Fewer mothers to appear in court days after giving birth under new guidance
The changes follow concerns over the number of mothers summoned to safeguarding hearings shortly after labour.
The Judiciary has issued new guidance to reduce the number of mothers appearing in court for child care proceedings within hours or days of giving birth. This follows concerns about the increasing number of urgent applications brought to family courts for newborn babies where there is a safeguarding concern. The new guidance, which was issued after a recent BBC investigation, states that same-day hearings should only be granted if a child's immediate safety is at risk.
Experts have warned that many babies may not have needed to go into care if support had been in place. The new guidance aims to ensure that parents and guardians have time to respond effectively to applications and that urgent hearings are only granted when necessary.
Brief written by urgent.news from BBC News's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
