Greg Mulholland MP for Leeds North West today challenged the Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw, over the cost to councils of court costs in care and adoption cases.
The court fees paid by Leeds city council to cover care and adoption proceedings used to be fixed at £150, a new scaled system has been introduced seeing the council paying anywhere between £2,225 to £4,825.
Commenting Greg Said:
"These higher charges have the potential to act as a disincentive for councils to go to court over child protection cases.
"There is the danger that these hugely increased fees will act as a tax on keeping children safe.
"The Government are currently looking at a review of this, they need to ensure that the cost of going to court is affordable for councils in situations such as these and it is time they responded to these concerns."
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