HL Deb 16 December 2003 vol 655 cc1049-52

2.41 p.m.

Lord Ashley of Stoke

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have considered the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's report on disabled children entitled It doesn 't happen to disabled children: child protection and disabled children.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)

My Lords, we welcome the publication of the report and will consider it carefully. We recognise the particular vulnerability of disabled children to abuse, which increases when, as a result of their disability, children are unable to communicate what has happened to them. That is why government guidance on safeguarding children highlights the need to promote a high level of awareness of this vulnerability and sets out measures to be taken to strengthen the capacity of disabled children and their families to communicate abuse.

Lord Ashley of Stoke

My Lords, is my noble friend aware that in view of the seriousness of the situation and the urgency of these problems, I had hoped for a more robust response from the Government? Will my noble friend confirm that the report states that disabled children are more than three times more likely to be abused sexually, physically and emotionally than non-disabled children? Can she confirm that the report also states that central government and local protection societies have failed disabled children? Precisely what steps do the Government intend to take to counter this sorry situation, which should never have arisen? In particular, which recommendations do the Government intend to accept?

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

My Lords, I am sorry to disappoint my noble friend and I hope that my further answer will help him see how seriously we take this NSPCC report. The evidence presented was based largely on American studies which demonstrated that disabled children are 3.4 times more likely to suffer from abuse. However, as yet there is no body of evidence. One of the recommendations made in the report is that such a body of evidence should be created, which we are now looking at carefully.

Given the different recommendations made in the report, we are considering the Green Paper, Every Child Matters, and looking at the work of the national service framework in order to take each of the recommendations and come up with what I hope my noble friend will see is a serious plan to do more to safeguard these children.

Lord Campbell of Croy

My Lords, does the noble Baroness agree that children with mental disabilities probably need much more protection than those with physical impairment?

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

My Lords, all noble Lords would agree that every child needs to be protected; the question is how best to provide such protection and to ensure that children who are more vulnerable either as a result of mental disability or an inability to communicate and thus tell others about abuse are recognised in terms of the measures put in place. It is important that we look at the needs of all our children to ensure that those measures are implemented. That will form a central part of the work we undertake on safeguarding children.

Lord Addington

My Lords, in her original response the noble Baroness quite rightly placed great emphasis on the need for communication. Can she also give an assurance that attention is paid not only to the technical processes of communication, but that we also concentrate on what disabled children have to say, rather than repeat the "Does he take sugar?" scenario? Emphasis should be placed on understanding not only what the children say once the communication barrier has been overcome, but also what they mean. Not understanding or paying attention to vulnerable groups probably marks the start of the process of the possibility for all forms of abuse.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Addington, has raised a critical point and I could not agree with him more wholeheartedly. It is very important that we listen to children and take seriously what they say. That will form part of the work of the Children's Commissioner, of whom I know the noble Lord has been a strong advocate. I also believe that it must form part of the national service framework and the results of the Every Child Matters consultation process, which has just come to an end. Interestingly, that consultation brought in more replies from children than from any other group.

Baroness Wilkins

My Lords, will the Minister give a commitment that any legislation or guidance which follows from the Green Paper will address specifically the greater vulnerability to abuse of disabled children and safeguard their welfare?

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

My Lords, any legislation that we bring forward will aim to protect all children. Within that, I shall look to ensure that the needs of all children are suitably covered. Whether that means providing a separate part in the legislation, I could not say at this point, but it is important to ensure that the measures work for every child. I shall ensure that we bring forward proposals which can do that.

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff

My Lords, does the Minister accept that focusing on children alone is not enough? During adolescence and into early adulthood, many of these young people are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

My Lords, I accept that point. Much of the work we are doing within the children and families directives focuses not only on children, but in particular on adolescents and young people who are, as the noble Baroness observed, at risk.

Baroness Masham of Ilton

My Lords, is the Minister aware that, in a school for disabled children situated close to where I live in North Yorkshire, the headmaster abused those very severely disabled children—who were lying on bean bags? The local community was simply appalled, as I hope is the noble Baroness. What vetting procedures are in place for people placed in such positions of trust?

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

My Lords, it is always difficult to comment on the circumstances within particular institutions. However, through the Protection of Children Act 1999 and, of course, List 99, which applies to the Department for Education and Skills, we do have in place safeguards that protect children. However, we are well aware that there are always circumstances which need to be reviewed. We are also well aware that such safeguards can do only as much as is possible within the way that they have been framed. That is why it is so important that we do as the noble Lord, Lord Addington, said: listen to children and put as much as we possibly can into our practices for caring for very vulnerable children to ensure that they are well protected.

Baroness Seccombe

My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware of the recent case concerning a small boy named Lee? Not only was he not allowed to participate in the school nativity play but, much more significantly, the terms of his statement were not honoured by the school or the local education authority. How can she account for this?

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

My Lords, I understand that this case has been through the tribunal process. I understand from press reports that not only was this child not allowed to be in the nativity play, he was not allowed to be included in the school photograph. Indeed, I have today sought to ensure that the school does have in place the practices that every noble Lord would wish to see for this child and any other.

The Earl of Listowel

My Lords, does the Minister acknowledge the importance of a high-quality childcare workforce? That is at least as important as having in place the right procedures for the protection of children with disabilities. Will she undertake to examine the impact of the work of the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care to see whether its free training and consultancy services to residential childcare settings might be copied in this country?

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

My Lords, the noble Earl will be aware that part of the work arising from the Green Paper is to set up a workforce unit within the Department for Education and Skills; that is currently under way. We have done that in order to ensure that the generic training appropriate to all people working with children is undertaken, and that we provide what I have described before to noble Lords as a scaffold of opportunities for people working in childcare settings to develop their skills and move into other areas of work with children. I am not aware of the work of the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care, but I shall ask officials to look at it.