Amanda Hill

BSc (Southampton), MA (Warwick), FCA

Research

Research topic: The Court of Protection - exploring family experiences, media representations and social media activism.

The Court of Protection (COP)  is a court in England and Wales that makes capacity determinations. It also makes decisions on behalf of people who cannot make specific decisions if they have been assessed as lacking capacity to do so. Some examples of an underlying impairment in the functioning of the mind or brain include dementia, learning disability, stroke etc.  Many people haven’t heard of the COP until a family member becomes a protected party (P) involved in a case. Families can be unaware of the COP's extensive involvement in what they consider private matters, which can lead to shock and perceived intrusiveness. 

Families, medical and social care staff, legal professionals, and media representatives often underestimate the impact of COP cases on family members. Understanding family experiences is crucial for judges,lawyers, and all associated professionals, and will enable better support provision. In parallel to this, increasing public understanding of the COP is crucial for a more democratic engagement with this key court from families that find themselves involved in such hearings. There is also a need to address how some families desire to share their cases publicly, either to rectify perceived injustices or to educate others. Challenges arise due to reporting restrictions that conceal P and their family’s identities, restricting a family’s ability to ‘go public’. 

In a world where the media landscape is rapidly evolving, there is minimal research on family experiences in COP cases, their (media-informed) preconceptions about the court, how they view media representations of their cases, or how they seek to use engagement with journalists or social media for their own purposes.

The proposed research aims to address the gap in knowledge by combining an exploration of the experiences of families, with analysis of legal restrictions placed on reporting via ‘Transparency Orders’, the nature of traditional media representations (of the court, of families in court, and of specific cases), and the deployment of social media. 

Making an impact is a primary objective for my research project. Alongside a thesis and academic articles and presentations at academic conferences, I aim to disseminate the results of my research through training for journalists, multimedia materials for families, executive summaries to support advocacy for policy improvements, and professional training for COP networks. The focus is on increasing knowledge and understanding of the impact of media representations (of the court and of families) on families going through the COP experience, of how families engage with social media around the COP, and the impact of reporting restrictions on families.  

The study aligns with the Journalism and Democracy research cluster, as family experiences at the COP reflect the intersection of personal lives with social and political realities. 

 Research Keywords: Court of Protection  Transparency   Reporting restrictions  Family experiences

Thesis

Biography

Education and qualifications

• 2024:   MA (Career Development and Coaching Studies), University of Warwick (Part-Time)
• 2009:   Qualified as a High School English Teacher (in France)
• 1991:   Qualified as a Chartered Accountant
• 1986:   BSc (Hons) Geography, University of Southampton

Career overview

• 2009 - 2019: High School English Teacher (France)
• 1998 - 2003: Director of Finance, Barnardos (a major UK Children’s Charity)
• 1987 - 1998: EY (one of the largest professional services networks in the world)

Professional memberships

FCA (Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)

Supervisors

Jenny Kitzinger

Director of Research: Impact and Engagement and Co-Director of the Coma and Disorders of Consciousness Research Centre

Andy Williams

Senior Lecturer