The amendment to the proposed legislation, tabled last week by Conservative peer Lord Nash, will allow third parties nominated by the Education Secretary to initiate care or adoption proceedings in court.
Care and adoption proceedings are currently only taken by local authorities.
Legislation is already in place for the secretary of state or a third party nominee to intervene where a local authority’s children’s services are found to be consistently failing.
But the government said there “may be a question” about whether a family court would be willing to recognise a third-party nominee as if it were a local authority. It added that the amendment simply “clarifies” existing powers.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
