Head of Family and Childcare
If social services are concerned about the welfare of your children and think they may need to go to Court, they will invite you to a pre-proceedings meeting, also known as a PLO (Public Law Outline) meeting.
At the meeting, you can expect to talk about:
There will be a written record kept of the meeting in case anyone needs the information in the future.
You might already have had meetings with social workers, but a PLO meeting is different because it is often the last chance to discuss their concerns before the social workers ask to go to Court about your children.
We're rated‘Excellent’The purpose of the meeting is to consider what needs to happen to protect your children and in turn prevent Court proceedings from having to go ahead.
Everyone in the meeting will have your children’s best interests in mind and the aim is to put a plan in place to improve the situation for you and your children.
At the meeting, you can expect your social worker to bring a lawyer to advise them, and you are entitle to bring a lawyer too. You’re entitled to Legal Aid if you do choose to get legal advice which will cover the costs for you.
Our Care Proceedings Solicitors have helped many parents who have been asked to go to a PLO meeting and we can give you advice tailored to your situation.
The meeting won’t be too long but it will last as long as it takes to discuss all of the social workers’ concerns and make a clear plan of what to do next.
After the PLO meeting, the plan you make will usually be reviewed within 6-8 weeks to see if things are getting better or if the Court will need to get involved.
The overall pre-proceedings process can last a number of months. If social workers think that things have started to get better for your children, they might decide that Court won’t be needed.
If the social workers think there has been no change, they might progress your case to Court proceedings but your Care Proceedings Solicitor can speak to you about that if it happens and help you prepare and continue to represent you in Court proceedings.
You should work closely with your Solicitor and your social worker throughout the pre-proceedings process so you can be sure you’re getting all the advice you can and reduce the chances of having to go to Court.
You’ll probably have regular meetings with your social worker and we can give you as much legal advice as you need during the PLO process.
Our Care Proceedings team are experts so we can spot the signs if we think things are going to be taken to Court, and we can talk through your options if this is the case. Get in touch for initial advice today.
If you’ve been invited to attend a Child Protection Conference, you’ll probably have many questions about what the meeting will involve. In this article, we’ve broken down what happens, who will attend, as well as how a Care Proceedings Solicitor could help you.
Under a Supervision Order, the Local Authority has a duty to befriend, advise and assist your child. This means social workers should make regular contact with your family and offer support and advice on resources. Supervision Order Reviews should also be held by the Local authority at least every three months.
A Section 20 Agreement is a voluntary agreement. This is when social workers invite a parent, or person with Parental Responsibility, to agree to a child being taken out of their care and into another placement like foster care for a short period of time.
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