Family

Children - adoption - parental consent to freeing order unreasonably withheldRe F (Children) (Adoption: Freeing Order): CA (Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, P.

and Thorpe LJ): 21 June 2000

The local authority had applied for a freeing order in respect of A, aged two, during care proceedings where, as a result of the mother's inability to care for the four children and serious allegations of sexual abuse against the father in respect of an older step-daughter, there was no question of any of them being returned to the parents.

The care plan was for the three older children to remain in long-term care, preferably together, and that A., who had already spent 14 months in foster care, should be placed for adoption; any contact between siblings was to be at the local authority's discretion.

The judge had declined to make the freeing order, holding that, as a reasonable parent could conclude that the advantages of adoption might be outweighed by loss of meaningful contact with siblings, the father's opposition to A.'s adoption was reasonable.

The guardian ad litem appealed.

Non-identification of the parties, including the names of instructing solicitors, was ordered.

Eleanor Hamilton QC for the guardian ad litem; James Hargan for the local authority; Carol McMillan for the father.

Held, allowing the appeal, that in determining reasonableness the simple question for the judge was whether, having regard to the evidence and applying the current values of society, the advantages of adoption for the welfare of the child appeared could justify overriding the views and interest of the objecting parent, as the useful exposition in the joint judgments of Steyn and Hoffman LJJ had made clear in Re C (A Minor) (Adoption: Parental Agreement: Contact) [1993] 2 FLR 260.