It must be so daunting as a parent to receive a letter from social services that states ‘PRE-PROCEEDINGS – PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THIS LETTER, TAKE IT TO A SOLICITOR NOW’, and the care team at Amphlett Lissimore knows and understands how you feel. Sophie Fox-Otabor, a Trainee Solicitor in our care team, explains what the letter is and what will happen if you receive one.
Pre-Proceedings, also known as Public Law Outline (PLO)
Pre-proceedings (PLO) is the step before care proceedings, where the local authority has become so concerned about the welfare of your child/children that they wish to enter this process before they go to court proceedings.
The purpose of PLO is to work closely together with the parents and the family to identify what support is needed, what assessments will be done, and how they can work with you to avoid going to court.
It may feel that social services do not want to work with you and just take your children, but this is not true, and that is why they advise parents to get a solicitor, so we can help you navigate this difficult process.
As you read the letter, you may be concerned about the background information they have regarding your family and feel that some of the information is false, which is why you will be invited to a meeting with your solicitor and be given the opportunity to put your side across.
How much will having a solicitor at the meeting cost?
If you receive a pre-proceedings letter, a solicitor can advise and represent you, and, as legal aid is available in all pre-proceedings cases, you do not need to worry about the cost of your lawyer.
What to expect at the first PLO meeting
The PLO meeting will take place either online or in person at the social services office. There will be several people present, such as the team manager, the social worker, the local authority’s solicitor, you, and your solicitor.
It will be your opportunity to respond to the concerns in the letter, to put your side across, and a way for you to tell social services what help you may need from them.
The assessments the local authority wishes you to complete will be discussed, alongside the timescales of those assessments.
The meeting usually ends with a review meeting date scheduled for six weeks.
You may be asked to sign a working together agreement with the local authority, but this is determined on a case-by-case basis.
Likely Assessments which will take place during PLO
- Parenting Assessment – This is the key assessment that will almost always be requested. This assessment is a piece of work that will assess your parenting capacity, identify strengths and any concerns in your parenting, and determine the support you may need. Even if you are not putting yourself forward to be a full-time carer for the child/children, you will still need a parenting assessment, as this will help determine contact arrangements and other things, such as support you may need.
- Global Psychological Assessment – This assessment often comes up, but may not be needed for your family. This assessment aims to provide an understanding of a person’s mental health, their daily functioning, and their well-being. The assessment will look at family dynamics, individual needs, and the impact of these issues on the child/children.
- Psychiatric Assessment – This assessment may be needed if you have any mental health conditions, or it is felt by the professionals that you may have but have not been diagnosed. The assessment will explore your mental health, find out what conditions you may have, if any, and what support and medications you may need.
- Drug and alcohol testing – If part of the concerns relates to substance or alcohol misuse, the local authority will want you to undergo testing. This testing will show your usage over a period of time. If you have since stopped using substances or are trying to cut down, this testing will be able to show from what point you stopped or began reducing your usage.
How long do pre-proceedings last?
There is no set time frame for PLO proceedings; the outcome will become clearer once the assessments have taken place. The assessments are likely to take about 12 weeks to complete, and there will be several review meetings during this time to see how things are progressing.
What happens after pre-proceedings?
After the assessments have been completed, there will be a further meeting to discuss the next steps. If the assessments have a positive outcome, the local authority will step down from proceedings. There may be recommendations from the assessments that the local authority may wish you to engage in. Once they step down, your child(ren) may remain on ‘Child In Need’ plans or Child Protection plans, but you will not need solicitors anymore.
If the assessments are negative or have not been engaged with, the local authority will consider other options available to them. This will likely be to initiate care proceedings, as their concerns about the children have not gone away.
It is worth remembering that just because you are in the PLO process, it does not mean you will end up in care proceedings. It is important that you work with the local authority and engage with the assessments to avoid this happening. Although you do not legally need to undertake the assessments, we would often advise you to do so. We will talk you through each proposed assessment, and we can negotiate with the local authority about the format or necessity of the assessment.
About our Care Team
At Amphlett Lissimore, we offer a sympathetic and practical approach to matters involving social services. Our specialist team of children law solicitors will guide you through the process and explain everything that’s going on so that you understand what’s going on.
For a no-obligation chat, call 020 8771 5254 to speak to one of the team today.
Further Reading
Guardianship – your questions answered
