Police failing to use new law against coercive domestic abuse

Lawyers say controlling and coercive behaviour powers should be used to help victims before relationships turn violent.

Full story: The Guardian

USA signs Hague 2007 Maintenance Convention

On 30 August 2016, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, signed the instrument of ratification of the USA to the 2007 Hague Child Support and Maintenance Convention.

Full story: Family Law

Court finds care case assessment ‘distorted’ mother’s responses

Judge finds ‘fundamental failures’ in psychologist’s report means it should be withdrawn from care proceedings.

Full story: Community Care

Towards a Family Justice Observatory: national call for evidence

The research team working on 'Towards a Family Justice observatory', a project aiming to improve the generation and application of research in the family justice system, has issued a national call for evidence as a means of engaging with stakeholders in an open and transparent way to ascertain opinions and ideas.

Full story: Family Law

Separated couple called daughter by different names, court hears

The case resembles a storyline on BBC Radio 4 soap opera ‘The Archers’.

Full story: The Independent

Couple told they must adopt own baby after failing to check tick box on form

'The absence of no more than a centimetre of ink in a tick box is nothing more than an understandable error' .

Full story: The Independent

Life-support to be turned off for 'no smile' baby girl

A judge has ruled that medics can stop giving life-support treatment to a seriously ill baby unable to smile - despite social services bosses wanting the treatment to continue.

Full story: BBC News

Shortcomings in partnership between London councils leave victim of domestic abuse in limbo

Local authorities fail to ensure woman was safely housed.

Full story: Family Law Week

Guidance published on change of name on official documents

The Home Office has published new guidance on how applications are handled to change names on official documents.

Full story: Family Law Week

Father who backs 'harmful' alternative cancer medication should have baby taken into care, says judge

A baby boy whose father advocates the use of "harmful alternative medication" should be taken into council care, a family court judge has decided.

Full story: The Telegraph

Force family lawyers to offer fixed fees, consumer panel suggests

Family law specialists should be required to work under fixed fees, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has suggested as it ramped up its call for regulatory intervention to improve transparency in the market.

Full story: Legal Futures

LiP slapped with £100k costs bill for ‘farrago of nonsense’ application

Case highlights the difficulties encountered by the judiciary when dealing with the 'chaos' created by litigants in person.

Full story: Solicitors Journal

Court of Appeal considers secure accommodation order for young woman of 17 years 8 months

Order was ‘justified, necessary and proportionate’.

Full story: Family Law Week

Government will press ahead with British Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights is a 'manifesto commitment'.

Full story: Family Law Week

Stop scapegoating social workers to better protect children, Shoesmith says

Former Haringey children’s services director says treatment by politicians and media after Baby P’s death has left social services hamstrung by ‘fear of failure’.

Full story: The Guardian

Draft guidance published on anonymisation of children judgments

A project funded by the Nuffield Foundation and supported by the Association of Lawyers for Children aims to develop draft guidance to assist judges in the anonymisation of children judgments in public law proceedings.

Full story: Family Law

15 councils put obese children on ‘at risk’ register or take them into care

FoI request reveals LA action in last two years.

Full story: Family Law Week

Court of Protection judge criticises firm for ‘brutal and insensitive’ comments

A north-west firm is considering appealing a Court of Protection ruling in which it was removed as a financial deputy in a case concerning deprivation of liberty and care arrangements.

Full story: Law Society Gazette

Commons Local Government Committee calls for more help for care leavers

The House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee has published a report following its inquiry into homelessness.

Full story: Family Law Week

Father's hopes for single parent surrogacy law change

A father who won a groundbreaking legal case on Britain's surrogacy laws has told the BBC he hopes he will soon be given the same rights as other parents.

Full story: BBC News

Man’s ‘aggressive’ emails to social worker play part in care order decision

The father’s emails, along with his failure to attend a final hearing and an assessment, led the judge to conclude he couldn’t meet his son’s needs.

Full story: Community Care

Council fined after confidential care files found in disused building

Hampshire council has been fined £100,000 after confidential files containing “highly sensitive” details of vulnerable adults and children were found in a disused building.

Full story: Community Care

Woman jailed for refusing to testify against her husband in domestic violence case

An alleged domestic violence victim has been jailed for two weeks after refusing to testify against her husband.

Full story: The Independent

Cafcass chief: Stemming care applications may require law change

Changes to legislation may be required in order to curb steep rises in the number of applications for children to be taken into care, the chief executive of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has said.

Full story: Children & Young People Now

Supreme Court refers to ECJ case of transgender woman denied state pension at 60

Sec of State argues that full certificate of gender recognition is required.

Full story: Family Law Week

The Fostering Network responds to BBC story about cash incentives to recruit foster carers

Transfer protocols guide the movement of foster carers between services.

Full story: Family Law Week

Council pays £7,500 after section 20 use breached girl’s human rights

Thurrock council was found to have breached a girl's right to a fair trial and family life by keeping her in a section 20 arrangement for 13 months.

Full story: Community Care

Cafcass in talks with government to stem care application rises

Attempts are being made to halt rapid increases in the number of applications being made for children to be taken into care, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has said.

Full story: Children & Young People Now

Ofsted announces domestic abuse focus for multi-agency inspections

Multi-agency inspections of how services work together to protect children within local authority areas will from next month focus on the quality of support for children living with domestic abuse, Ofsted has said.

Full story: Children & Young People Now

Care applications in July 2016

In July 2016, Cafcass received a total of 1,305 care applications.  This figure represents a 16% increase compared to those received in July 2015.

Full story: Cafcass

Cafcass private law demand

In July 2016, Cafcass received a total of 3,468 new private law cases.  This has remained at a similar level as that seen in July 2015.

Full story: Cafcass

Attendance of Solicitors at Local Authority Children Act Meetings

The Law Society has issued an updated Practice Note on attendance of solicitors at local authority Children Act meetings. It is aimed at all solicitors who work in public law Children Act proceedings.

Full story: Family Law

Journalists challenge woman's demands for anonymity during divorce payout appeal

A woman embroiled in a court battle over a divorce settlement  is trying to stop journalists from revealing her identity.

Full story: Press Gazette

Former Pirelli model Christina Estrada yet to receive a penny of record £53m divorce settlement

A former supermodel who won a £53 million award in a High Court divorce battle with her Saudi billionaire ex-husband has yet to receive a penny of the record settlement.

Full story: The Telegraph

£1.3bn troubled families scheme has had 'no discernible impact'

Senior civil servant describes unpublished Whitehall report into efforts to tackle entrenched social problems as damning.

Full story: The Guardian

Section 37 Senior Courts Act 1981 injunctions can be made only in support of existing substantive powers

Court of Appeal discharges injunction to transfer pension policy.

Full story: Family Law Week

97 per cent of children in care missing out on mentors

Children in care should be offered ‘independent visitors’ where it is in their interests.

Full story: Family Law Week

26% of CM Options customers last year set up family based arrangements

DWP publishes data for child maintenance arrangements.

Full story: Family Law Week

Two-year-old girl thought to be at risk of FGM returned to UK

A two-year-old girl who was thought to be at risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) has been returned to the UK from Guinea, the High Court has been told.

Full story: Family Law Week

Anger over legal aid bill for Ellie Butler's parents

Ben Butler, convicted of murdering his six-year-old daughter, and Linda Gray, guilty of child cruelty, received £1.5m, say reports.

Full story: The Guardian

Foster carers 'poached with golden hellos'

Large private foster agencies are offering cash incentives to recruit foster carers working for English local authorities - and then charging more for the service, councils say.

Full story: BBC News

Children accommodated in secure children’s homes at 31 March 2016

Statistics recently published by the Department for Education show that there were 210 children accommodated in secure children's homes in England and Wales at 31 March 2016, a slight increase from 205 last year.

Full story: Family Law Week

Information Commissioner responds to Supreme Court’s ‘named person’ judgment

ICO will work with Scottish Government oa address Supreme Court's concerns.

Full story: Family Law Week

Court orders rehearing of case where social workers ‘misunderstood’ case law

The social workers were found to have misinterpreted the implications of Re B when analysing placement options for a young girl.

Full story: Community Care

Amina Al-Jeffery: 'Locked up' woman must be allowed home

A Swansea woman who claims her father has kept her locked up against her will in Saudi Arabia must be allowed to return to Britain, a judge has ruled.

Full story: BBC News

Children at risk of radicalisation not ‘outwardly vulnerable’, social workers told

A Cafcass study said that children at risk of radicalisation said methods to use recruit girls are "like nothing seen before".

Full story: Community Care

Anglo-Irish legal battle over Poole foetal alcohol boy, 10

A boy born with foetal alcohol syndrome is at the centre of a legal row between Irish and English courts.

Full story: BBC News