Member

Amendment 403 introduces a vital protection: the right to an emergency court hearing within 48 hours if a child is removed, or is proposed to be removed, due to home education-related concerns. The stakes here could not be higher. Removal without timely oversight is not safeguarding but overreach. In Sahin v Germany and Neulinger v Switzerland, the European Court was clear that, when the state interferes with parental rights, there must be procedural fairness. There must be an opportunity to participate in decisions, not simply suffer the consequences. The UK Supreme Court itself in Re B-S (Children) 2013 insisted that removals must be based on evidence, not assumption, and that proportionality must always guide intervention. This Bill, in its current form, risks ignoring that vital principle.