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Child law update

11 October 2007 / Ceri White
Issue: 7292 / Categories: Features , Child law
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new public law outline >>
early hearing dates >>
pre-proceedings checklist >>
doubts about efficacy >>

The once-vaunted Public Law Protocol was supplanted in September by the new Public Law Outline (PLO). London, along with nine other areas—Liverpool, Portsmouth, Oxford/Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Leicester, Newcastle, Warrington, Swansea and Plymouth/Exeter—have been selected as “initiative centres” to pilot the outline.

A lack of pre-launch publicity has resulted in an alarming ignorance about the existence of the new outline, which is now being remedied in the piloting areas. A recent London meeting to explain the new procedures saw many practitioners (myself included) frantically scribbling down Mr Justice Ryder and District Judge Cushing’s pearls of wisdom.

AIM OF THE NEW OUTLINE

The aim of the outline is to reduce the inordinate delay between application and disposal suffered by children in care proceedings. Everyone accepts that the current care centre average of 51 weeks from application to disposal (42 weeks at Family Proceedings Court level) is far too long and has invidious consequences for the children involved, regardless of whether or not they

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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