What you should do if you have received a Public Law Outline letter from Social Services

I have been given a Public Law Outline letter by social services – what should I do?

The Public Law Outline (aka PLO) process is started by social services when they have concerns about the care of children. You will be a given a ‘PLO letter’ (also called a ‘Letter Before Proceedings’) which contains a list of social services concerns. The letter will also invite you to attend a meeting with a solicitor.

The PLO process lasts for approximately 12 weeks and it is the final opportunity for your family to show that you can safely care for the children. If at the end of the 12 weeks the concerns remain, then social services will apply to the Court for a Judge to decide where the children should live. 

Once you receive a PLO letter you must contact a solicitor who specialises in family or children law as soon as possible. Your solicitor will be able to represent you and provide you with legal advice for free. 

What does my Solicitor do?

Your solicitor will discuss the letter with you, attend all the PLO meetings with social services, and provide you with advice. They will also directly communicate with social service’s legal team and represent your position. 

The first PLO meeting can be a difficult experience for families, so it is important that you have a solicitor to support you. At this meeting, social services will explore what the family are doing well, why they are concerned, and what needs to happen for the concerns to improve. You will be given the opportunity to respond to their concerns and say whether you accept them or not and why.

Following this meeting, the social worker will do an assessment of your ability to care for the children. This will be completed just before the final PLO meeting.

This will state whether they think they need to apply to Court for Care Proceedings, or whether they can continue to be involved with your family on a Child Protection Plan only. 

A final PLO meeting will then be held to discuss the outcome of the assessment and what the next steps are. You will have the opportunity to comment on the outcome of the assessment at this meeting.

We can help

If you have been contacted by social services with a PLO letter, Jordans Solicitors can help. 

Please contact us on 01924457171 or at [email protected], or come into one of our offices where a member of our team will be able to assist.