Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Public Law Outline definition

What does Public Law Outline mean? In practice, the Public Law Outline (PLO) is the Family Court’s case‑management framework for public law children cases, especially applications for care orders and supervision orders. It sets the pre‑proceedings process with families (including the “letter before proceedings” and meetings), core evidence (such as the social work statement and threshold), and the sequence of hearings, all to a standard 26‑week timetable (extendable only for exceptional reasons under the Children and Families Act 2014). The PLO is not a statutory definition. In England and Wales it is contained in Practice Direction 12A to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and operates alongside Part...

Public law children proceedings in England and Wales: guide to the Public Law Outline, pre-proceedings, annex documents, allocation and gatekeeping, case management, IRHs, 26-week timetable and extensions

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Practice notes

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On 31 March 2026, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, published consolidated guidance on allocation and gatekeeping in children proceedings before the Family Court, taking effect from 5 May 2026. The guidance replaces the 2014 public and private law guidance and establishes a single framework governing allocation across all children matters. It formalises the role of gatekeeping teams, brings allocation decisions into line with contemporary procedural pathways (including Child Focused Courts), and reaffirms the core principles of judicial continuity, proportionality and efficient deployment of judicial resources; see News Analysis: Consolidated allocation and gatekeeping guidance for children proceedings issued. This Practice Note is currently being revised to reflect the President’s guidance. In addition, on 22 April 2014, the Public Law Outline for care, supervision and other proceedings under Part IV of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) took effect as Family Procedure Rules 2010, PD 12A (FPR 2010)...

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Web page updated on 26/05/2026

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