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The main innovations under the Public Law Outline are:

1. 'Front loading' of Care Proceedings, with assessments of the family and alternative carers undertaken in advance of the proceedings, and filed in advance (as described in the Legal Planning Meeting Procedure  and Pre Proceedings Meetings Procedure) unless immediate proceedings are required to protect the child;
2. Communication with the Family:  Family Group Conferences, Pre-Proceedings Letters and Meetings in cases where immediate proceedings are not required, and filing of Schedule of Filings of Fact requested at the start;
3. A reduction in the standard number of hearings from 6 / 7 (as before under the Judicial Protocol), to 4 under the Public Law Outline (but with a facility for additional hearings);
4. An emphasis on meetings rather than hearings, e.g. before proceedings start, there will be a Legal Planning Meeting, then a Pre-Proceedings Meeting with the parents, and advocates' meetings prior to the Case Management Conference and Issues Resolution Hearings separately from those hearings (probably a week before);
5. The requirement for the Children's Guardian to state his / her position at the first hearing, and to file an analysis of the case, and statement of his / her position, at each subsequent hearing;
6. The exclusion of the Children's Guardian and social workers from the advocates' meetings;
7. The replacement of the 40 weeks' target for proceedings under the Judicial Protocol by the Timetable for the Child.

While the Public Law Outline proposes that final hearings will not be listed until the Issues Resolution Hearing, locally the Court will continue to list at the Case Management Hearing, in order to avoid potential delay.

There is a requirement for Children's Services to perform and commission more assessments before proceedings.

The Court has indicated that Core Assessments can be in the filed in the format used internally.

The Walsall Safeguarding Children Board has been informed of the requirement for relevant documentation to be filed in advance, i.e. without a court order.

While social workers will not be attending the advocates' meetings, there will probably be a need for more briefing meetings with the legal representative before the advocates' meetings and for discussions concerning the draft orders to be filed.

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