PUBLIC INQUIRY NOTHING TO DECLARE

[Alison J Stevens]

Are we going back to the time of Cleveland and the Butler-Sloss inquiry? When well over 200 children were wrongly taken into care, after Paediatrician Dr Marietta Higgs gave conflicting medical
evidence in the family Court arena, stating that all children have been
sexually abused by their parents.

Dr Higgs theories were later to be discredited by other medical professionals but the damage done by ripping families apart had already taken place, resulting in parents loosing their children to forced adoption.

The Public inquiry into the affair, gave recommendations of how to prevent such ordeals happening again, with a great expense to the taxpayers of this Country.

PAIN who was then led by Director Sue Amphlett, submitted evidence to the former, with reference to the dealings and over zealous action of Social Workers to remove children and place them into LA Care, with very little
evidence to support such drastic action.

One of the hindsight's at the time was that parents had very little input with regards to their rights, from Social Workers and Case Conferences were being convened without their prior knowledge & there was no information
given to them about the LA complaints procedure.

PAIN won the “parents allowed in at case conference act”, brought to the attention of MP's by the organisation and the issue was won via the private members bills.

I have been contacted by Parents from Nottingham over the past few weeks, stating that they had not been notified about a child protection case conference, and that the LA went ahead without their prior
knowledge.

This not a one off, several parents have stated that they also had not been invited.

Under the Public Law Guidelines the LA have a mandatory duty to send such invitations by recorded delivery letter, or hand held letter, and a receipt given to parents, to state that it had been received.

Children or young people now have the right to attend such meetings, if they are at the age of understanding, they should also receive a letter by recorded delivery.

THE CLEVELAND INQUIRY HAS BROUGHT NO LEARNING CURVE TO THE WAY SOCIAL WORKERS TREAT PARENTS AND BLATANTLY DISREGARD GUIDELINES.

Value-Social Services System Abuse.