Witan Gate East Central Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire MK9 2DT |
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B e f o r e :
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IN THE MATTER OF | ||
J, K & S ( Care and Placement orders and Special Guardianship Orders) |
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61 Southwark Street, London SE1 0HL
Tel: 020 7269 0370
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Crown Copyright ©
HHJ VENABLES:
L has been known to Social Services since 2011. There have been ongoing concerns around Domestic Violence, physical and emotional neglect. The children presented at school dirty and smelly. The home conditions deteriorated alongside Mothers mental health. The children were delayed in speech language and social skills. Mother's partner was involved with the children for the last two-plus years before their removal. There was concern around his aggressive behaviour, his mental health and drug misuse. He has a history of violence against partners and he struggled to work co-operatively with the agencies.
The proceedings.
The background of X
The threshold and the law
The position of the parties
a) The Local Authority,
i) the boys.
ii) S.
The mother
R.
X
The Guardian
Discussion and conclusions.
'It is in the very nature of placement proceedings that in many of them there will be alternative options that are at least hypothetically feasible and which may have some merit. The fact that, after consideration of the evidence, the court on an analysis of the options chooses adoption does not mean that such a choice is tainted because something else may have been reasonable and available. The whole purpose of a proportionality evaluation is to respect the rights that are engaged and cross check the welfare evaluation'.