Discharging a care order

NP v (1) South Gloucestershire County Council (2) MLC (the child) by his guardian CA LSG 1 December

A final care order was made under which the child was to continue to be placed with his mother but, if sufficient progress were not made, for adoption. The child was removed from its mother’s care the next month. The mother applied to discharge the order. Although the judge thought that the situation looked unfair to the mother because the child had been removed without any warning, the position that had existed when the final order was made remained. Nothing had changed to enable the court to discharge the order and there was no evidence that it was in the child’s interest to discharge it. Subsequently, the mother issued an application seeking relief under s7(1)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998. On appeal the mother submitted that the judge was wrong to dismiss her application for discharge of the care order and should have either discharged it and made an interim order, or adjourned the application.