HC Deb 20 July 1950 vol 477 cc2466-8
40. Mr. Somerville Hastings

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take upon the report of the Department Working Party which he appointed to inquire into cruelty and neglect of children in their homes.

Mr. Ede

I will, with permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement of the conclusions my colleagues and I have reached and the action we propose to take.

Mr. Hastings

Does my right hon. Friend realise that there is still a great deal of cruelty to children which the present machinery, at any rate, has entirely failed to prevent?

Mr. Ede

Yes, Sir. I think that when my hon. Friend has the opportunity of reading my statement, which is fairly long, he will find that we have been advising local authorities on practical steps to reduce the amount of cruelty.

Earl Winterton

Has the right hon. Gentleman called the attention of those authorities to the action taken by the hon. Gentleman opposite, myself and Members of all parties in the last Parliament in connection with this matter, and the instances we brought forward of the grave injustices being done to children under the present law?

Mr. Ede

Yes, Sir. I have had conferences with the representatives of the local authority associations and they are exceedingly anxious that all practical steps should be taken to reduce this evil.

Following is the statement:

The Government have, as promised, considered the issues which were raised in the Debates in Parliament in July and December of last year on the subject of children neglected or ill-treated in their own homes. They have been assisted by a report furnished to their Ministers by a Working Party of officials of the Home Office, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Education, and the corresponding Scottish Departments, which examined the various aspects of the matter.

The Government have reached the conclusion that the present need is not for an extension of statutory powers, or for inquiry by a Departmental committee, but for the fully co-ordinated use of the local authority and other statutory and voluntary services available. Local authorities already have wide powers to assist families, and health visitors, teachers, school attendance officers and others in regular contact with children are in a position to assist in bringing cases of neglect or ill-treatment to light. In addition, voluntary organisations, in particular the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the Royal Scottish Society are engaged in work in this field.

The resources of local statutory and voluntary effort cannot however be used to the best advantage unless there is effective co-ordination. It is of the first importance that help where needed should be given at an early stage, and that information should reach the service which could be of most assistance before valuable time has been lost and harm has been done. If the right help is not given in time, children who might otherwise have remained with their parents may have to be removed from home because deterioration has gone too far.

The Government have accordingly decided that the right course is to ask local authorities to introduce arrangements designed to ensure that action is coordinated to make the most effective use of the available resources, statutory and voluntary alike. The councils of counties and county boroughs (in Scotland, the councils of counties and large burghs) are being asked to make suitable arrangements to secure co-ordination among all the local services, statutory and voluntary, which are concerned with the welfare of children in their own homes. This might well be achieved by designating an officer of the local authority whose task would be to ensure such co-ordination. By this means, significant cases of child neglect and all cases of ill-treatment coming to the notice of any statutory or voluntary service in the area could be considered, and agreement reached as to how the local services could best be applied to meet the need.

The Government are convinced that it is on these lines that the problem can best be tackled, and are confident that local authorities and voluntary organisations concerned can be relied upon to co-operate freely in putting the arrangements into effect.