The law
20I may only make the order sought by the local authority if I am satisfied that the threshold criteria in s.31 of the Children Act are met; that is, that at the relevant date P was suffering or likely to suffer significant harm attributable to the care being given to her by her parents not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give. If the threshold criteria are met, P’s welfare is my paramount consideration and I must evaluate it with regards to all the factors that are relevant to her best interests. I shall use the welfare checklist in s.1 of the Children Act as a guide.21The order sought by the local authority represents an interference with P’s and her parents’ rights to respect for their private and family life. I may only make such an order if I am satisfied it is necessary and proportionate to the identified risks.22The task for the court is to identify the realistic options for P’s future care and then to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option side by side. I am required to conduct a full and holistic welfare analysis which weighs up the pros and cons of each option. I must not work through the options in order excluding one after another until only one remains.23Finally, I must have regard to the authorities concerning parents with a learning disability or other cognitive difficulties, including, in particular, the President’s guidance of April 2018 and the authorities highlighted in that guidance, Re D (A Child) (No.3) [2016] EWFC 1, A Local Authority v G (Parent with Learning Difficulty) [2017] EWFC B94, and the 2021 Good Practice Guidance. What those sources all emphasise is that there is an obligation on the State to provide support to such parents to care for their children to the best of their ability. It may well be, and often is, the case that a parent whose cognitive functioning is limited may need local authority support in the long-term and the usual assumptions, for example that support will be gradually tapered down until the family is operating independently, may not apply.