Article 39 children’s rights charity has threatened legal action against the Home Office and the Department for Education if they do not stop housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Home Office-run hotels. Children are being kept outside the child welfare system, they are denied fundamental protections, and there is no independent scrutiny of each child’s welfare … Read more
In January 2023, considering the situation of a highly vulnerable 16 year-old girl, the High Court refused to use its inherent jurisdiction to sanction broad-ranging restrictions on the girl’s use of her mobile phone, tablet, laptop and her access to social media. The restrictions were being proposed by the local authority looking after the girl … Read more
In responding today (2 February 2023) to the MacAlister review of children’s social care, whose final report was published in May 2022, the Department for Education has issued two consultation documents – one setting out the government’s strategy for reforming children’s social care, the other seeking feedback on the government’s draft National Framework for Children’s … Read more
As we await the publication of the government’s strategy for children’s social care, and in response to the Department for Education’s media release, a short statement from Carolyne Willow, Article 39’s Director: “It’s absolutely right that the care system must emulate, at every turn, what makes children thrive in loving families. Right now, we have … Read more
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal reached an important decision which clarified the use of section 20 of the Children Act 1989 as a long-term care solution in circumstances where there is ‘full collaboration’ between the parent/s and the local authority, and where the child’s needs clearly require this. Reflecting on the interplay between … Read more