§ Lord Harris of Greenwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they propose to take following the comments of Judge Llewellyn Jones at Bristol Crown Court on 19th July in a case in which he ordered that the defendants' names should not be published and in which a local authority social services department was alleged to have returned a baby to parents accused of ill-treating him while he was under a care order.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonThe judge's comments were concerned with the return of a baby to his parents before their trial. We have inquired into the case. This very young baby was committed to care following alleged ill-treatment by his parents. The local authority social services department decided it was in the baby's best interests for him to return home as soon as possible and they provided intensive help for the parents to this end. Due to the time that elapsed before the case came to court, rehabilitation was completed before the trial. Following the judge's comments the social services department has undertaken a review of its handling of the case. We await the report of this review and will consider any implications.