Ben Boucher Giles has successfully represented a mother in the Court of Appeal where the Local Authority, in private law proceedings, supported the grandmother’s application for a Special Guardianship Order instead of issuing public law proceedings or following the PLO.
Sir James Munby P, Black LJ and Tomlinson LJ have reserved their reasons in the case, which will look at: (1) the interplay between public law and private law proceedings where the State seeks to intervene in the placement of a child; (2) a reconsideration of the balancing exercise where the mother is able to provide “good enough” care but the grandmother is able to provide better care; and (3) the balancing exercise for purposeful delay for further assessment of a parent.