If Social Services believe that your child may be at risk of significant harm and are considering issuing Court proceedings, they may start a process called Pre-Proceedings also known as the Public Law Outline (PLO) process. The aim of this process is to work with you to make positive changes so that your child can stay safely at home and court action can be avoided.

In this situation Social Services will send you a letter (called a PLO letter or letter before proceedings) which will set out the concerns they have and the changes they would like you to make. Sometimes the letter will ask you to agree to participate in assessments which look at your ability to safely care for your child. Social Services will invite you to a pre proceedings meeting so they can be open with you about their concerns and discuss with you what changes are required to keep your child safe.

A pre-proceedings meeting is a formal meeting which will include you, the Social Worker, their team manager and their legal representative. You are entitled to be represented at this meeting. At the meeting Social Services will outline their concerns, set out what changes they expect you to make, discuss what support they can offer your family and explain what could happen if things don’t improve. You will have the opportunity to respond, ask questions and confirm your position. A plan will be put in place to address the concerns held.

Regular review meetings are usually scheduled to see how matters are progressing and to determine whether the case needs to remain in the pre-proceedings process or whether it can be deescalated. If Social Services do not consider that their concerns are being adequately addressed they may decide to issue court proceedings.

If you receive a letter inviting you to a pre-proceedings meeting please get in touch with us urgently. Do not ignore this letter. It is serious but it also means there is time to make changes and avoid court proceedings. You are entitled to free Legal Aid, regardless of your income and capital.

We will provide you with clear and compassionate advice as to pre proceedings process and the expectations of social services, attend the meeting with you and advocate on your behalf both inside and outside of the meeting.

Contact the team at Straw & Pearce to find out more about how we can support you today.