Latest News: TV Edwards
Law firm TV Edwards have successfully secured an admission that a child with complex disabilities, including a learning disability, had her human rights breached
Earlier this month (11th November), law firm TV Edwards secured an admission that their client, Ella Chapple, had her human rights breached when her local authority unlawfully issued care proceedings.
Ella is a child who has complex learning disabilities and needs (including deafblindness, learning disabilities, and WAGR syndrome). Although relevant professionals had agreed that there was no need to even place Ella on a child protection plan, care proceedings were issued by her local authority, Northumberland County Council (“NCC”) which caused her “significant distress”. This unlawful action included the requirement for her mother and siblings to leave the family home whilst the care proceedings were ongoing. Alongside this, NCC also implemented significant changes to Ella’s education and care package, despite its in-house care service having no experience or expertise in deafblindness and with no appropriate expert input sought. These changes had a detrimental impact on Ella.
Represented by the solicitors Shaun Livingston of TV Edwards and Steve Broach KC and Victoria Butler-Cole KC of 39 Essex Chambers, the court found that Ella’s right to private and family life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights) had been breached by NCC. A damages settlement of £50,000 has been agreed.
For further information read the statement from TV Edwards here.
Viv Cooper, Chief Executive of the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, says:
“The vast majority of disabled children are brought up in loving families, who provide love, care, support and advocacy which is often lifelong. The system that should have provided this family with support has instead caused them significant trauma and unnecessary suffering. Holding people to account causes additional stress and trauma, but is so important to expose and highlight the issues.
Whilst we welcome the acknowledgment that Ella Chapple’s human rights were breached when Northumberland Country Council bought unnecessary and disproportionate care proceedings against her family, ordering her mother and siblings to leave the family home, neither this nor the damages settlement can undo the traumatic experiences that she and her family went through as a result of the care proceedings and changes to Ella’s education and care package.
Sadly, this family’s experiences are not uncommon. A majorresearch studyled by Professor Luke Clements identified that too often local authorities assume parental failings when assessing disabled children leading to disproportionate interferences in family life. The outcome is that the system that is supposed to support disabled children and their families too often causes exhaustion, stress and trauma.
Through our family support service we know that the system of support for disabled children and their families is in urgent need of reform. We welcome the recent publication of the Law Commission consultation on disabled children’s social care, and will continue to work with families, other stakeholders and the government to ensure the voices of children with severe learning disabilities and their families are heard as reforms are implemented in future years.”
For more information on the CBF’s work on trauma click here.