In cases that come to court, about four in five children are removed from their parents. The child's interests must come first, not the interests of the parents. The child is the only wholly innocent party in these distressing cases.
But the child's interests are, in part, best served by a speedy resolution. If removal is the right thing to do, then it is best to carry it out quickly and effectively, reducing the period while the child is in danger and the trauma of a lengthy contested process.
In fact, the 4,320 cases dealt with by the courts in England and Wales between July and September last year took an average of 55 weeks to resolve. The 10 cases in Rhyl took an average of 87 weeks. Just try to imagine what it must be like for a child - or indeed a parent - going through such an extended process, and how disruptive it must be beyond anything else that is going on.
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