Family Law Team Welcomes Guidance on Use of Section 20 Children Act

05/04/2016

Recent guidance on how children are taken into ‘voluntary care’ has been welcomed by Russell & Russell's family team.

The Section 20 Children Act 1989 permits social services departments to ‘accommodate’ children not foster care, if the parents ask for it. Lots of cases recently have shown that some local authorities have abused this power and children have been left to ‘drift’ in the care system without clear plans being made for them.

The Transparency Project has published guidance for parents and professionals which sets out what is expected of social workers if they are talking to parents about section 20: http://www.transparencyproject.org.uk/guidance-on-...

"This guidance is a welcome development. We regularly give advice to parents about section 20 accommodation. This includes both whether they should agree to it and whether they should withdraw their consent to it. This guidance is a useful tool to help in making sure everyone knows what's expected of them", said Salim Ibrahim, partner in Russell & Russell's family department.

Legal aid is available for advice on section 20. All our solicitors are experts in their field who can guide you through the complexities of the law.