What is a C110a Form?

A Form C110a application can be used by local authorities to obtain a care or supervision order and other Orders under Part 4 of the Children Act 1989 or an Emergency Protection Order under Section 44 of the Children Act. This form now replaces the C110 and should be submitted to the Family Court by the party seeking a Care Order or Supervision Order.

A C110a form can also be used to discharge a Care Order or a Supervision Order. This form should be submitted to the Family Court alongside evidence in the form of a report from an agency with whom you have been working with to prove that there has been a substantial change in circumstance.

Discharging a Care Order

When considering an application to discharge a Care Order, the Court must be satisfied that discharging the Order will be in the best interests of the child. The Court will use a  discharge of care order test when making this decision, which is that “The child should remain at home under the care order, unless his safety and welfare requires that he be removed immediately”.

There must be a significant change of circumstances to meet the requirements under this test, such as a long period of abstinence for parents who have suffered from drug or alcohol issues. A willingness to engage with professionals to address other issues raised by the Local Authority may also be useful for supporting an application to discharge a Care Order.

C110a Form: Costs of Discharging or Defending a Care or Supervision Order

Parents wishing to discharge or defend a Care or Supervision Order should contact a specialist family law solicitor to ensure the best outcome for their case.

Parents can often secure Legal Aid in these types of cases, which is a government-funded organisation that provides financial help to people who cannot afford to pay for legal representation. In these types of cases, the Solicitor will claim their costs from the LAA, rather than from the other party or the Local Authority, as the standard rule in Family Court proceedings is that parties bear their own costs, pursuant to the Family Procedure Rules.

Solicitors must submit detailed bills of costs to the LAA (or Court where appropriate) for assessment, and these will be checked to ensure that they comply with the LAA’s rules and regulations. The LAA may also conduct an independent review of the costs incurred in a case, and may reduce or disallow costs that it considers to be excessive or unnecessary.

How can ARC Costs assist?

ARC Costs offer advice and assistance to Solicitors and other legal representatives in the recovery of legally aided costs, which may include  the costs of C110a Form type work in care/supervision proceedings. 

We are a highly experienced team of Legal Aid Costs Lawyers and Costs Draftsman. We assist throughout the process of recovering legal costs from the legal aid agency, including the submission of the case, obtaining interim costs, submitting final bills and uploading bills to the Care and Case Management Services (CCMS) via the LAA Online Portal.

We can further assist in quantifying and negotiating any inter-partes costs in legally aid funded cases for which any costs order has been awarded. We are always happy to help with costs challenges/queries and can provide information on dealing with inter-partes costs in legal aid matters.

We can be contacted using our email address at info@arccosts.co.uk, or by telephone on 01204 397302.

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