Findings of Fact
65.It is for party who seeks to advance a fact to prove that fact on the balance of probabilities. I am not going to give myself a Lucas-type direction in this matter, nobody is suggesting anyone has been dishonest as to any matters. 66.The following factual findings are easily made based on the evidence and were not disputed. a)T is profoundly disabled,b)his condition will deteriorate, c)he has a 60 per cent change of reaching 20 years of age and so conversely there is a significant chance he will not live to adulthood,d)any caregiver would need to provide a standard of care which requires skill, and physical and emotional commitment, and this will be physically and emotionally draining over time, e)there is no clarity as to how these needs and thus demands on the carers will change over time. f)There will always be substantial social worker involvement in his life.g)T will have no understanding as to the legal position and issues of stigma therefore do not apply. h)It appears that the social work team have found an excellent option. It would be better for T to be cared for in a family setting as opposed to an institutionalised setting. i)T has strong bonds with his mother and bonds with other family members.j)Contact with family members is beneficial to T.k)Mother has fully committed to contact, father a little less so.l)Contact with V is beneficial to both T and V. 67.The following findings are more disputed: a)On balance, I find that T has a deeper bond with his family than he has with caregivers. I accept the allocated social worker’s view that he can form bonds with caregivers and familiarity is an essential element of this, but I find that his bond with his family has a different quality to it. I make this finding on the basis descriptions of his interaction with his family and this is supported by the letter from the Hospice and inquiries made by the Children’s Guardian of those involved in his care. I note the Reed and Harrison research from 2002, which I have already referred to and which counsels against making assumptions about the value of contact in disabled children, and emphasis the engagement of senses such as sight, smell and hearing. This indicates that we need to be more alive to the possibility that T bonds in ways different to other children. I have also considered the photographs contained in the witness statement of mother, and these appear from [C62] onwards and show, for example, V embracing a sleeping T, T draped across his mother's lap and V beaming whilst cuddling T. This is the sort of intense sensory interaction that cannot be replicated by adult carers;b)I find further that any placement for T has significant risks of breakdown. The demands on carers will be extreme. I find that an adoptive placement has the advantage of the high level of commitment shown by the adopter. Conversely, I find that the caring demands will be so extreme that the availability of financial backing, respite care and expert advice as a right available at all times weigh in favour the sustainability of the placement during difficult times. Therefore, on balance, I see that as neutral; it is the same carers caring for a child they say they already love, and this commitment will remain roughly equal whatever legal label is put on the placement. As such I find the chances of the placement breaking down are roughly equal whether it is an adoptive or foster placement in these particular circumstances;c)I find the prospects of contact continuing under adoption are uncertain. I have a mechanism to order it, but enforcement would be in the hands of unsophisticated parents and grandparents who would be busy caring for V. All I can say is contact would not be guaranteed in this scenario. I find the evidence of the carers preferring adoption as it removes the requirement to deal with the difficulties of contact with birth parents worrying;d)I find that adoption would lead to a position where neither the local authority or the birth parents would have any rights in the event that T were to become unwell and decisions needed to be made as to treatment. This is a simple statement of the legal position. As such, there is no guarantee that an adoptive parent will involve the birth parents in key decisions;e)I find the prospect of finding other adopted parents in six months fanciful, given the requirements for an open adoption and T's needs. This is supported by the difficulties in finding a foster placement for T in the period since December 2020.