Penny Cooper considers the implications of the Public Law Outline
On 1 April 2008 the Public Law Outline (The PLO) Guide to Case Management in Public Law Proceedings replaced The Protocol for Judicial Case Management in Public Law Children Act Cases. On the same date the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) introduced revised statutory guidance for care and supervision order proceedings (“Court Orders” of the Children Act guidance under s 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970) and a new practice direction for the use and instruction of experts in family proceedings relating to children. These three documents are designed to complement each other and can be found at www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/careproceedings.htm.
What's Behind the PLO?
The PLO needs to be seen in the context of the last 17 years; in October 1991 the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) came into force, bringing a much greater emphasis on trying to keep families together, proactive case management by the courts and avoiding delay in care proceedings. It was envisaged that under ChA 1989, with strict case timetabling, many cases could be concluded
