A JUDGE who accused North East Lincolnshire Council social workers of being biased in their bid to prevent a three-year-old boy being cared for by his grandparents has spoken of the difficulties faced by the courts in such cases.
Grimsby Judge Simon Jack said the social workers had been "visibly biased" towards placing the child for adoption instead of in the care of one set of grandparents, with support and regular access from the other.
After hearing evidence at Hull Crown Court, he ruled the child – known only as J – should be allowed to live with Mr and Mrs G, dismissing concerns they would struggle to cope as they already looked after older children who were said to have "difficulties" in the past.
He also granted his other grandparents – known as Mr and Mrs C – unsupervised access to J, although he acknowledged there had been issues with domestic violence and drinking between the pair.
Sitting at Hull Crown Court, he said: "The courts are not in the business of providing children with perfect homes.
"If we took into care and placed for adoption every child whose parents had had a domestic spat and every child whose parents, on occasion, had drunk too much, then the care system would be overwhelmed and there would not be enough adoptive parents. So, we have to have a degree of realism about prospective carers who come before the courts."
He said: "So far as Mr and Mrs C are concerned, there is no evidence that I am aware of, that any domestic violence between them, or any drinking, has had an adverse affect on any children who were in their care at the time when it took place."
He also said he believed "the positives for J in remaining within his own family far outweighed the negatives".
The court heard the boy's mother – who had issues with substance abuse – had sadly died. It was also accepted he could not live with his father.
Criticising the social workers Neil Swaby and Rachel Olley for their handling of the case, he said: "I have never, in over ten years of hearing care cases, taken the view, as I did in this case, that the local authority's witnesses were visibly biased in their attempts to support the local authority's case.
"It is very unfortunate and I hope I shall never see that again."
Unison has since said it was "unacceptable" social workers should "carry the can" and that Ms Olley had been made a scapegoat in the case.
A spokesman said: "This blaming culture in local authorities is likely to have an impact on an already depleted workforce. [This] type of case will only drive more social workers away from the profession."
Nigel Priestly, senior partner of Ridley & Hall, who represented Mr and Mrs G – who had long since been appointed as carers of J's older brother, known as R – said the couple were delighted at the outcome.
He said they had also long been used as "a safe pair of hands" for J by social workers when he was in the care of his late-mother and it was acknowledged that R had come on "leaps and bounds" whilst in their care.
He also agreed with Unison that the social workers were being made scapegoats.
He said: "NELC is hanging out these social workers to dry. Management knew and had agreed the action plan."
A spokesman for the council said that the authority had carefully considered the judge's comments, and that there had been a "rigorous process" to prepare the social workers to give evidence.
He said: "North East Lincolnshire Council is committed to ensuring the best outcomes for children and young people and, where possible, allow them to stay within their extended family.
"We have a growing number of young people supported in this way and we continually review and update our policies and practices to assist with that aim.
"This case illustrates the complexities and difficult decisions that have to be made while striving to act in the best interests of children."
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