The President has welcomed and endorsed the publication of the President’s Public Law Working Group (PLWG) report. Please follow the link below to the report and a message from the President.
NIROMP chair Sharon Martin said: “This report and its recommendations have involved collaborative work as part of our joint endeavours to improve care for children, young people and their families. We welcome the recommendations for a refocusing of the role of IROs to offer additional oversight outside of proceedings:
There is the potential to develop the role and practice of IROs and conference chairs to assist in informed, proactive and timely planning, and the promotion of good practice, in order to achieve more consistent and effective decision-making where the voice of the child and the needs of the family are recognised. Re-emphasising the importance and nature of their roles could be an effective tool in ensuring the
– Recommendations to achieve best practice in the child protection and family justice systems FINAL REPORT (MARCH 2021)
prevention of drift for children.
The additional pressures on the Child Protection and Family Justice systems arising from COVID have only gone to underline the need for the new ways of working that the PLWG’s recommendations describe.
The March 2021 report, and four supplemental reports, can read below:
- March 2021, report- pdf
- Application and case management BPG report- pdf
- Prior to court proceedings BPG report- pdf
- S 20 – s 76 BPG report- pdf
- Special guardianship BPG report- pdf
Further information
Check out the original announcement for the consultation to support the beginning of the report.
NIROMP will soon be announcing details of a Community of Practice event in support of next steps. Watch this space.
niromp.org 