Ms Smith v UK Supreme Court provides the answer.
The recent decision of the UK Supreme Court in the case of West Lothian Council removing a newborn child sheds important light on the role of the courts and social workers in dealing with children and families. judgement It is well worth reading the full article, but I would like to briefly touch on the important issue of the role of social workers.
Judge Hale emphasised that the decision to make an order violating an individual's rights must be made by an independent and impartial tribunal. To help the judge understand that their role is not merely supervisory, Judge Hale drew an analogy with criminal proceedings.
Social workers are detectives. They gather a wealth of information about children and their families. They assess risk factors. They develop plans. They take the evidence they have gathered to the court and seek orders. …The court rigorously scrutinizes the local authority's evidence, finds out what the facts are, makes predictions based on the facts, and weighs various considerations in deciding what is best for the child. We should not expect every case that a local authority brings to court to result in an order, just as we should not expect every prosecution that the CPS brings to result in a conviction. Although the standard of proof may be different, the roles of social workers and prosecutors are similar. They bring cases to court where they have a sufficient case to answer. It is the court that decides whether a case is made out or not.
Social workers are like detectives and are there to build a case to present to the court.
Next question: Should I talk to them?
I will continue with the analogy used by Ms. Hale and let Regent Law Professor James Duane provide the answer (a great, interesting, fun, and memorable answer): I highly recommend you take a look at this, especially if you are a law-abiding person and have never broken the law before.
Got it? Don't talk to the police, don't talk to social workers. Check out Ian Joseph's website for more examples of why this is so important. Forced Recruitment.com.
