Local Authority v M

Where a residential assessment is necessary in care proceedings, the court may direct it under section 38(6) of the Children Act 1989. The court cannot require the Legal Services Commission to contribute to its cost under the amended Funding Code. If the parents cannot pay and the assessment is the only safe and realistic means of obtaining the necessary evidence, the local authority may be ordered to fund it despite serious budgetary pressures.

A 15-year-old mother applied for a residential assessment of herself, her partner and their infant child during care proceedings. All professionals supported the assessment, which would cost £25,000 for seven weeks. The parents had no means to pay, and the Legal Services Commission accepted that it could not be ordered to contribute under the amended Funding Code.

The issue was whether the court should direct the assessment under section 38(6) of the Children Act 1989 and require the local authority to meet its cost.

1. The court directed a seven-week residential assessment and ordered the local authority to pay £25,000.
2. Section 38(6) of the Children Act 1989 authorises directions concerning a child’s assessment but does not address funding.
3. The amended Funding Code prevented an order requiring the Legal Services Commission to contribute to a residential assessment. Since the parents had no means, the local authority was the only realistic funder.
4. The authority’s financial position required careful consideration, but it did not outweigh the need for an assessment which the authority itself regarded as necessary and which was the only safe and realistic way to obtain evidence about the adults’ parenting and the child’s future.
5. A further five weeks might later be required, potentially increasing the total cost to £50,000. The proposed Human Rights Act declaration was not pursued after the funding order removed the mother’s locus.