§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he has made to review the safeguards against harm to children in residential care and in other placements away from home. [33435]
§ Mr. DorrellAs my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 13 June, I have asked Sir William Utting, the former chief inspector of the social services inspectorate in England, to review the existing safeguards for children living away from home.
I have today written to Sir William in the following terms:
Letter to Sir William Utting from Stephen Dorrell, Secretary of State for Health
CHILDREN'S SAFEGUARDS REVIEW
The government is grateful to you for agreeing to undertake this review. I enclose a copy of the terms of reference.The new safeguards introduced in recent years for the protection of children living away from home following the Children Act were the outcome of careful thought and consultation, and of scrutiny in Parliament. Since then, however, it has become clear from court cases and criminal justice investigations that the scale of abuse and of abuse risks was higher than generally appreciated.An important purpose of your review is to assess whether the safeguards now in place provide so far as is possible protection against these risks as they are now recognised. We are therefore concerned that it should be thorough, and that it should cover the enforcement of the safeguards as well as their principles I know that you will make the review accessible to all those with views and ideas to put across.349WThere are as you know a number of areas where the Government is planning further initiatives relevant to the protection of all children and other social services users. As already announced, we shall be consulting later this summer on the ethical regulation of the social services professions. Home Office Ministers are announcing today proposals for improved arrangements for checking criminal records and new measures to prevent further crimes by convicted sex offenders after their release from prison. And we shall soon be receiving Tom Burgner's review of social services regulation. If while you are conducting your review there are any points you wish to convey to us as we take the various matters forward I and the other responsible Ministers would be very glad to know of them.It is equally important that local authorities and all others with the responsibility for ensuring the safety of children and other vulnerable people in their care should discharge that responsibility scrupulously within the framework of safeguards as it now exists. You may find ways of improving the framework, but it is essential that while your review is in progress all concerned should enforce the existing safeguards with the necessary diligence and wariness.STEPHEN DURRELL CHILDRENS'S SAFEGUARDS REVIEW
to review the safeguards introduced for England and Wales by the Children Act 1989 at its implementation in 1991 and the further measures since taken to protect children living away from home, with particular reference to children's residential homes, foster care and boarding schools;to assess whether these safeguards are the most effective that can realistically be designed to protect such children from abuse and other harm and whether they are being satisfactorily enforced;to make recommendations accordingly to the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Wales.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will institute an immediate public inquiry into the alleged abuse of children in Cheshire homes. [32920]
§ Mr. BowisInvestigations are continuing and prosecutions still pending in the north west. Until these are completed no decision regarding further inquiries can be made.