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Section 7 and Section 37 reports are directed by the Family Court in connection with private proceedings concerning children which are before it and which are required in order to help the court reach a determination.

Section 7 - is a request for a general welfare report.

Section 37 - requests under this section invite the authority to consider whether a Care or Supervision Order should be sought or other action considered and so ob

viously indicate a higher level of concern: if circumstances indicate that the threshold for action under the Child Protection Procedures may be met a Strategy Discussion should be held (See London Child Protection Procedures, Section 7.5, Strategy Meeting/Discussion)

If the children who are the subjects of the request are already in receipt of social work services the report should be dealt with by the allocated social worker.

If the children are not currently receiving a service the request for reports should be treated as a referral to the Referral and Assessment Team, which remains responsible until the termination of the proceedings unless otherwise agreed by the responsible Assistant Director.

Provision of reports to the court does not fall within the remit of the Public Law Outline, though this protocol would be triggered if the authority decided that concerns were such that care proceedings should be initiated. Nonetheless it is important to adhere to the court's timescales: the report must be filed as directed. Where there are reasons for delay such as repeated failed appointments with the parties to notify the court via the authority's legal representative.

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