Claire Cousin
Claire is a solicitor who specialises in representing and advising parents, children and young people, extended family members and local authorities in relation to public family law. Claire's expertise particularly focuses on care proceedings and has experience of complex cases relating to non accidental injury and death, sexual abuse, substance misuse, mental health issues, forced marriage, parental alienation, neglect and domestic abuse. Claire has been a member of the Law Society's Children Panel Accreditation Scheme since 2013.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2010
Membership
- Member of the Law Society
Education
- LPC, Nottingham Law School 2006-2007
- LLB, University of Leicester 2003-2006
3 Contributions by Claire Cousin
PRACTICE NOTES
Care and Supervision Orders: Grounds, Interim and Final Orders, Legal Effects and Key Differences under the Children Act 1989 (England and Wales)
This Practice Note addresses the most frequently raised queries concerning the legislative framework that underpins care and supervision orders. It presents an overview of the grounds for, and the effects of, both care and supervision orders, sets out who is entitled to apply for them, and draws attention to the principal differences between the two outcomes. It should be read alongside the procedural guide to public law proceedings relating to children contained in our Public children—Public law Outline 2014.
Care orders
What is a care order and what is its purpose?
A care order is an order made by the family court which permits a designated local authority to share parental responsibility for a child with any other holders of parental responsibility (noting that where parental responsibility exists solely by virtue of a child arrangements order, the making of a care order will discharge that child arrangements order (CAO) and the parental responsibility arising from it). The purpose of a care order is to enable the local authority to share parental responsibility with the child’s parents, or any other holders of parental responsibility, in order to safeguard and promote the child’s health and welfare...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Legal aid in care proceedings: eligibility, coverage, expert fees, interpreters, translations, residential assessments, prior authority and local authority funding issues (England and Wales)
This Practice Note explains who qualifies for public funding in care proceedings, what that funding covers, including expert witness fees and translation charges, and what items require prior authority before they are covered. It also outlines how to seek prior authority and offers guidance on what requests are likely to be approved. Public funding for parties is administered by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. Public funding means the relevant party’s solicitor applies to the LAA for a legal aid certificate and, if issued, may carry out work for the publicly funded client, with the solicitor’s costs and disbursements repaid by the LAA at the end of the case.
Who is eligible for public funding in care proceedings?
Automatically eligible, without any means or merits test, in a local authority application for a care or supervision order are:
biological parents of the subject children in the care proceedings
individuals holding parental responsibility for the subject children (for example via a child arrangements order, special guardianship order, step-parent parental responsibility order or adoption order)
These entitlements apply in local authority care or supervision order applications without a means or merits assessment for those concerned...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Section 20 Children Act 1989 (England): Local authority duties for voluntary accommodation: consent, parental responsibility, withdrawal, capacity, s17 v s20 and Human Rights Act risks
Practice Note
This Practice Note sets out a local authority’s obligation to secure accommodation for children under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) and describes voluntary accommodation under ChA 1989, s 20, highlighting the practical difficulties an authority may encounter, such as arranging suitable delegation of parental authority and questions regarding parental capacity. Please note this Practice Note concerns the law currently applicable in England. In Wales, the position is governed by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and associated statutory instruments; for further material, see Practice Notes: Local authority powers and duties to provide accommodation for children in Wales, Local authority duties to looked after children in Wales, and Local authority duties to children in Wales—child protection. Under section 20 of the Children Act 1989—ChA 1989, s 20—every local authority is under a duty to accommodate children assessed as children in need living in its area who appear to need accommodation due to specified circumstances set out in legislation. A range of considerations will guide an authority when determining whether it is required to provide accommodation, or whether it may instead exercise a discretion to provide it. In such determinations under the legislation, A local authority...
Local Government
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