The idea
Social workers can too easily obtain emergency protection orders without the knowledge or presence of parents who then have their children removed without having had any opportunity to oppose or contest such removals.
Ex parte hearings ,meaning without the opposing party present result too often in a magistrate granting powers of removal to social workers purely out of caution even when there is little evidence to justify such drastic action; Such orders only last 2-4 days but that is enough to traumatise young children from life when they have been dragged out of bed late at night by a posse of social workers backed up by policemen in uniform.
Parents should always be offered the opportunity to contest such orders before they are made.
Brutal parents who are alcoholic,bullies, or drug addicts are most unlikely to contest in such cases but parents who are respectable but may have very minor defects would certainly oppose the abrupt "confiscation" of their children if they were allowed to and I believe they should be given the chance!
Why is it important?
The idea is very important because social workers threaten parents into obedience with the threat of removing their children if they do not obey every instruction given !
The UK has in some respects become a police State with social workers and police removing newborn babies from hospitals, and children from their homes after dark with no prior warning or explanation given to distraught parents.These are not rare occurrences as literally thousands of babies and toddlers are removed from their parents every year by social workers contrary to the way things are managed in other EU countries where such barbarities are unknown !