Children's hearings, relevant persons and the welfare of the child

Norrie, Kenneth (2014) Children's hearings, relevant persons and the welfare of the child. Greens Family Law Bulletin (128). pp. 4-7. ISSN 0967-2524

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Abstract

Discusses the test applied by pre-hearing panels to decide who are relevant persons under the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 s.81(3), with reference to two Sheriff Court cases, the first involving a grandmother's appeal against the determination of a panel that she was not a deemed relevant person and the second concerning an appeal by parents against the determination that the foster carers should be deemed relevant persons. Comments on the requirement under s.25 that consideration of children's welfare is the key principle but questions the extent to which welfare should be focused on by the pre-hearing panel when determining whether a person satisfies the test in s.81(3).