‘Nothing else will do' - why the ‘last resort' won't necessarily be the last word ...

Following the decision of the Supreme Court in Re B (Care Proceedings: Appeal) [2013] UKSC 33 [2013] 2 FLR (forthcoming) particularly the judgment of Baroness Hale in relation to proportionality and the Court of Appeal in Re B-S (Adoption: Application of s 47(5)) [2013] EWCA Civ 1146 [2014] 1 FLR (forthcoming) the phrase  'nothing else will do' will be one which peppers documents questions submissions and judgments in any case involving placement orders or permanent separation from a parent.

As the Court of Appeal summarised in Re B-S the language used in Re B was striking and going beyond the usual 'judicial window-dressing':

'The language used in Re B is striking. Different words and phrases are used but the message is clear. Orders contemplating non-consensual adoption - care orders with a plan for adoption placement orders and adoption orders - are "a very extreme thing a last resort" only to be made where "nothing else will do" where "no other course [is] possible in [the child's] interests" they are "the most extreme option" ...

Read the full article here.