The latest child welfare items that should be right on your radar:
- Extra support for thousands of litigants in person navigating the legal system
- More than 160,000 children and young people are at-risk of being pulled into poverty
- Over 1,000 children in English town were sexually exploited, inquiry finds
Researching Reform 
Too little, too late
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“Extra support for thousands of litigants in person navigating the legal system”
Little point when the SS and their legal team know the Judges very well after years of taking parents to court. its obvious a biased decision in favour of the Council will follow most of the time.
I’m puzzled how the legal aid dept have never been the slighted bit suspicious how most parents lose in the family courts. they dont even question it. a 95 % win rate for the SS should be sending alarm bells ringing with anyone who has more than two brain cells. but no, Nothing. just silence.
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JUDICIAL COURT STATISTICS 2011 (page 26)
In 2011, there were 32,739 children involved in disposals of public law cases,(cases where the dispute is between a local authority and parents) including 31,515 orders made, 792 applications withdrawn, 350 orders of no order and 72 orders refused.
Only 72 care orders refused out of 32,739 cases !What chance do these poor parents have in our hopelessly prejudiced “family courts”?Legal aid lawyers (often recommended to parents by “helpful social workers”) inevitably speak “for parents” (effectively gagging them) and agree to everything that the local authority demand ! Who needs a lawyer to surrender?Anyone can do that !
Judicial and Court statistics 2011 – Gov.uk
Even worse than you say DR M !
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Here are some points to be made that cost nothing but that would certainly help litigants in person.
1)Judges should never aggressively demand to know exactly why the litigant had decided not to be legally represented.
2) Judges should never intimidate litigants by telling them that it would be in their own interests NOT to represent themselves .If the litigant previously had a barrister who told the litigant they could not speak and then agreed with the care order (as happens so often) this would clearly be untrue.
3) Litigants should be informed in advance that they should bring to court evidence (if relevant) that they had no criminal record,no problems with drugs or alcohol,no mental problems ,no history of domestic violence .They should also be told that they can call helpful and relevant witnesses as to their character or to the circumstances that caused involvement with social services.
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