West Sussex County Council v Alma

For an adoption placement order where a parent has not been identified, the court must be satisfied that the parent cannot be found. This requires all reasonable steps to have been taken, assessed within a reasonable timescale having regard to the child’s needs. A single omitted reasonable step may prevent the statutory condition from being met. The inquiry is practical and fact-sensitive. Authorities should pursue realistic avenues of identification and may take creative measures where appropriate.

West Sussex County Council applied for care and placement orders concerning a young child whose identity, age, nationality and parentage were uncertain and who was considered likely to have been trafficked. Extensive enquiries by the local authority and police, including a public appeal, failed to identify either parent. The court had waived the birth-certificate requirement under Family Procedure Rules 2010 r 5.1(4). The central issue was whether the condition in Adoption and Children Act 2002 s 52(1)(a), that the parents could not be found, was satisfied.

1. The court was satisfied that the parents could not be found for the purposes of Adoption and Children Act 2002 s 52(1)(a). The proper construction, derived from Re F (R) (an infant) [1970] 1 QB 385 and approved in Re S (Adoption) [1999] 2 FLR 374, requires all reasonable steps to have been taken.
2. The requirement must be assessed within a reasonable timescale. In child proceedings, the relevant timescale is evaluated by reference to the child’s needs. The authority had taken extensive measures, including enquiries of public authorities, hospitals, social services and the police, together with a public campaign.
3. The search was exhaustive and there was no reasonable prospect of identifying the parents. No alternative placement other than adoption would meet the child’s needs.
4. A care order was made, the care plan was endorsed and a placement order was granted. The court also emphasised strict procedural compliance with the 21-day appeal period, following the guidance drawn to its attention in Re H [2015] EWCA Civ 583.