Custody of Child in UK Law

My Lords, to summarise, the advantage to a very young child of being with its mother is a consideration which must be taken into account in deciding where lie its best interests in custody proceedings in which the mother is involved. It is neither a presumption nor a principle but rather recognition of a widely held belief based on practical experience and the workings of nature.

I must say that one feels a great deal of sympathy for the father who, as far as one can see, has done nothing wrong whatsoever except perhaps in his character: being a little too severe, being a little too forthcoming, and being not quite open and helpful enough with Mrs. Willoughby. Sad and disappointed as he must be at losing the case, I am afraid that, on balance, we must go by the judge's decision, and not overrule it unless we see good reason to do so.

Section E asks for the extent of the services to be provided. This requires the level of services to be specified under the three headings: licensed work, special case work services and controlled work services. These are defined in the Procedure Regulations as I have already indicated. Reasons must be given why the services requested are the minimum required to meet the obligations under ECHR or EU law.