PLO Meeting & Pre-Proceedings Meeting
Are you a parent and have you received a letter from social services asking you to attend a pre-proceedings meeting or a PLO meeting? If so, our specialist family law team at Sugare & Co Solicitors will be able to help you.
If social services are concerned about the welfare of a child, they may wish to consider taking the case to Court so they can make Court Orders to protect the child. However, the Public Law Outline (PLO) says that they should invite parents to a meeting to discuss their concerns. This is commonly known as a pre-proceedings meeting or a PLO meeting.
The meeting that is attended by the social worker, the social worker’s solicitor, the parents and the parents solicitor. The concept is that social services set out their concerns and the parents, through their solicitor, have an opportunity to respond to the concerns. It is then hoped that an agreement can be reached to stop the case going to Court.
If you receive a letter inviting you to a PLO Meeting, it is vital that you seek urgent legal representation to try to prevent the case going to Court. It is easy to take the view that social services will be defeated in Court, but it is often not worth taking the risk when it comes to a child. Legal aid is available irrespective of how much money a parent earns.