Family Rights Group | Parents’ Forum

I have recently been to court to make an application for Grandson after failing the viability assessment. I applied to become party to proceedings and requested an independent SW report. My application was dismissed and I’m told I have no rights to appeal. I have had an absolute nightmare with solicitors and had to complain to transfer my legal aid. I had no legal representation at the hearing on 18/07/22 and had to ask for an adjournment. I was ill with COVID and still testing positive so had to attend via video link on my mobile phone. I could hardly hear what was being said and missed that the judge ordered submissions to be made by 02/08/22. I did not receive any notification or order from the court either. After the hearing on 18/07/22 I regrettably decided to go back to the solicitor who dealt with my daughters care proceedings. Legal Aid was mid transfer to another solicitor but I was advised this would be ok. Despite making contact on 18/07/22 and fully explaining the urgency of case, with a hearing on 05/08/22 this solicitor did not look at my case until 01/08/22. They realised then that submissions had to be made but it was now to late. The only legal advice I received from 18/07/22 to 05/08/22 was from the barrister one hour before the hearing. I have asked the solicitor for a full explanation of what has happened so I can look at making a formal complaint. I feel they have completely failed me. There is no one else to have my Grandson now and the only option left is adoption. Is there anything I can do? I was considering writing to the judge to ask permission to appeal? Any help/advise would be greatly appreciated.

Gran1103, the only advice I can give is to locate another solicitor and ensure they have the correct accreditations of children's law and and legal aid. Look at online reviews as well. Surely you should have been given an option to contest the viability assessment? Can I ask why they marked you a negative, without being too intrusive? My mum's was marked negative and she will be challenging this. Contact your MP, Councilors and the portfolio holder for social and children's services.
KK10

Dear Gran1103

Welcome to the parents’ discussion board and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am Family Rights Group’s online adviser. I am sorry to hear about the difficulties that you and your family have experienced.

I will respond to your query here but as you are a grandmother please can you post any further queries on our specialist kinship carers’ discussion board where you may also be able to receive advice and support from other relatives too.

You have had a negative viability assessment and have tried to challenge this via the court by requesting an independent social work assessment and by applying to become a party to the proceedings. Unfortunately, you were unsuccessful and were told that you had no grounds to appeal You had legal aid for legal representation but unfortunately had a poor experience and limited advice or representation. However, you did have a barrister to assist you although this was just before the hearing. In the meantime, for a number of reasons which you have outlined, you were unable to complete submissions. You are wondering if you can ask the judge for permission to appeal.

As you were legally represented at the time, it is best to ensure that the solicitor/barrister involved advise you specifically about this as they are best placed to do so and acted for you in court. It may also be a good idea to try to speak to your grandson’s Guardian about the situation. You can write to the court independently to explain the situation, to set out your concerns and the difficulties experienced and to ask if you can appeal. Please see our information here. Please be aware that you need to act very promptly due to the tight timescale for appeals (21 days from the decision if no other time limit set) and in care proceedings.

I can see that you are very worried that your grandson may be adopted if his parent/s are not able to care for him and if there is no one else to be assessed. So you are right to try to pursue every reasonable option to see if you can be successfully assessed.
As you are considering making a complaint about your solicitor you should make sure that you have a copy of their complaints procedure. You can also make a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

You may find it helpful to ring FRG’s freephone advice line (0808 8010366) to explore matters further; the lines are open Mon to Fri from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm (except bank holidays) or you can post back on the kinship carers’ board as highlighted above.

Best wishes

Suzie