Judge attacks Orkney council over sick child 'disowned by state'

Published on Monday 7 December 2009 22:10

A SENIOR judge has launched a scathing attack on Orkney Islands Council after the foster parents of a seriously ill six-year-old boy were forced to seek legal help to finance his welfare.

The family judge described a decision by the Orkney Island Council (OIC) to halt payments to his carers as a "major triumph" for the council's budget managers, but a "catastrophe" for the carers.

Publishing his judgment on the case yesterday, Mr Justice Hedley said the boy, who has a severe congenital heart problem, had been effectively disowned by the state in its local authority form.

The child, 'I', whose identity is protected by law, is from Orkney, but now lives with his carers in Cambridgeshire. The case arose when he required major surgery within weeks of his birth in 2003. His biological parents were unable to care for him, so he was moved to the English county to be looked after by distant relatives, Mr and Mrs O, who have since effectively adopted him.

At first, OIC offered assistance, but has since indicated it will be withdrawn. It says Cambridgeshire County Council should pay.

In a statement lodged on its behalf, OIC stated: "It is the view of OIC that 'I' has been habitually resident in England since 2005. The responsibility and rights of his parents are likely to be governed by English law."

But Cambridgeshire says it cannot afford to give a penny in support, and insists it has no responsibility for the boy anyway.

Mr Justice Hedley was scathing of OIC's statement: "If this position is justifiable legally (as to which I am not convinced) it is of course a huge triumph for OIC's budget manager but a complete catastrophe for any foster parent unwise enough to rely on the word of this local authority."

He said that as the case unfolded, he was left with a sense of "disbelief" that two local authorities had sought to distance themselves from the youngster.

He added of the carers: "They could be forgiven for feeling abandoned to care for a child disowned by the state in its local authority form and they could be forgiven if the thought entered their minds as to why they had taken on this child in the first place."

The couple needed an official report to apply in the High Court for a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) and both Orkney and Cambridgeshire had refused to fund this – Mr Justice Hedley ordered the English authority to provide the report, though he noted it would not tackle the main concerns over financial support.

The judge said that he would be sending his judgment to both Westminster and Holyrood, and hoped that the public would feel a "touch of shame that things could work out as they appear to have done".

Orkney Islands Council said: "The Hon Justice Hedley ruled that the responsibility for carrying out the assessment rests with Cambridgeshire County Council.

"This was and remains the position taken by Orkney Islands Council from the outset."

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire County Council said: "

As the judge's ruling makes clear, there was a legal issue here which needed to be resolved and he has referred this issue to the English and Scottish governments."