What is a Public Law Outline (PLO) Meeting?

If you receive a ‘letter before proceedings’ or otherwise known as a ‘PLO’ letter, then Social Services are concerned about the care that your child/children are receiving and are inviting you to attend a meeting. You may have also been informed by your Social Worker of the PLO meeting.

Prior to receiving an invite to a PLO meeting, you may have had social services investigations followed by a Child Protection Conference. If the Local Authority determine no progress has been made or circumstances deteriorate further following the Child Protection Conference and determine that a child is at significant risk of harm, they may escalate the matter and invite you to a PLO meeting.

The PLO meeting is very serious and is sometimes considered as the final opportunity to prove to the Local Authority that you can engage and co-operate to ensure that the children in the family are being cared for appropriately prior to issuing Court Proceedings. The Local Authority has a duty, should they have sufficient concerns about any child and the care that child is receiving, to investigate and protect that child.

What should I do if I am invited to a PLO Meeting?

You should contact a Solicitor immediately. The PLO meeting usually takes place within 7 working days of receipt of the letter by parents. You are entitled to take a Solicitor to the meeting with you and if you are a parent of the child, or you have parental responsibility for the child, you will be eligible, no matter what your finances, throughout the process to Legal Aid (public funding).

What is the purpose of a PLO Meeting?

The purpose of the PLO is an attempt to avoid Court proceedings. The PLO letter will list the concerns held by the Local Authority.

The safeguarding concerns are highlighted in the meeting, what support is being offered and what the parents are required to do to reduce the concerns. These actions will form the priority actions of the Child Protection Plan and the parents will be requested to enter a ‘contract of expectations.’ This is a written agreement, although not binding, but it is a way of showing the Local Authority that you are engaging and co-operating to diminish or reduce matters from escalating to Court intervention.

Following the meeting, there will be a period of change to allow parents to make the necessary agreed changes to reduce the concerns. Support is provided by the Local Authority and progress is monitored by the Local Authority via Child Protection Core Group meetings and conferences.

There will be a pre-proceedings review meeting within 6 to 8 weeks of the pre-proceedings meeting. The purpose is to review the progress made and/or any concerns.

Who will be at the PLO Meeting?

The meeting involves parents, their legal representatives, the Local Authority and their legal representatives.

How long will the PLO process last?

The rule of thumb is that PLOs should not proceed longer than 16 weeks. The length is dependent upon the parent’s engagement and progress with the Local Authority and professionals.

What are the possible outcomes?

Progression to reduce concerns has been met

If the parents reduce the concerns, it may be decided that the Local Authority is no longer considering care proceedings and the pre-proceedings will end. The work to progress the Child Protection Plan will continue unless so much progress has been made that the plan is no longer required to safeguard the child/children and a Child in Need Plan is more suitable, or that the social services work involvement is no longer needed.

Further period of change is required

If it is felt that further progress could be made through pre-proceedings work, then it could be recommended that a second pre-proceedings review be held to allow a further period of change. This review should be held within 6 to 8 weeks of the first review.

Insufficient progress resulting in Issuing of Care Proceedings

If sufficient change has not been seen and there is no or little reduction in the concerns that the Local Authority have, then the next step for the Local Authority is often to make an application to the Family Courts to initiate Care Proceedings. The Court will then make Orders to protect the child/children which may result in removal of your child.

Contact Us

If you are invited to a Public Law Outline Meeting then please feel free to contact our Child Care Department to discuss matters with a member of our Team on 01495 768938.