Pathway to the Public Law Outline

1. Introduction

This document provides specific guidance to Brighton and Hove City Council Children Services, in respect of the Entry to Care Panel Legal Planning Meetings, and the commissioning of enhanced assessments outside of the Court process.

The purpose of this document is to set out the expectations of social workers who are working with families where, unless there is an improvement in the perceived risks to the care of the child, care proceedings are a real possibility.

Nothing in the pathway is predicated on a view that proceedings are inevitable if the Pathway is followed.

The Pathway is designed to promote early intervention and assessment where there are identified Child Protection concerns with a risk that if they remain unaddressed Care Proceedings could become necessary.

The aim of the Pathway is to enhance the prospects of there being early assessment and understanding of the functioning of the family, so that where intervention services are appropriate they can be offered without delay so as to reduce the prospect of the child becoming Looked After, and care proceedings becoming necessary. Alternatively, where it is the case that assessments demonstrate that harmful parenting cannot be addressed within the child's timescales, it is essential for the child that this is identified as soon as realistically possible to enable steps to be taken to protect the child, so enhancing the child's prospects for fulfilling their developmental potential and forming secure permanent attachments. Timely assessment, intervention and robust decision making will enhance the child's life chances and reduce the level of social work intervention they will need in future years.

Furthermore, detailed guidance in respect of Pan Sussex expectations of performance pre proceedings is contained in the Sussex Family Justice Board 'Expert Assessment' Pilot documentation. The Pan Sussex Protocol for achieving expert effective assessment outside of court proceedings will form part of the Expert Assessment Pilot. (See Expert Assessment Pilot - to follow).

2. Identifying the Pathway is Required

Where a Social Work team identifies nonemergency child protection issues over the course of an assessment, AND a real possibility that cannot sensibly be ignored that there is a risk of the threshold for care proceedings being met without significant change in family functioning:

The Social Worker will consider:

• What timescales are reasonable for change to have occurred with reference to the timetable of the children concerned?
• Whether a referral is now needed to the Entry to Care Panel.

3. Entry to Care Panel

The Entry to Care Panel will consider:

• If it is necessary for the child to come into care, or whether there are other services/interventions that could be sourced, eg, Family Group Conference, family assessments, or Functional Family Therapy that would prevent the need for admission to care.

4. Requirement for Enhanced Assessment Identified

Where assessments are needed beyond the social work assessment a referral to the Partners in Change Hub should be made prior to the Legal Planning Meeting.

The referral to the PiC Hub should explain that legal action is being considered and they are being asked to advise if there are further interventions that can be offered to the family to prevent the need for this.

The PiC formulation should also consider the content and plans for any assessments in the PLO process. This should include experts within PiC being part of any discussion about the need for external expert assessments.

The PIC Hub should consider with the social work team the framework for an assessment plan.

5. First Legal Planning Meeting (LPM)

Legal Planning Meetings are agreed by the Head of Service.

In addition to the usual framework for a LPM, at the LPM there will be a detailed discussion about:

• The enhanced assessments needed, where they are agreed as being necessary;
• Consideration of moving into Public Law Outline (PLO) procedures;
  
  Note that with pre-birth situations a 2016 High Court judgment has set out good practice steps to include (see Pre-Birth Assessment Practice Guidance):
  • A risk assessment of the parent(s) should be undertaken immediately the social workers are made aware of the mother's pregnancy Planning should take place as early as possible so prospective parents are not left unclear about the Local Authority’s plans too close to the birth.
  • Assessment work should be completed 6-8 weeks prior to the due date to allow for early delivery and to give the family certainty about the social work plan. The assessment should be disclosed to the parent(s) (and their solicitor where relevant);
  • All relevant documentation should be then sent to the Local Authority Legal Adviser to issue proceedings.
  • A Family Group Conference should take place either before or after the Legal Planning Meeting to look at family support and possible Kinship carers.
    
    (See Care and Supervision Proceedings and the Public Law Outline, Pre-Birth, Newborns and Infants.)

6. Following the LPM

Where enhanced assessments are identified as needed a preliminary enquiry to the proposed assessment service in respect of their theoretical availability and suitability will be made by the lawyer allocated to the LPM. This will include establishing potential timescales for a start and finish date.

The Letter Before Action (LBA) to the parents will be drafted by the SW. This must include reference to the risk of care proceedings in order for the right to free legal advice to be triggered for the parent.

In addition to the standard requirements the LBA will include:

• Some information about the sort of assessments being considered;
• A draft agenda if possible including reference to any assessments proposed.

Wherever possible the Letter of Instruction (LOI) questions will be drafted for consideration at the Meeting Before Action, in advance of the meeting.

7. Meeting Before Action (MBA)

In addition to the usual format the MBA will consider:

• The assessments proposed by the local authority; and
• The contents of the LOI for any enhanced assessment, in an effort to reach agreement about the headings of the instruction with parents and their legal representatives.

Where representatives of the Legal Department attend the MBA they will do so in compliance with the Law Society standards for their participation in the meeting.

Review of MBA

• Cases in pre-proceedings are reviewed regularly by Heads of Service as part of tracking progress and timeliness.

8. Following the MBA: Letter of Instruction for Enhanced Assessment

Where an enhanced assessment is agreed at the MBA the following steps will be taken:

• As soon as possible after the meeting the lawyer will confirm with the assessment service to whom the initial referral was made whether they are required;
• All enhanced assessments will have a LOI;
• Legal will draft the LOI based on MBA discussion, and prepare papers to send to assessment service;
• The LOI and papers accompanying it will be copied to parents and their legal representatives.

9. Following the Receipt of the Enhanced Assessment Report

Within 1-2 weeks of receipt of the enhanced assessment, or the conclusion of the social work assessment:

• The need for a further LPM will be reviewed and held if required;
• A meeting with parents about outcome of the assessment(s) will be held.

10. Further Legal Planning Meeting

The SW assessment and Chronology must be available to the meeting, together with any enhanced assessment reports.

The LPM will be consider the need for proceedings, and whether any further evidence or assessment is needed for that purpose.

If it is considered that care proceedings are required a timetable will be agreed for:

• Issue;
• Filing of evidence;
• Informing parents and their representatives;
• Referral to the Permanency Planning and Tracking Forum.