Solicitors Entitled to Attend Child Conference

Regina v Cornwall County Council, ex parte L (QBD TLR 25 November)

The council’s policy of refusing to allow a parent’s solicitor to attend and participate in a child conference was unlawful unless and until the chairman held that the solicitors’ presence would undermine the purpose of the conference. A blanket ban on solicitors of the kind operated by the council was contrary to the statutory guidance and was unlawful, as was the council’s refusal to provide minutes of conferences to parents, which blatantly contravened the statutory guidance.