David Burrows counts the costs in care proceedings
It is rare for a costs appeal to be heard in the Supreme Court, a point made at the outset by the court in Re T (Children) [2012] UKSC 36. In that case, in its unanimous judgment the Supreme Court identified the point at issue before it as follows: “The issue of principle raised by this appeal is whether in care proceedings a local authority should be liable to pay an intervener’s reasonable costs in relation to allegations of fact, reasonably made by the authority against the intervener, which have been held by the court to be unfounded.”
Background
The background to Re T was that care proceedings had been taken in respect of two children whose parents had been separated. The children had made allegations which included their paternal grandparents, who were then made interveners in the care proceedings. They were not among the category of parties automatically entitled to legal aid; and their means disentitled them also. They therefore had
