The 26-week time limit for concluding care cases, introduced in April, ‘is not, and must never be allowed to become, a straitjacket’, the president of the Family Division confirmed in a judgment last week.

In M-F (Children) [2014] EWCA Civ 991 Sir James Munby said ‘rigorous adherence to an inflexible timetable risks putting justice in jeopardy’.