Inherent Jurisdiction Orders
38.Section 22 (4) of the Children Act 1989 places a duty on a local authority before making any decision with respect to a child whom they are looking after or proposing to look after, to - so far as is reasonably practicable - ascertain the wishes and feelings of the child and his parents. Additionally but not exhaustively, a local authority is under a qualified duty to provide information to a parent about where a child is being accommodated (paragraph 15(2) of Sch 2 to the Children Act 1989) and an Independent Reviewing Officer is also expected to ensure that - so far as practicable - parents are consulted for the purpose of child in care reviews (regulation 36 of Sch 2 to the Children Act 1989). Finally, there are expectations that parents will be consulted about personal education plans for a child in care (paragraph 18 of the statutory guidance entitled “Promoting the education of looked after children and previously looked after children: Statutory guidance for local authorities”, February 2018). A local authority may decide the extent to which it will restrict the exercise of a parent’s ability to exercise their parental responsibility if it is satisfied that it is necessary to do so in order to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare (see sections 33(3) and 33(4) of the Children Act 1989). However this does not absolve the local authority of the separate and arguably antecedent duty to consult a parent. Consultation requires the provision of information to enable the consultee to engage meaningfully with the process.39.Case law has recognised that, in an appropriate case, a local authority may be authorised not to consult and share information with a parent about the child’s progress, welfare or upbringing (see, recently in that regard, my own decision in