Council loses legal challenge for child

A COUNCIL has lost a legal bid to gain parental rights over a child whose parents have learning difficulties.

The child’s parents appealed to the UK Supreme Court after Scotland’s highest court upheld a decision to grant West Lothian Council a permanence order for her. Born in 2013, the girl – referred to as just EV – has been in care since her birth.

West Lothian Council applied for the permanence order following concern about her father, who in 2010 was charged with criminal sexual conduct with another learning disabled person of a similar age, although the charges were dropped.

In March last year, the Lord Ordinary at the Court of Session granted the council a permanence order that extinguished the parental rights and responsibilities on the parents and vested them in the local authority.

The order also specified there should be no contact between EV and the parents and included an order granting authority to adopt.

The parents appealed against the decision but the Inner House of the Court of Session upheld the permanence order, though it quashed the authority to adopt and removed the prohibition on contact.

The mother and father then further appealed to the Supreme Court, which yesterday issued its judgment.

The judges concluded: “The most sensible way forward is for this court to allow the appeals and refuse the petition, leaving it to the local authority to commence fresh proceedings.”