Family proceedings

A child, SE, was born prematurely to the mother who was a drug addict. A care order was made in respect of the child in favour of the applicant local authority. When the child continued to suffer serious health problems, the local authority, supported by the mother and the weight of medical evidence sought declarations from the court that it was not in the child’s interests to receive further life sustaining treatment. The Family Division held that the evidence supporting the declaration was overwhelming and made the declarations accordingly.