02 May 2008
A huge increase in the cost to local authorities of initiating care proceedings for vulnerable children has been approved, in the face of opposition from the legal profession.
The Ministry of Justice announced on April 21 that local authorities would bear the full cost of starting legal proceedings to take children into care, which could rise to £4,000 from the current £150.
The Law Society and children's charity NSPCC said that the more than 2,500% increase could deter local authorities from issuing care proceedings due to budgetary constraints. They were also concerned that the government's £40m funding to councils for the changes would not be ring-fenced.
Responding to the public family law fees consultation, government advisory body the Family Justice Council said: 'It is difficult to escape the conclusion that local authorities will face greater disincentives to initiating court proceedings in appropriate cases as a result of these additional costs.'
The Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Children's Services rejected suggestions that councils would be 'influenced in their approach to initiating proceedings by cost considerations', but expressed concern over funding.
An LGA spokesman told Public Finance that there was uncertainty over whether the additional funding in the Revenue Support Grant would cover costs, but that councils would continue with care proceedings if they went into the red.
He said: 'We are imminently meeting with the Ministry of Justice to try and get to the bottom of how they've come up with the figure of £40m. It's fair to say that we will be watching it carefully to make sure local authorities' costs don't exceed £40m.'
Responding to the fees consultation, the ADCS said: 'The transfer of funds is inadequate, the impact on local authorities of additional costs will mean the resources have to be diverted from elsewhere.'
The Ministry of Justice said that each local authority had received additional funding to pay for the increases, while children's services had a statutory obligation to protect the interests of children.
A spokesman said: 'The government wants to create a sustainable self-funding system for civil and family courts. The fees will reflect the actual costs of the service and should encourage cases to be resolved quickly, benefiting the vulnerable. There is no evidence to suggest that local authorities would act inappropriately.'
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