Addendum to negative IVA

[Justiceandhope]

Hi there,

Just a quick query. I have been advised by my son my addendum to my IVA has been submitted to the court parties. I have received nothing!
He has said there is further lies in the report and that the social worker has added more negative garbage about me supposedly from two of my children. I didn’t really think this was the purpose of the Iva.
Can I challenge the addendum and do I do that through children’s services or directly to the court via a solicitor?
Thanks

[Robin D]

Without knowing what this is for, I have to assume it's to possibly care for your grandchild?

You do not need a solicitor and will not get legal aid, so embark on that route only if you have deep pockets.

The easiest way, if you son supports you, is if you apply to to join proceedings as a party, but that may not ne appropriate if the assumptions I made at the beginning are not true. As a party you get to see everything that is written about you and challenge it if incorrect. There is though a fee that has to be paid that I believe is in the region of £250. The form is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... oceedings. but they will also have them at the court and the court staff will help you make the application.

Good luck .... Robin

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi there,

Just a quick query. I have been advised by my son my addendum to my IVA has been submitted to the court parties. I have received nothing!
He has said there is further lies in the report and that the social worker has added more negative garbage about me supposedly from two of my children. I didn’t really think this was the purpose of the Iva.
Can I challenge the addendum and do I do that through children’s services or directly to the court via a solicitor?
Thanks

Dear Justiceandhope

Thank you for your further post regarding your situation.

I see from your previous posts that you have already made an application to be joined as a party and, at that time, the judge indicated that an addendum report should be done. You were not joined as a party so it may be possible to ask the judge to consider your application again.

You should have been given a copy of the addendum as it relates to you. Since the court directed an addendum, it may be appropriate for you to ask the social worker for a copy of it and then you can decide to challenge at court.

In asking to challenge the initial viability assessment/addendum, you could ask that an independent social worker does an assessment regarding your ability to care for your granddaughter. This may help if you believe there is any unfairness in the way the assessment/addendum was carried out.

It will be for the judge to decide but if your son is supportive this could help. Also, you may wish to find out the children’s guardian’s views about the initial viability assessment and addendum. It would be helpful if supportive of you as well.

I suggest you look again at the advice you were given previously regarding challenge of a negative viability assessment.

Should you wish to speak with one of our experienced adviser, you can telephone our advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays.

I hope this is helpful

Best wishes

Suzie

[Justiceandhope]

Thank you for your responses to my queries.i had to email the SW to ask for this, 14 days after it was submitted to the court which in itself is appalling.

I understand I can challenge and ask to be part of proceedings again which I am sure I will do,
My son is supportive. The children’s guardian has been swayed by the bias of CS.

I just want to ask something re management of the SW. there are so many lies in this document which is so damming to my character. SW’s seem to be able to submit lies to a court with impunity. If you complain children’s services say we can’t deal with it it’s in the hands of the court. My son has separately submitted a complaint Not on this particular matter, which is being investigated by the ombudsman which has infuriated the judge.

I have thought about writing directly to the SW to say I am disappointed with the lies in the addendum and the complete bias character assassination. I want to only work with you to prioritise the best for my granddaughter. I am nervous however she will twist it back and say I was being manipulative or something. How can SW be able to submit documents full of blatant lies? How can I challenge/hold her to account? Do I write directly to her?
I really appreciate the views of others on this, many thanks

[Robin D]

I would definitely suggest becoming party to proceedings. You can then put your own statement into the court pointing out the "error's" in the social workers report. It helps if you use language such as 'errors' and 'mistakes' rather than 'lies' even though you may know the latter is true. Much better that you present evidence that the SW has done a poor job and tell the judge form an opinion as to the validity of the report, than to use the opportunity to attack the SW. If you can provide direct evidence to support the points in your statement that also helps. It's absolutely fine to say that you believe the report is subjective and point out where it is 'opinion' rather than fact.

You may find that once you have party status, the solicitor for the child, or the one for your son may be happy to help with preparing and submitting a statement. If not, then I am happy to give you some guidance if @Suzie or FRG are unable to. Remember that the judge is not expecting you to be legally trained, so the precise wording etc is unimportant.

If you are still yet to become a party, and a hearing is imminent, then best to speak to your son urgently and ask him to speak to his solicitor. Meantime, it worth spending the time to go through the report a paragraph at a time, and write down your objections, what evidence you have that it's incorrect, and if possible, how you would word the correction. Assuming the report has numbered a paragraphs, use those as a cross reference. That will help either solicitor to help you in as short a time as possible. For example.

Paragraph 42 might say:
"I visited the home of {name } on the 5th March 2025 and found it in a state of disarray. Things had to be moved before I could sit down." You may have had other grandchildren round until just before they arrived. You might therefore say "In paragraph 42 regarding the unannounced visit on 5th March, I accept that the house was untidy as my three young grandchildren had left only 15-20 minutes beforehand. I believe that it's important that the children are able to relax when they are with me, and after they had gone, I needed a cup of tea and a sit down before starting to sort the lounge out. I had just put the kettle on when he doorbell rang to find the social worker standing there. I invited them in while explaining why the lounge was untidy. I am surprised at the comment given that the social worker helped tidy some of the toys away and indeed commented how nice it was that the children were allowed to play unhindered.

I have completely made that up to illustrate the point, but hopefully you get the drift?

Best wishes .... Robin

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Justicandhope

Thank you for your post.

I am sorry to hear it took 14 days for the social worker to provide you with a copy of the viability assessment. Good practice indicates that you should have the opportunity to read through the report to highlight any factually incorrect information and for this to be corrected.

Of course, you can also highlight any concerns around the social worker’s professional opinion, but this is not likely to result in a change to the report. I have added HERE a link to guidance we have created for professionals when completing an Initial Friends and Family Assessment (commonly referred to as a viability assessment). You will find it at the bottom of this page.

I think it would be a good idea to consider making the challenge to the court to become party to the proceedings. This will enable you to be included in the court process and to ask for an independent social worker to carry out an assessment. They are not part of children’s services and should be completely independent from them. What usually happens is the advocates will agree on a particular social worker to complete the assessment, and they will be approached via the Advocates.

You may find it helpful to seek support from Child Law Advice when completing applications to court. They provide useful guidance with ‘how to’ information that you can download for a small fee. They also have a facility to book a solicitor for a reduce fee. It is around £25 for 30 minutes. There is a process to this and of course, the allocated slots get booked up very quickly, therefore I would recommend you look at their website in the first instance as you may be able to find the support you are seeking without speaking to them direct. If you clink on the link highlighted in blue, it will take you direct to their website.

I think Robin makes a good point when he advises around use of language. Far better to use words such as ‘error’ than lies and then to follow this up with your perspective and to put into context the situation, with evidence if possible.

I would not advise you write direct to the social worker. As children’s services have said they will not take a complaint because of the ongoing care proceedings, you may wish to write to the court directly to inform them of your concerns about the social workers’ assessment (if you are not made party to proceedings). Again, I would advise caution in how you approach this. To think about use of language and of being clear that your main priority is your grandchild and that you wish to work with children’s services to ensure your grandchild is raised in a safe and stable home environment.

I have added HERE guidance we have created when working with social workers. This provides ‘top tips’ to work well with them and what you may wish to consider if things are not going so well.

You can of course consider making a complaint once the care proceedings are concluded to set out your concerns about the assessment, how the process was managed and the approach of the allocated social worker. I have added HERE information and guidance to our complaints information.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you would like to talk to an adviser at Family Rights Group about your situation, please call the freephone advice line on 0808 801 0366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm. If you prefer, you can post back, use our advice enquiry form or webchat. Please refer to our website for further information.

Best wishes, Suzie

[Justiceandhope]

Thank you both so much… so my solicitor has advised not to challenge as there is no new information in the addendum that I haven’t already raised in my statement that has been heard by the court and the judge has already advised to challenge through my son at final hearing.
I do like the idea of writing to the court, a response to the addendum. I will be careful and I really do only want the best for my granddaughter. Who do I actually send that response too?

[Robin D]

As you have a solicitor you really should submit it through them. You could send it straight to the court office asking that it is put before the judge, but you solicitor may not be best pleased.

I appreciate that the solicitor has advised you not to challenge it, but even if there are only a couple of things that are new, or have not been dealt with previously, it may be worth the effort of writing it down as though address to the court. You could then submit that to your solicitor that might change their mind when they read how you feel. Make sure you major on the child, and your desire to do the best for them, than on your own feelings of loss.

Best wishes .... Robin

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Thank you both so much… so my solicitor has advised not to challenge as there is no new information in the addendum that I haven’t already raised in my statement that has been heard by the court and the judge has already advised to challenge through my son at final hearing.
I do like the idea of writing to the court, a response to the addendum. I will be careful and I really do only want the best for my granddaughter. Who do I actually send that response too?

Dear Justiceandhope,

I think Robin D makes a good point when he suggests that you draft the letter, highlighting the points you feel need further attention and then discuss it with the solicitor. The solicitor is aware of all the factors in the case and the full background, so is well placed to give you specific advice.

I appreciate that the recent advice you have received from the solicitor is disappointing but writing the letter you suggest and discussing it with the solicitor first would be a way to express your view yet continue to work collaboratively in preparation for the final hearing.

You would still have the option of submitting the letter to the court later if you and the solicitor still do not agree on your best course of action.

The Family Rights Group guide to working with a solicitor is here and it might be good to read this again.

Best wishes,
Suzie