Public Law Outline (PLO)
If social services have concerns about children, they can start a pre-proceedings process known as a “Public Law Outline”.
This process is actioned outside of the Court arena to allow parents and social services to work together to try and reduce the concerns they have, with the aim of avoiding going to Court altogether. Parents or caregivers will be able to instruct a solicitor to assist them with this process.
DETAILS
Next Steps
The parent or caregiver will be invited to a meeting to discuss the concerns they have and to discuss the next steps. The case will be reviewed at the end of the pre-proceedings process and the decision will either be to continue the process, conclude the process, or initiate care proceedings. The Local Authority may decide to progress the matter to Court for a number of reasons, such as their concerns in relation to emotional or physical harm have escalated, or the assessments they have completed within the process have a resulted in a negative outcome.
Note: Legal Aid is available to all who are involved in this process
Medical Expert Evidence
Within the proceedings it will be essential to obtain independent expert medical evidence and it is vital to identify the correct experts who have experience in these cases. These experts include; radiologists, paediatricians, neuro-radiologists, haematologists, ophthalmologists, and geneticists. We work closely with experts on many NAI cases and have the specialist knowledge to ensure we identify the right experts. Our Team has extensive experience in this type of case, and of working with experts to analyse the case and find out whether the evidence does or does not point towards abuse or NAI.
FAQs for PLO Process
Get in touch today
Please get in touch with us today to discuss this further, or to ask us to attend a meeting with you.
