It is not uncommon in care proceedings for the Court to make a decision as to whether a parent can be 'ruled out' as a long term carer before a final hearing has taken place.

If all assessments and evidence are completed and placed before the Court, in respect of a parents ability to provide long term care for the child, then a Court can proceed to a hearing to determine this very issue.

Such a hearing usually occurs when a placement of a child is recommended with family members or connected persons and requires a 'testing out period' for an amount of time, to allow further assessment and monitoring before any final decision is made by the court. The assessment period will allow the Local Authority an opportunity to identify any support or further work required and to recommend to the Court the most appropriate and necessary legal order to secure the child in that placement.

Although it is open to the Court to decide a parents case before a final hearing has taken place, there is no rule to say that this must be done. No criteria has been set down within the law for when it would be appropriate to do so.

This type of hearing may not be agreed by parents and so the Court will need to conduct an interim contested hearing usually referred to as a 'North Yorkshire hearing'.

North Yorkshire CC V B 2007

In the case of North Yorkshire CC V B 2007, all of the evidence was available before the Court in respect of the parents. The Judge concluded that it was open to the Court to decide a parents case before a final hearing had taken place, there was nothing wrong with the Court considering whether a parent was going to be in a position to care for a child safely in the child’s time scales at such a hearing.

Parents may not agree to this type of hearing which is to decide that they are not able to care for the child in the long term.

Parents will need to challenge the evidence before the Court, persuading the Court that it is wrong to rule them out at this early stage as long term carers for their child, prior to a final hearing.

This is a very serious decision for the Court to make. It is for the Court to decide if it has enough evidence to proceed with a 'North Yorkshire hearing' which will allow the Court to decide if a parent can be ruled out as a long term carer.

If you need any further information and advice, please contact me on 01332 364436 or via email at t.dunleavy@timms-law.com