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11 October 2007 / Ceri White
Issue: 7292 / Categories: Features , Child law
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Child law update

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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

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
NLJ this week: Family law urged to ditch adversarial instincts
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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