Case No. GL20P00553

a further consideration for the court is the prospect of success of the intended application. Permission should not be given for a case that is not arguable. Ms Henke argues persuasively that the grandmother’s case is arguable, or failing that the court cannot say that it is not without allowing for a fuller assessment. It is true that an assessment of the grandmother would allow for closer consideration of a number of matters, including her own health, her support network and her ability to weather and assist H to cope with the consequences of the acrimony caused as a result of H being placed with her against the wishes of her son and the mother. 45.The other parties submit that enough is known now for the court to say that the grandmother’s case has a very limited prospect of success. This is because the issue in the case is not so much about the grandmother’s ability to offer a reasonable standard of care, but the effect upon H not only of being moved from a placement of many months (and it would be many more if permission were granted), but also being exposed to the high level of acrimony amongst the family. Indeed H would be the very source of the problem and in the centre of it. 46.Looking at the evidence that I already have, I note that the position of the parents is very firm and I see no likely prospect of this changing if H is placed with the grandmother. I also note that the grandmother has limited support for her proposal from close members of H’s family. Her son (the father’s younger brother), who lives with her is obviously somewhat conflicted and says that he is neutral as to H’s future care. H’s paternal grandfather, who is divorced from the grandmother, does not support her proposal. As stated earlier, the wider maternal family do not support the grandmother’s application either. 47.If H did actually go and live with the grandmother I suspect that the position of some of the family members might become more accommodating, not least for H’s sake. I think, however, this is unlikely to extend to H’s own parents. This would mean that H’s parents are likely to be largely absent despite the placement with the grandmother. 48.In the circumstances, some of the important advantages to H that would normally come with being placed with a member of the family (that it would enable H to retain or develop relationships with the parents and significant others) would not be available. The Guardian has carried out a very careful analysis of these factors and I note that despite the lack of an assessment of the grandmother has come to the view that the emotional harm caused by a placement with the grandmother would be greater than any harm caused as a consequence of being adopted. In carrying out her analysis it is important to note that the Guardian has been careful to consider the risks and difficulties that arise within an adoptive placement. She has not idealised that option, and nor do I. 49.Taking a step back and looking at the factors in this case together, including Ms Henke’s powerful point that a refusal of any further assessment and the grandmother’s application together will lead to only one possible outcome, I have nonetheless come to the conclusion that this is what I should do. 50.Granting the grandmother’s application would risk disruption to such an extent that H would be harmed. Additionally, further assessment of the grandmother, no matter what the outcome, cannot take away the fundamental problem inherent in any decision to place H with her and the emotional harm that this is likely to cause, even with a high quality of care. If I either adjourn the application now for an assessment or grant her application it will lead to delay in a permanent outcome for H, with, in my judgment, very little likelihood of the grandmother’s application being successful, even though it would be an alternative to adoption. As Mr Storey stated in his submissions, the grandmother’s full application would not be determined for many months, and at that stage H will have been placed with the current carers for over a year. 51.The grandmother is entitled to have her case considered, just as H is entitled to have the court consider placement within the family of origin. As Black LJ stated, however, this does not by itself mean that there will have to be a full enquiry or assessment. It seems to me that there has been a consideration of the family views and the reasons behind the parents’ decision. The parents and grandmother have been spoken to by the Guardian and social workers (albeit the grandmother was seen by a different social worker), and the Guardian has carried out a careful analysis of H’s situation. I consider that I have sufficient information to determine the grandmother’s application and any assessment is not likely to achieve a different result. 52.I therefore grant the local authority application and dismiss that of the grandmother. I know that this decision will be very distressing and disappointing for her, and particularly painful in the context of the rift with her son. I hope that with the decision today, and without H’s continuing presence in the middle of it all, some steps can be taken towards reconciliation between them. 53.I wish to thank counsel for the great assistance they have given to me in this case. The quality of their written and oral submissions has been of the highest order.