Court of Appeal Judgement re Kent County Council (versus a grandparent carer)
 |
||
| Court of Appeal Judgement re Kent
County Council (versus a grandparent carer) This confirms that local authorities, who ask relatives or friends to care for children who cannot remain safely with their parents, have a duty to provide support for the child. We come across many such cases. It is incumbent on local and central government to ensuring this ruling is implemented. “The Court of Appeal today has thrown out Kent Council’s claim that they did not have responsibility to support a grandmother, who had taken on the care of her grandchild in 2005, at their request. The Council claimed it was a private family arrangement despite their substantial involvement in placing the child. This long awaited judgement is significant in confirming that local authorities across the country who ask relatives or friends to care for children who cannot remain safely with their parents, have a legal duty to provide support including financial assistance for the child. We are getting increasing number of calls to our advice service from impoverished relatives who are struggling to bring up very vulnerable children at their local authority’s request, but are subsequently denied help. This judgement therefore has widespread implications for them, yet cash strapped local authorities will struggle to meet this duty without additional government funding. It is now incumbent on both local and central government to find ways to ensure this ruling is implemented in children’s best interests.” Case: SA, R (on the application of) v Kent County Council [2011] EWCA Civ 1303 (10 November 2011). PDF Document |
||
|
Go Back |
||