FUNDING: government proposes £4,000 court fee before councils can issue proceedings


New proposals to force local authorities to bear the cost of children's care cases could see vulnerable children put at serious risk, family lawyers warned this week.



Solicitors told the Gazette they were alarmed that the government is trying to rush through new rules obliging councils to pay a £4,000 court fee before they can issue proceedings to take a child into care. The current fee is £175.



The proposals are part of the government's strategy to make the courts system completely self-funding, through fees. Local authorities have been told they have already been provided with the necessary budget to pay the £4,000 fee.



Graham Cole, local government representative on the Law Society's family law committee, said: 'Government says that provision has been made by local authorities, but all the finance managers I have spoken to have not been able to find this provision. This will have a very significant deterrent effect on local authorities bringing care proceedings and will leave vulnerable children at risk.'



He added: 'The consultation runs until 11 March but the proposals are due to come in on 1 April. This looks like a done deal that is being rushed through.'



Christina Blacklaws, former chairwoman of the family law committee, said the proposals were 'billy bonkers'. She added: 'If you are a strapped local authority, and are being expected to pay out £4,000 from money that you have already got, you will be loath to do it. This will have very adverse consequences.'



A spokesman for the Courts Service, which is responsible for the proposals, said the fees will reflect the court's actual costs, and the consultation will be 'full and fair'.



Rachel Rothwell