What do IROs Have to do With Cafcass?

Melanie Carew and Daîne Dyer

Cafcass Legal

The fanfare that accompanied the initial decision of the Court of Appeal in Re W and B; Re W (Care Plan) [2001] EWCA Civ 757 [2001] 2 FLR 582 was not replicated when the government responded to the overturning of that decision by the House of Lords in Re S (Minors) (Care Order: Implementation of Care Plan); Re W (Minors) (Care Order: Adequacy of Care Plan) [2002] UKHL 10 [2002] 1 FLR 815 by introducing the legal requirement for an independent reviewing officer (IRO) to be appointed for each looked after child. The Court of Appeal decision (now referred to as Re S and Re W) was seen as the court appointing itself as the monitor of the local authority and its responsibilities towards children in their care. The House of Lords confirmed that it was not for the court to take on that role; legislation was needed to create a formal monitoring of the corporate parent.

An amendment to s 26 of the Children Act 1989 (made by the Adoption and Children Act 2002)...

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