Nottingham Baby Judge Calls For Child Care Review

A High Court judge who condemned Nottingham City Council for unlawfully taking a teenage mother’s newborn baby from her has called for an urgent review of training and management of social workers and hospital staff.

The 18-year-old, named only as G, had her son K taken from her within hours of his birth at a Nottingham hospital at the end of January.

He was then returned to her by the High Court, but taken back into care with the authority of a court order.

Care workers felt G was unable to look after the baby as she had a troubled childhood herself and suffered mental health problems. At the first hearing of five in the case on January 30, the judge ruled the child was taken from his mother illegally and should be returned.

The final hearing was held at the High Court in Liverpool on February 18 and Mr Justice Munby handed down his judgement yesterday.

He noted a “depressing catalogue of failings”, and said the “melancholy facts” suggested that training issues needed addressing by the city council and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust “and, for all I know, by other local authorities and trusts”.

A claim by G for compensation for the initial unlawful removal of her child and an assessment of her ability as a parent are still pending.

The council has said it is to review its procedures to make sure legal requirements are met in future.

A council spokesman said: “Our social workers acted in good faith to protect the child at its birth and to support the mother. We accept that the judgment was that proper legal processes had not been followed.

“However, a subsequent court hearing agreed that it was right to place the child in care and for the mother to have regular supervised contact. This Interim Care Order remains in effect.”