A report had been prepared by the local authority into the way in which it had handled the proceedings. The guardian sought to inspect the report and the authority resisted, claiming public interest immunity.
Held: The report had been prepared in connection with the matters underlying the proceedings. By virtue of the Act, the child’s guardian had the right to inspect all such documents irrespective of any rule of law or enactment otherwise preventing disclosure. The child had been removed from the home and medically examined, but the mother had not been given the true reasons for the action. Later, before the guardian was appointed, the authority also misled the court. An order for disclosure had been made by the magistrates court, but resisted by the authority. Questions of Public Interest Immunity simply did not arise. Confidentiality would not be lost by disclosure to the guardian.
Judges:
Wall J
Citations:
Times 16-May-2003, Gazette 14-Aug-2003
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Applied – In Re R (A Child) (Care Proceedings: Disclosure) CA 18-Jul-2000
A guardian ad litem, representing one child, was entitled to see a report, prepared by the child protection committee of the local authority, which related to the death of the child’s sibling. Such a report constituted a report prepared by the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Children, Local Government, Information
Updated: 20 April 2022; Ref: scu.182217
