A brilliant, emotionally wrenching novel from the Booker Prize winner and bestselling author of Atonement about a leading High Court judge who must resolve an urgent case—as well as her crumbling marriage. Fiona Maye is a leading High Court judge who presides over cases in the family division. She is renowned for her fierce intelligence, exactitude, and sensitivity. But her professional success belies private sorrow and domestic strife. There is the lingering regret of her childlessness, and now her marriage of thirty years is in crisis. At the same time, she is called on to try an urgent case: Adam, a beautiful seventeen-year-old boy, is refusing for religious reasons the medical treatment that could save his life, and his devout parents echo his wishes. Time is running out. Should the secular court overrule sincerely expressed faith? In the course of reaching a decision, Fiona visits Adam in the hospital—an encounter that stirs long-buried feelings in her and powerful new emotions in the boy. Her judgment has momentous consequences for them both. Don’t miss Ian McEwan’s new novel, Lessons.

The Children Act is a major piece of legislation that affects all professionals working with children. Since the third edition of this book was published in 1996, there have been some important developments. This Fourth Edition takes these developments into consideration. Topics discussed include case law in the superior courts; the establishment of CAFCASS; and the Fostering Services Regulations of 2002; and much more.

The Children Act 1989: Local Authority Support for Children and Families is dedicated to providing a detailed examination of the Children Act 1989, Part III. This new edition is fully updated and expanded to take account of new legislation and case law. It helps readers understand this rapidly-growing area, and includes chapters on Section 20 accommodation, age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seekers, duties owed to children in need, secure accommodation and local authority responsibilities under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. The new edition contains two new chapters, on support for families with no recourse to public funds and on judicial review. The book also covers all the recent key decisions of the Administrative Court in the interpretation of Part III.

The Children Act 1989 is one of the most important pieces of legislation relevant to children's services. In the 1990's the Department of Health initiated a programme of research on how it was being implemented. This publication summarises and brings together the findings from 24 of these studies.

Schedule 1 applications provide an important way of ensuring children's financial needs are met where their parents are not married. This fully updated book is a comprehensive guide to the practice, law and procedure in respect of Schedule 1 applications and includes relevant legislation, rules and case summaries plus sample forms and orders.Essential reading for all family lawyers dealing with this rapidly developing area of law.

How does the Children Act 1989 affect family support services? What are the implications for day care services for young children? What action should local authorities take? This guide provides a clear statement of the requirements placed on local authorities by the Children's Act 1989, highlighting the need for authorities to review their existing childcare policies. It outlines effective strategies and policies to help authorities give practitioners a framework within which to work, discussing the implications for policy, procedures and practice. The Act gives local authorities a new range of duties, including identification of children who are in need or danger, support of children's links with their families, provision of day care and the setting up of procedures to consider representations about the provision of services.