Margaret Styles in Coventry City Council v XX & Ors [2024] EWFC 249 (B)
16th Oct 2024 | Cases
Margaret Styles, instructed by Simon Jones of Penman’s, represented the child by her guardian in Coventry City Council v XX & Ors [2024] EWFC 249 (B); proceedings for care and placement orders which explored the scope and remit of the expert role within such cases, and the court’s responsibility to ensure that appropriate levels of competence are met by those making such reports to the family courts.
Both parents were vulnerable adults and had difficult childhoods. They were assessed individually and together by a psychologist who concluded that they were unable safely to parent their daughter due to the dysfunctionality of their relationship which, while it met their current emotional needs, was likely to pose a risk to the child in the longer term. This assessment was available to an independent social worker who also assessed the parents over a protracted period in their own home and at other venues. The independent social worker (‘ISW’) recommended that the child be returned to the parents’ care. This recommendation was opposed by the local authority and the guardian and supported by the parents.
At the hearing, the judge found that the ISW had exceeded her instructions and gone beyond her own competence in diagnosing neurodiversity in both parents, basing many of her conclusions on her own personal experience and unfounded estimates of timescales for work to be done with the parents. While noting that the parents attracted the sympathy of the ISW, and indeed of any person working with them, the judge made very explicit criticisms of her, including her failure to take the wider picture into account and conduct a proper welfare analysis. The judge directed that her judgement be disclosed to Social Work England and to the ISW’s sponsoring agency.
