A (Care Orders)

This judgment was delivered in private. The judge has given leave for this version of the judgment to be published on condition that (irrespective of what is contained in the judgment) in any published version of the judgment the anonymity of the children and members of their family must be strictly preserved. All persons, including representatives of the media, must ensure that this condition is strictly complied with. Failure to do so will be a contempt of court.

The threshold criteria for the making of interim public law orders pursuant to s.38 Children Act 1989 have already been established and an Interim Care Order is already in place.

When considering which orders if any are in the best interests of the child I start very clearly from the position that, wherever possible, children should be brought up by their natural parents and if not by other members of their family. �The state should not interfere in family life so as to separate children from their families unless it has been demonstrated to be both necessary and proportionate and that no other less radical form of order would achieve the essential aim of promoting their welfare.

From paragraph 52, Ryder LJ addresses applications for Special Guardianship orders in the context of procedural fairness.

The Court of Appeal was clear (paragraph 54): " The residual power in the court to consider making a special guardianship order of its own motion in section 14A(6)(b) of the Act should not be the normal or default process because it avoids the protections that I have just referred to ". The ' protections ' referred to are discussed at paragraphs 52 and 53.