Bristol City Council v NS (Mother) & Anor
2014
FAMILY DIVISION
United Kingdom
CORAM
- MR. JUSTICE BAKER
Areas of Law
- Family Law
2014
FAMILY DIVISION
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This judgment involves an application for a care order and a placement order for a baby girl, N, who was born in August 2013. Her mother, originally from Slovakia, led a chaotic lifestyle and exhibited no preparation for the baby. Shortly after birth, N was taken into care, and her mother had minimal contact since then. The court analyzed jurisdiction, the mother's capacity to care, and potential family caregivers in Slovakia. Finding all alternatives unsuitable and concluding the mother's inability to provide proper care, the court ruled that adoption was in N's best interest for her security and welfare, resulting in the issuance of a care and placement order.
J U D G M E N T
MR. JUSTICE BAKER:
This is an application for a care order under the Children Act 1989 and a placement order under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 in respect of a little girl called N, born 26 th August 2013 and, therefore, now aged 11 months.
The history of the case can be summarised shortly. N’s mother was born in Slovakia in 1994 so is just 20 years old. She was placed in care in her home country from about the age of 12 and thereafter lived in a children’s home. She has three siblings, two of whom are adults and a third who is a child in care in Slovakia. The family from which the mother comes has plainly suffered a variety of problems. According to information provided by the Slovakian authorities, the grandmother had a drink problem. The children were thereafter looked after by the grandfather, that is to say the mother’s father. The mother and her siblings were neglected in his care, hence their placement in alternative care.
It seems the mother came to this country in 2012 having previously worked for a time as a prostitute in Slovakia. She arrived in this country with no passport or any identification papers, or at least that was the position when she came to the attention of the police associating with a man from Slovakia who had criminal convictions. There is a strong suspicion that she has been trafficked into this country for the purposes of working as a prostitute, although there is no clarity exactly about what her circumstances have been. Certainly, she resumed working as a prostitute in this country advertising her services over the internet.
At the end of 2012 she became pregnant. The identity of the father of her child is unknown, so it is unclear whether he is a national of this country or from Slovakia or from a third country. The mother made little preparation for the birth of her baby. She did not register with any medical services. She first came to the attention of medical services when at 36 weeks’ pregnancy she attended hospital in Bristol. She said she wished to give up her baby. The hospital staff were concerned about her lifestyle, and possible drug use, as well as her apparent lack of any secure housing or any network of support. The hospital informed the local authority who carried out various assessments and concluded and recommended that the mother be placed in a mother and baby foster placement after the birth of the baby to assess her capacity to care for the child. The mother, however, refused th