Local Authority v M & Ors [2025] EWFC 74 (B) (19 February 2025)

1. I have written this judgment very carefully to help M understand my decisions.

DECISION

2. I make Care Orders for T and L. The Local Authority shall have Parental Responsibility for both children. The children shall live with X and Y (family members). They shall be the children's foster carers.

PARTIES IN THE CASE

3. The Local Authority have asked me to make a Care Order for E and F. Mr Willmott is their barrister.

4. M has a barrister called Ms Meusz. M is helped by an intermediary, her name is Ms Henderson.

5. M is mum to T (5 years old) and L (3 years old). They have a Guardian. Ms Stamford is the barrister for the children.

BACKGROUND

6. M is vulnerable. As a child M experienced trauma, serious family arguments, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. At 14 years old M became a Looked After Child. These childhood experiences have affected her mental health.

7. M has been diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, anxiety and depression.

8. M has an IQ score of 64. This is in the extremely low range. M has a mild learning disability.

9. There have been reports of domestic abuse between M and her ex-boyfriends. These relationships are a risk to M and the children. Social workers are worried that M doesn't understand the risks to her and the children. M's last boyfriend was Mr J. Mr J was violent and accused of sexual abuse. M was in a relationship with Mr J for about 2 years, but she kept saying they weren't together.

10. The Local Authority say they tried to work with M before they made the application to the court. The Local Authority say that M missed appointments, didn't work with social workers and didn't look after the children properly.

11. On 3^rd February 2023 Interim Supervision Orders for T and L were ordered by the court.

12. On 3^rd March 2023 M made a brave decision. M asked for T and L to be looked after by the Local Authority because she wasn't coping.

13. On 8^th March 2023 T and L went to live with foster carers. The Local Authority say M has always found it hard to go to contact with T and L. This means she has missed contacts with them.

14. On 18^th May 2023 Interim Care Orders for T and L were ordered by the court.

15. On 14^th January 2024 T and L moved in with X (M's biological father) and Y (his partner). This was because there was an assessment of them which said they could look after T and L (Special Guardianship Assessment).

16. T has not been in school for almost 2 years. This is because he has a lot of extra needs. Some of T's needs are non-verbal autism and global developmental delay. There have been extra hearings in this case to try and help find T a school place. A different local authority agree they need to find a school place. Sadly, there are not enough special school places and they are still looking.

17. M has been very committed to T and L. She has attended all of the court hearings and wants to help make decisions in future.

LAW

18. The test I have to use for making Care Orders has two parts.

19. The first part is threshold. This is set out in the Children Act 1989 at section 31(2) and (9). It says;

"2. A court may only make a care order or supervision order if it is satisfied—

(a) that the child concerned is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm; and

(b) that the harm, or likelihood of harm, is attributable to—

(i) the care given to the child, or likely to be given to him if the order were not made, not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give to him; or

(ii) the child's being beyond parental control.

9. Harm" means ill- treatment or the impairment of health and development including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another"

20. Ms Meusz has explained to M what the threshold test is. I am sure M understands the threshold test. On Monday 27^th January (first day of this hearing) M agreed the threshold test was met. The threshold is agreed.

21. The second part is the welfare of T and L. This is set out in the Children Act 1989 at section 1. It says;

a. T's and L's welfare is of the greatest importance (section 1(1));

b. Any delay will probably harm T's and L's welfare (section 1(2));

c. I need to think about the welfare checklist, which I will go through in detail later (section 1(3));

d. I must not make an order for T and L unless it is better than making no order (section 1(5)).

22. The Local Authority have to prove the facts they want to use. The Local Authority have to prove them "on a balance of probabilities". This is the same as saying that it is more likely the thing happened, than it didn't happen.

23. Making a Care Order is a "last resort".

24. M, T and L have a right to a family life together (Article 8).

EVIDENCE

25. M loves her children very much. Everyone knows this is true.

26. M is vulnerable. She was in a care. She needs help for her own vulnerabilities and the childhood trauma she has suffered.

Dr Mann

27. Dr Mann wrote a report and answered extra questions. He did not give evidence at court. His written evidence was;

a. M has been diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, anxiety and depression.

b. M has an IQ score of 64. This is in the extremely low range. M has a mild learning disability.

c. M needs therapy for her mental health.

d. Therapy could be Psychodynamic therapy, Dialectical behavioural Therapy (DBT) or Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) these should be changed to fit M's needs.

e. Therapy should be for 12 months.

28. Dr Mann said;

a. The children cannot live with M now.

b. Ms H must start therapy. Therapy should be for 12 months.

c. M should be assessed after 4 to 6 months of therapy. This assessment is to see if the Children can live with her.

Independent Social Worker ("ISW")

29. ISW did a parenting assessment of M. Another social worker supported ISW so that it was a PAMS assessment. This means it is an assessment especially for parents with some learning needs. ISW gave evidence in court.

30. ISW said the following positive things about M;

a. M knew stable parenting was important.

b. M knew what the children need.

c. M knew what how to look after the children.

d. M was very loving to the children.

e. M plays games with T and L, tells them she is proud of them and gives them hugs.

f. M agrees with some of the concerns. This is really positive and shows she can start making the changes needed.

31. ISW said M finds it hard to;

a. Attend appointments.

b. Always do what the children need.

c. Manage two children at the same time.

d. Stop using alcohol, cocaine and cannabis.

32. ISW said that it wouldn't be safe for the children to live with M at the moment. For it to become safe M must;

a. Do therapy.

b. Stop using all alcohol, cannabis and cocaine.

c. Have a support network of family and friends.

d. Attend contact consistently.

Local Authority

33. The Team Manager and Social Worker both gave evidence.

34. The Team Manager said that M had been let down. He said sorry to her. He agreed that professionals need to try harder to work with M.

35. The Team Manager said that T and L should not live with M. He said that if the children did live with M, Social Care would give them help. However, he said that at this time the help would not be enough.

36. The Social Worker clearly knows the children well. She is good at working with X and Y.

37. The Social Worker has not worked with M in the way she needs. She has not done the things M needs. This had a bad impact on M. It means M finds it difficult to work with the Local Authority.

38. The Team Manager and Social Worker agree with Dr Mann and ISW. They say T and L cannot live with M.

39. The Social Worker said T and L should have a Care Order. The Care Plan is for them to live with X and Y. X and Y would be foster carers.

40. The Social Worker said that M should see the children once a month. The Social Worker said this because M doesn't always go to contact. This upsets T and L. M can spend longer with the children if she has a planned activity.

41. M has missed time with T and L for different reasons. Some contacts are missed because the Social Worker hasn't worked in the way M needs. Some contacts have been missed because M finds it difficult.

Mother

42. It must be recognised that M is very committed to T and L. M has worked really hard in this court case. M was very brave and her evidence was really helpful.

43. M does understand the worries in this case. M has tried really hard to do what the professionals have said she needs to do.

44. Things that are not a worry anymore;

a. Domestic Abuse. This is not a concern because M has not had a relationship for 2 years. M has worked with the Women and Girls network. This has helped her.

b. Working with professionals. This is not a concern because I find that professionals didn't work with M in the way she needed. This is the reason M couldn't work properly with professionals.

45. The worries about M's care of the children are;

a. Mental Health. M hasn't had a significant mental health episode in a year. However, I agree M needs to do 12 months of therapy before the children live with her. Therapy is needed because poor mental health makes it hard for M to look after the children and attend appointments. Poor mental health also means M is more likely to use alcohol, cannabis and cocaine. I agree that M has tried everything possible to go to therapy. M is on a waiting list for therapy.

b. Misusing drugs and alcohol. I have seen 4 hair strand test results. All have been positive for cocaine and cannabis. The two most recent hair strand tests are positive for alcohol. M agrees that she takes cannabis and alcohol but not the amount the test shows. M said she hasn't taken cocaine since May/June 2024. I agree M has reduced using cannabis. This is good but she is still using it to help with her stress and anxiety. I do not believe M is aware of the amount of cannabis and alcohol she uses and I believe the hair strand test results. It is possible M has stopped using cocaine, another hair strand test is needed to be sure. M is still using cannabis and alcohol and she needs to stop before the children can live with her. I think therapy is key to M being able to stop using alcohol and drugs.

c. Not attending all contacts. I agree that some of the contacts have been missed because of poor communication by the social worker. M has been honest about her reasons for missing contacts. I agree that is must be very upsetting for M to have to say goodbye to her children and this would impact on her mental health. Professionals need to work with M to find a way to make this easier with her. Therapy would help M cope with her feelings about contact.

46. All three concerns are part of the same problem which is M's Mental Health. M's mental health means that she finds it hard to manage her emotions and meet the children's needs. M uses cocaine, cannabis and alcohol to manage her emotions. M misses contacts because she finds it emotionally difficult. M needs therapy to be able to work on the other concerns. M is a victim of a system that doesn't have enough money to provide what she needs, which is therapy.

47. I have read text messages M has sent to the Social Worker, X and Y. I can see why X and Y were worried. They should be helped to understand that it is difficult for M to stop being T's and L's main carer. There needs to be work with M, X and Y to help them understand each other.

Guardian

48. The Guardian has read and listened to all of the evidence.

49. The Guardian was going to see M with the children in January. Sadly, M missed the contact. Instead, the Guardian went to visit the children. The Guardian said L was very upset as she missed her mum. Y was able to calm L. Both children are happy with X and Y. Their bedroom has been decorated and they have their own space and toys.

50. The Guardian agrees that M has worked very hard and it has been difficult for her. She agrees that M has done everything she can to get therapy. The Guardian would like;

a. More support for Y. This should be clearly set out so everyone knows what support there is.

b. Commitment to childminding days for T until he goes to school.

c. A school found for T as soon as possible.

d. Training about trauma for X and Y. To have a better understanding of the children and M.

51. The Guardian said that M needs to;

a. Attend therapy.

b. Stop taking cannabis, cocaine and alcohol.

c. Go to all contacts with T and L.

d. Learn to work with X and Y.

52. The Guardian thinks that M's support plan would not work. She thinks this because X, Y and the family respite carer are not talking to M. It would be very difficult to agree plans when the adults aren't talking. She agrees that the adults all love and care for the children.

53. The Guardian agrees that T and L cannot live with M now. She thinks the Care Plan is right. The Guardian said that T and L should see M once a month. M needs to show that she can cope with once a month contact.

OTHER MATTERS

54. M is very vulnerable. Everyone who works with her needs to understand her needs. This is important for M. This will be in T's and L's best interests.

55. In these proceedings professionals have not always worked with M in the way she needs. M finds it hard to trust the professionals because they don't help her. This is wrong. It needs to change. It has caused M upset.

56. In future all professionals must remember that M has her own needs. M must be treated as an individual. The standard approach is not ok.

57. T requires better than good enough care.

WELFARE CHECKLIST

58. There are two plans for me to think about. I have to decide which plan would be best for T and L.

59. The Local Authority are asking for a Care Order. Their Care Plan (the Care Plan) is for T and L to live with X and Y. They are asking me to make a Care Order. This means the Local Authority and M would share parental responsibility for the children. The Local Authority would have the final say about decisions for the children but they must talk to M first. X and Y would be foster carers.

60. The reason they are asking for a Care Order is because everyone thinks X and Y need lots of support to look after T and L. In the future X and Y may ask for a Special Guardianship Order. Everyone agrees they aren't ready yet.

61. M is asking for T and L to live with her. M knows she would need help to look after them. She is asking me for a Supervision Order and is asking for help from the Local Authority. I know M would try her hardest to do everything the children need.

62. If T and L cannot live with M, she agrees to the Care Plan. This is very brave of M.

63. The law has given me the Welfare Checklist to help me make this very difficult decision. Using the checklist I must compare the two plans.

Wishes and Feelings

64. T and L love their mum very much. It is clear they want to live with their mum. This is what M wants. This won't happen with the Care Plan.

65. T and L also want to be looked after and feel safe. M cannot do this yet. This will happen with the Care Plan.

Meeting emotional, physical and educational needs

66. Emotional needs

a. Care Plan - X and L are meeting all T's and L's emotional needs.

b. M can meet T's and L's needs when her mental health is stable. When her mental health is not stable then she wouldn't be able to meet their needs. M needs to do therapy so that her mental health can be better. She then needs to be reassessed.

67. Physical needs

a. Care Plan - X and Y are meeting all T's and L's physical needs.

b. M can meet T's and L's physical needs when her mental health is stable. When her mental health is not stable then she wouldn't be able to meet their physical needs. M needs to do therapy so that her mental health can be better. She then needs to be reassessed.

68. Education needs

a. Care Plan - X and Y are meeting all L's educational needs. T has complex education needs, the different local authority have agreed to meet them. There is a tribunal in September.

b. M can meet T's and L's educational needs when her mental health is stable. When her mental health is not stable she would find it hard to meet their needs. I want to thank her for fighting for T's educational needs, she has worked very hard.

Effect of change

69. Effect of change

a. Care Plan - T and L are settled and happy with X and Y. If they stay with them all their needs will be met.

b. M would try her best to help T and L with the change. M would struggle to manage the upset they will experience. It is likely M will not emotionally cope with the children. This is because she is using cannabis for stress and she hasn't had therapy. This means T and L would have to stop living with M. This would cause them a lot of upset and would be very bad for their emotional health.

Important factors

70. Important factors;

a. T needs better than good enough care.

b. Both children have lived in three homes.

c. Both children have not had their needs met when M was finding it hard.

d. Both children need stability.

e. Both children are young and need to know where they will be living.

f. Both children need a decision now.

Any harm that might happen

71. Any harm that might happen;

a. Care Plan - T and L will suffer harm as they wont live with their mum.

But - T and L will see their mum regularly. They will live with family. They are settled and happy with X and Y.

b. M - T and L want to live with their mum and that would make them happy.

But - T and L will suffer harm because M's mental health is not strong enough and she still takes cannabis and alcohol. They will suffer because she cannot manage her emotions. M is likely to miss appointments and not meet their needs.

Able to meet needs

72. Able to meet needs;

a. Care Plan - X and Y are meeting all of T's and L's needs with the help of the Local Authority.

b. Sadly, M has worked really hard but she is not able to meet T's and L's needs now. I know she really wants to.

Contact

73. Contact needs to be very carefully planned with M. M needs to agree to contact that she knows she can do. It is better to agree less contact and have extra. This is because T and L get upset when she doesn't come to contact. I agree this is not M's fault. In the short-term contact plans need to be manageable for M. In the long-term M needs therapy to help her cope with her emotions about saying goodbye.

74. Contact should be once per month. If M attends monthly contact, then she should be offered an extra contact during each school holiday. The school holiday should be for a full day if M tells the social workers what she has planned for the day.

CONCLUSION

75. I make Care Orders for T and L. They will live with X and L as foster carers.

76. Contact will be once a month. If M attends the monthly contacts and has a plan, there will be an extra day long contact in each school holiday.

District Judge Saunders

19^th February 2025

	[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback] [DONATE]
	England and Wales Family Court Decisions (other Judges)
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Family Court Decisions (other Judges) >> Local Authority v M & Ors [2025] EWFC 74 (B) (19 February 2025) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/OJ/2025/74.html Cite as: [2025] EWFC 74 (B)

England and Wales Family Court Decisions (other Judges)