Court sets out threshold test for permanence order

There has been a flurry of adoption and permanence cases. In Dundee City Council, Appellants [2016] SAC (Civ) 1; 2016 FamLR 128, the Sheriff Appeal Court refused to interfere with the careful and balanced approach of the sheriff to post-adoption contact where the level of contact did not accord with that recommended by the social work department.

In a different context, in P v D 2016 GWD 27-490 the sheriff set out the test to be applied in determining whether to make an order for post-adoption contact.

Most significant is KR v Stirling Council [2016] CSIH 36, which sets out the threshold test which requires to be satisfied before a permanence order can be made. The sheriff had failed to address that the child’s residence with the mother was, or was likely to be, seriously detrimental to his welfare, but this was in part due to glaring deficiencies in the drafting of the legislation. The appeal against the granting of the order failed as the test had been satisfied by the sheriff’s findings in fact, despite the error in the methodology adopted by the sheriff in reaching that conclusion.