§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many case reviews following serious or fatal abuse under the Working Together to Safeguard Children Guidance have been held in each of the last five years; how many involved(a) child deaths, (b) serious physical assaults and (c) serious sexual abuse in each year; and what the ages and sex were of the children concerned. [39172]
§ Jacqui SmithInformation is not collected centrally on the numbers or types of serious case reviews that have been carried out in accordance with Chapter 8 of "Working Together to Safeguard Children" (1999).
Taken together, the findings of serious case reviews are an important source of information to inform national policy and practice. The Department of Health is responsible for identifying and disseminating common themes and trends across review reports, and acting on lessons for policy and practice. We will shortly be publishing an overview report drawing out the key findings of a selection of case reviews from the last two years, and their implications for policy and practice. At the same time, we are developing a comprehensive database of all serious case reviews.