Monday 20th July 2009 HEADLINES 'Baby P spot-checks' raise council fears - Independent "Surprise spot-checks of children's services introduced in the wake of the Baby P scandal have raised "serious concerns" in two thirds of the authorities inspected." Government’s Impact Assessment on Family Legal Aid Contains ‘Surprising and Fundamental’ Errors - The Bar Council "The Bar Council and the Family Law Bar Association have today published a review of the Impact Assessment carried out by Ernst & Young on the impact of the Legal Service Commission’s proposed cuts to the family legal aid budget." Bar Council Welcomes Centre for Social Justice Report on Family Law Reform - The Bar Council "The Bar Council has today welcomed the report on family law reform, Every Family Matters, from the Centre for Social Justice, a leading think tank which is chaired by the Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, the former Leader of the Conservative Party." For richer or poorer, tax breaks are fairer - The Times "A system that recognises married people may affect our behaviour, but that isn’t its only purpose" JUDGMENTS Slade v Slade [2009] EWCA Civ 748 Wife's appeal against order for her committal for contempt - appeal allowed and sentences reduced from 21 months to six months. N (A Child), Re [2009] EWHC 1663 (Fam) Application by father in respect of the proposed disclosure to the General Medical Council of an expert report produced in the course of and for the purposes of proceedings in relation to a child - held, father entitled to make disclosure under rule 11.4(1)(c) Part XI Family Proceedings Rules 1991, and therefore no order made. BLOGS Pink Tape: Happy 2nd Birthday! Pink and Proud "Wow – Pink Tape is 2 years old. I confess I didn’t really think this far ahead when I made my first blog entry and landed on the name Pink Tape. I didn’t really think ahead at all – it seemed like a good idea at the time. But it’s been fun, and moderately successful, and long may the Pink Tape wind on and on." Pink Tape: Trustee in Bankruptcy has 3 Year Window "I have not had time to read the full report of this case reported last week in The Times: Lewis and Another v Metropolitan Property Realisations Ltd (Court of Appeal, July 15 2009), but it is certainly going to be worth a look both for families concerned about losing their home and ex- (or soon to be ex-)spouses wondering whether the bankruptcy bears upon the ancillary relief." Benussi Blog: Politicians are divorced from the reality of Family Matters "A think-tank run by former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith wants to see a Tory government bring in a compulsory three-month “cooling off” period to prevent what it considers to be ill-though-out quickie divorces." Divorce-Online Blog: European court issues decision on dual nationality divorces "The European Court of Justice has issued a ruling clarifying the position of couples with dual nationality of European Union member states and who are seeking a divorce." .

DNA paternity tests to sell for £30 - Telegraph "Fathers who have doubts over the paternity of their children will soon be able to use a £30 over-the-counter DNA test to check."

Tuesday 21st July 2009 HEADLINES Care chief is suspended over complaints backlog - Independent "The head of a social care regulator has been suspended after a backlog of complaints meant more than 20 social workers continued to work despite posing a potential risk to the public." Scholar denies that Islamic divorce procedure is biased against women - The Times "Opponents of Sharia have long complained that it involves an inherent bias against women and treats them as second-rate citizens." JUDGMENT London Borough of Brent v S [2009] EWHC 1593 (Fam) - Family Law Week "Judgment arising from application for an injunction by local authority to prevent a child in their care from travelling to Pakistan to find his remaining family. The injunction was lifted." BLOGS Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog: What Should a Family Lawyer Know? "What New Family Law Attorneys Need To Know from Family Law Prof Blog tried to answer. I think they are all good. Would that clients understood better what we do, can do, and that we could explain all this to them." .

Contact enforcement is the "Achilles Heel" of relocation cases, says reunite research - Family Law Week "Loss of contact is one of the greatest problems in relocation cases as enforcement is the "Achilles heel", just as it is in abduction cases. This conclusion is one of many set out in a research report recently published by reunite, the child abduction and relocation organisation."

Wednesday 22nd July 2009 HEADLINES Care Quality Commission: improvements needed in GPs' safeguarding training - Community Care "In a report on NHS safeguarding standards - commissioned by the government following the baby Peter case - the Care Quality Commission found just 35% of GPs had been appropriately trained in safeguarding - the lowest proportion of all healthcare professionals." BLOGS Pink Tape: Lord Bach To The Drawing Board "Lord Bach, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice, yesterday made a written statement to the House in respect of the proposed cuts to family legal aid advocacy fees..." .

Guidance aims to spot child abuse - BBC News "A watchdog has issued guidance to help healthcare workers spot early signs of child abuse to avoid another Baby P."

Thursday 23rd July 2009 HEADLINES NHS widens criteria for investigations into child abuse - Guardian "New guidelines expand factors that trigger suspicion of maltreatment to include young people being 'smelly and dirty" ARTICLES Residence and Contact Orders: Domestic Violence and Harm - Law Society Gazette "The above practice direction, originally issued on 9 May 2008, was reissued on 14 January 2009 to reflect the decision of the House of Lords in Re B (Children) [2008] UKHL 35." Changes to forced marriage protection orders - Law Society Gazette "The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 (the act), in force from 25 November 2008, is an important social reforming statute of power and humanity, protecting the basic right to marry by choice." BLOGS Marilyn Stowe Blog: Cohabitation: know your rights and the law "I wanted to put my last post, about the Centre for Social Justice’s plans for cohabiting couples, into a factual and legal context..." Divorce Survivor: Money Box 2 "There was another set of interesting questions about divorce and separation on BBC Radio 4's Money Box today." Pannone Family Blog: Domestic Violence in the news "The issue of domestic violence was again highlighted today following reports that Chris Brown posted a two-minute apology for the incident between himself and pop-star Rhianna in February of this year on his website." .

Friday 24th July 2009 HEADLINES Opera star Dmitri Hvorostovsky told to pay more to ex-wife - Guardian "Former ballerina 'gave up her career' to support husband's career as world-famous baritone, court is told" - see law report below. Family legal aid reforms postponed - Family Law Newswatch "Following a consultation on a new fee structure that ended last March, the Government has acknowledged that controversial plans to impose fixed fees for family legal representation cannot proceed without "further analysis"." JUDGMENTS Hvorostovsky v Hvorostovsky [2009] EWCA Civ 791 Application by wife to vary periodical payments - wife dissatisfied with award and appealed - appeal allowed, primarily because of husband's greatly increased income, and periodical payments increased. G v G [2009] - Family Law Newswatch "Proceedings under Children Act 1989, Schedule 1 - mother applied for interim periodical payments order, to include legal costs - father argued that the court did not have jurisdiction to include legal costs - held, the court did have jurisdiction to make such an order." Re H (Care Proceedings: Disclosure) [2009] EWCA Civ 704 - Family Law Newswatch "The police, supported by the local authority, applied for disclosure of certain documents in the care proceedings, to assist with a criminal investigation into the injuries to the third child. The judge refused disclosure. The case was to be remitted to the county court for further consideration pursuant to the now-applicable rules." Jones v Kernott [2009] - Family Law Newswatch "Unmarried couple purchased property in joint names - woman brought claim under TLATA - at first instance the court held that she was entitled to 90% of the value of the property, on the basis that this was fair and just - man appealed - held that there was evidence of conduct from which it was right to conclude that the parties had intended their respective equal shares to alter following the man's departure, but none to indicate how. The only available criterion by which to assess the extent of the alteration was what was objectively fair, and the only judge of that was the court. The first instance judge's attribution of 90% to the woman was justifiable." STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS The Family Proceedings Courts (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Rules 2009 These Rules amend the Family Proceedings Courts (Children Act 1989) Rules 1991 and the Family Proceedings Courts (Matrimonial Proceedings etc.) Rules 1991. The Family Law Act 1996 (Forced Marriage)(Relevant Third Party) Order 2009 This Order specifies a local authority as a relevant third party for the purposes of applying for a forced marriage protection order under section 63C of the Family Law Act 1996 (c. 27). A relevant third party can apply to the court for a forced marriage protection order without the leave of the court. BLOGS Head of Legal: Directive 2004/38: Commision skirts the gay marriage issue "Last month, when talking about the big Californian case about Proposition 8, I mentioned the unexploded bomb created by articles 2, 3 and 4 of Directive 2004/38 on the free movement rights of EU citizens and their families: they give an unconditional right of free movement within Europe not only to every EU citizen but to his or her spouse - a term which is undefined." Benussi Blog: Truly, madly, deeply? "Being madly in love is widely seen as the best recipe for a successful marriage. According to research published this month, however, love is little more than a starting point." Embracing Conflict: Collaborative Law. What will we talk about? "I continue to work within collaborative law, helping divorcing and separating couples to communicate with each other to reach a solution." .

Monday 27th July 2009 HEADLINES Vulnerable children failed by new laws meant to protect them - Telegraph "Vulnerable children have been failed by Government guidelines designed to protect their welfare during court battles, an official report has warned." Father banned from family home by social workers over unfounded allegations - Telegraph "A father of four who was forced out of his own home by social workers over unfounded allegations of sexual abuse has been reunited with his family." Newly wed couple faces 18-month separation under Forced Marriages Act - The Guardian "MPs intervene on behalf of Welshman and Canadian wife who could be forced apart by new minimum age for spousal visas" Ministers admit more work is needed on family legal aid scheme - The Bar Council "Government Ministers have acknowledged that controversial plans to impose fixed fees for legal representation for vulnerable families and children cannot proceed without “further analysis”. " Solicitors and barristers in deal on advocacy pay - Law Society Gazette "Solicitors and barristers reached an agreement this week that would see both sides of the profession paid the same amount for advocacy work in family cases." Consultation on national specifications to start in September - Community Care "Reforms to the Integrated Children’s System will be considered when government officials and local authority experts meet in August, the government has confirmed." JUDGMENT D (A Child), Re [2009] EWCA Civ 754 Contact application by father. Court found father to have harassed mother and adjourned application for 6 months so that the father could demonstrate that he could refrain from harassing the mother for that period. Father sought permission to appeal. Permission refused. STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS The Family Proceedings (Amendment) (No.3) Rules 2009 These Rules make various minor amendments to the Family Proceedings Rules 1991. The Parental Responsibility Agreement (Amendment) Regulations 2009 These Regulations amend the Parental Responsibility Agreement Regulations 1991. They prescribe a form, C(PRA3), to record an agreement under section 4ZA of the Children Act 1989 (c.41) for the acquisition of parental responsibility by a second female parent. Section 4ZA is inserted into the Children Act 1989 by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c.22) and provides for circumstances in which a woman, who is treated as a parent of a child by virtue of section 43 of the 2008 Act, may acquire parental responsibility for that child. BLOGS Bloody Relations: Preserving Your Wealth With Woolley & Co "I  reviewed the website of a firm called Woolley & Co  on the  Family Law Week blog . The firm has recently sent me a press release promoting their service in drawing up cohabitation agreements." Marilyn Stowe Blog: Divorce is an emotional rollercoaster – but are you paranoid? "How healthy is divorce litigation for everyone involved: clients, their families, the lawyers and others? How healthy is it for anyone involved in these cases?" Bloody Relations: Baby Barista and the Art of War "No doubt a number of pupils were secretly rather relieved when the identity of the author of the  Time’s Baby Barista blog  was finally  revealed in the Times  to be  Tim Kevan  so that the finger of suspicion was no longer pointing at them." .