As soon as you have received your written assessment and decided that you wish to challenge the outcome you must act quickly as the timescales are often very short, sometimes only 7 days.
Usually, if there are ongoing Court proceedings you will have been informed by the local authority by which date you must inform the Court and the parties that you wish to challenge your assessment.
If you have not received a date then you must speak to the child’s social worker to find out.
You must inform the local authority in writing that you wish to challenge the assessment. It is helpful to set out at this stage the reasons why you wish to challenge the assessment and what you say is inaccurate or facts that are plainly recorded wrongly.
It is a good idea at this stage to seek legal advice as you will also need to make an application to the Court to challenge the assessment. You will need help to complete the application and alongside this will need to file a statement setting out clearly your reasons for challenging the assessment. If you have written evidence to support your reason it is a good idea to attach this to your statement. You will need to think about whether you want to ask the local authority to look at your assessment again or to instruct an independent social worker to assess you and your family. You need to remember that everyone involved in the case will see your application and statement.
Once you have lodged an application with the Court, it will be listed for a hearing to decide if you should be give permission to challenge your assessment. The Court will decide who is to complete the further assessment and who is to pay for it as it will attract fees if an independent expert is instructed. The Court will expect you to attend the hearing and have all of this information. Your solicitor can help you gather all the documents and information you will need.
You must attend the hearing as the Court may have questions for you about your application. The local authority and other parties legal representatives will also attend the hearing and they will also tell the court whether they agree with your application or not.
When coming to any decision about your application the Court must consider the Law and a number of factors, including your connection to the child; the local authority’s plans for the child’s future and the wishes and feelings of the Child's parents.
The Court must also consider if you have an arguable case so it is very important that you set out clearly why you say the assessment is wrong or inadequate.
The Court will also consider if you should be made a party to the proceedings at the time you make your application. This means that you will be able to have sight of the documents in the case and attend future court hearings.
The court will always have in mind the best interests of the child.
In certain circumstances public funding is available from the Legal Aid Agency to challenge viability assessments but you will need to speak with a solicitor to find out if your case meets the criteria.
As a reminder you should act quickly once you have received a copy of your written viability assessment and seek the help and advice of a solicitor.
