks to raise standards in foster care with improved inspection regime

Ofsted has published an explanation of how its latest revisions to the inspection of fostering services places are intended to focus even more firmly on the welfare and safety of children and young people.

Full story: Family Law Week

The Social Security and Child Support (Supersession of Appeal Decisions) Regulations 2012

This instrument is made to correct errors in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Order 2008.

Statutory Instrument

MPs debate family courts

Alan Beith, Liberal Democrat MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed and Chair of the Justice Select Committee, moved a debate in Westminster Hall on Thursday 24 May on family courts.

Full story: UK Parliament

Family courts: New standards for expert witnesses

Fewer decisions about the care of children will be made on the advice of poorly qualified experts in the family courts under government plans.

Full story: BBC News

Baby P social workers were fairly sacked, tribunal rules

Two of Baby P's social workers have lost an appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that they were fairly sacked.

Full story: The Telegraph

Supreme Court upholds judgment denying contact in Scottish children case

Court makes recommendations about the future conduct of such proceedings.

Full story: Family Law Week

Variations in child care applications revealed

How much the numbers of applications to take children into care vary from region to region in England has been revealed for the first time.

Full story: BBC News

Social workers intervening earlier since Baby P case

Care applications to protect vulnerable children are being made in a more timely way and at an earlier stage since the death of Baby Peter.

Full story: Community Care

Co-op targets family legal aid - with loyalty points

Co-operative Legal Services has a family legal aid contract and is already working on cases, ahead of the launch of its family law service in July, it revealed today.

Full story: Law Society Gazette

‘Relative Strangers’ project analyses wider family issues of donor conceived children

Research team produces short video about parenting agreements between lesbian mothers and known sperm donors.

Full story: Family Law Week

Gay marriage: Conservative MPs to get free vote

Conservative MPs will be allowed a free vote on gay marriage, senior party sources have told the BBC.

Full story: BBC News

Cornwall's 'inadequate' children's services updated

Child protection services in Cornwall have been updated after the service was branded "inadequate" by Ofsted.

Full story: BBC News

Knowledge gap puts social workers at risk of breaking law

Children's social workers lack knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, meaning they could be breaching the legislation in child protection cases involving parents with learning disabilities, warn experts.

Full story: Community Care

Fostering services need to reach out to wider range of carers

The care system is facing major challenges as the number of looked after children rises and retiring foster carers are not replaced fast enough, Children’s Minister Tim Loughton will warn tonight.

Full story: Department for Education

Munro: Child protection reforms welcomed but pace needs to be accelerated

Professor Eileen Munro, author of the Government’s review of the child protection system, today said a “culture change” was underway in the child protection system but outlined an urgent need to now accelerate reforms to create a more child-centred system.

Full story: Department for Education

Missing children website relaunched

An official website to help find missing and abducted children from the UK has been relaunched by the police's specialist child protection agency.

Full story: The Independent

Ageing foster care workforce is a 'ticking time bomb', warns Loughton

Fostering agencies must strive to recruit younger carers because the bulk of the workforce is approaching retirement, the children’s minister Tim Loughton has warned.

Full story: Children & Young People Now

Working Together consultation and Munro progress report due within a fortnight

Community Care reports that the government is planning to publish a "considerably" reduced version of the Working Together document after a consultation which will commence within a fortnight.

Full story: Family Law Week

Government 'failing to tackle family breakdown', Iain Duncan Smith's think thank rules

The Coalition Government is failing to tackle the “tragic breakdown of family life”, breaking pledges to support marriage, Iain Duncan Smith’s think-tank has said.

Full story: The Telegraph

Prime Minister announces trial of free parenting classes for all parents of children under five

Family and Parenting Institute survey shows that more than half of parents want to be able to access high quality parenting classes.

Full story: Family Law Week

Indirect discrimination against men over child tax credit is justified

System directing funds at household where child principally lives deemed most effective.

Full story: Solicitors Journal

Child support charges could increase poverty, warn MPs

Fees to access maintenance collect by replacement to Child Support Agency also penalises women, says committee.

Full story: The Guardian

Committee publishes report on the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission cost reductions

The Commons Public Accounts Committee publishes its 83rd Report of Session 2010-12, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Cost Reductions, as HC 1874.

Full story: UK Parliament

Social workers fear service cuts risk children's lives

Some 88% of social workers think cuts are putting vulnerable children's lives at risk, a survey suggests.

Full story: BBC News