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Parents’ and children’s rights and good practice: section 20
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Penelope Welbourne, Associate Professor in Social Work School of Health Professions, University of PlymouthA series of cases decided from 2012 onwards has highlighted failings in local authority practice when accommodating children under s 20 of the Children Act 1989. Since 2014, the number of cases addressing issues concerning use of s 20 appears to have increased, as does the court’s willingness to consider making awards of damages to children and parents. This article considers some issues relating to parents’ and children’s rights and good practice on the part of local authorities following from these cases.
The full version of this article appears in the Jaanuary 2017 issue of Family Law.
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