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Legal aid – Entitlement. The mother made an application seeking the discharge of the supervision and special guardianship orders made in respect of her child. However, what she had been seeking was a re-hearing of the earlier fact-finding hearing. The mother was given leave to re-open the fact-find. Her application for legal aid was refused. The Family Court held that the effect of the judgment was to re-open the care proceedings under s 31 of the Children Act 1989, that future hearings before the judge would be of those proceedings and the ongoing proceedings before the judge were, accordingly, a 'special Children Act 1989 case', in relation to which the mother was entitled to legal aid in accordance with para 2 of the Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/104.
Legal aid – Entitlement. The mother made an application seeking the discharge of the supervision and special guardianship orders made in respect of her child. However, what she had been seeking was a re-hearing of the earlier fact-finding hearing. The mother was given leave to re-open the fact-find. Her application for legal aid was refused. The Family Court held that the effect of the judgment was to re-open the care proceedings under s 31 of the Children Act 1989, that future hearings before the judge would be of those proceedings and the ongoing proceedings before the judge were, accordingly, a 'special Children Act 1989 case', in relation to which the mother was entitled to legal aid in accordance with para 2 of the Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/104.
The age of criminal responsibility, extreme weather and conflict resolution – plus, new protocol for reporting bullying at the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC MP discusses her decade as a trade union and employment law barrister, the demands of life as a Law Officer and the number one priority shaping her work. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
At least not that way, says Richard Paige
