http://leedschildcare.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_court_...
4.4 Immediate Issue Letter
In Leeds, the immediate issue letter uses the same format as the ‘letter before proceedings’ but it must make clear that care proceedings are being issued. As before, the letter is signed by the social work team manager and must be delivered by hand to the correct address by the social worker.

There are two important points about sending an ‘immediate issue letter’ to the parent(s):
As the letter is not intended as a ‘letter before proceedings’ it may not act as a trigger letter for publicly funded advice and assistance. However, the parent(s) may still be eligible for means tested advice from a solicitor. Parents should be advised to seek further guidance from a solicitor on this point;
It will not always be appropriate to send this letter in all cases where immediate issue of proceedings is decided. For example, the local authority may have concerns that if the parent(s) know that the authority is going to apply to court for an order allowing it to remove the child from their care, the Parent(s) may abscond with the child/ren.

4.3 Letter Before Proceedings
The ‘letter before proceedings’ acts as a trigger for non means, non merits tested publicly funded legal advice and assistance for the parent(s) or those with parental responsibility.

In particular the local authority should consider whether the parent or other person with parental responsibility appears to have the capacity to instruct a solicitor or whether the official solicitor should be involved.


Preparing for Care and Supervision Proceedings - Family Law Week
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JSYcLrh...
See page 34: Annex A: Immediate Issue Letter (template).
Annex A: Immediate Issue Letter (template)
SENT BY [RECORDED DELIVERY/BY HAND]
Office Address
Contact
Direct line
My ref
Fax
E-mail
Date
Dear [parent and/or full name(s) of all people with parental responsibility]
Re: [insert name of Local Authority] CONCERNS ABOUT [insert name(s) of child]
I am writing as you were told I would, when you spoke to [name of social worker] on [insert date of
last interaction]. As you are aware [name of Local Authority] is extremely worried about your care
of [name(s) of child/ren]. We told you about these main concerns in [reference to the Letter before
Proceedings/PPM/child protection case conference/any social work meetings].
We have tried to work with you to help you improve your care of [name(s) of child/ren] but
unfortunately things have not changed. We are writing to tell you again that we will be going to
court to try and make sure [name of child] is safe. You will soon receive a copy of our application to
the court and other important documents, which set out the key issues.
We would urge you, if you have not done so already, to get advice from a solicitor. We have sent
with this letter a list of local solicitors who specialise in work with children and families. They are
not part of Children’s Services (Social Services).
Yours sincerely
[name]
Team Manager
Local office/service
cc. Social Worker [name]
Local Authority in house Legal Team
Enc. List of Law Society Children Panel Solicitors

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Note added at 51 mins (2016-06-08 18:58:18 GMT)
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http://knowsleychildcare.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_pre...
Pre-Proceedings